DOCUMENTING ROCK ART IN DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT By Ralph J. Hartley Anne Wolley Vawser Alan R. Smith Mary A. Johnson Midwest Archeological Center Occasional Studies in Anthropology No. 29 Series Editor F.A. Calabrese Produced for the Rocky Mountain Region, National Park Service United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Midwest Archeological Center Lincoln, Nebraska 1993 ABSTRACT In 1988 and 1989 comprehensive docu· Documentation for each site was compiled in mentation of twenty·two rock art sites in a notebook format for use by park personnel Dinosaur National Monument was under­ during monitoring phases. Analyses of the taken to establish baseline information for rock art and the kinds of situations in which the long·term monitoring of these sites. Pro­ they are placed suggest that the images were cedures used included still photography, scale used to influence the behavior of aboriginal drawings, video photography, photogramme­ visitors to the site. try, and standardized written descriptions. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The successful completion of this documentation was conducted by Dave project relied upon the skills of many people. DeVries of Hammon, Jensen, Wallen and Alan Smith took all of the hundreds of photo­ Associates, Inc. From Dave we learned a graphs needed for this project, used some of great deal about the potential use of this his own equipment not affordable with the process for documenting rock art. National Park Service funding available, hand processed the film, and drafted the photo­ Dave Whitman (Chief of Interpreta­ graphic methods section in this report. The tion) andJim Truesdale (Archeologist) of the artistictalentofMaryJohnsonwasinvaluable park staff were instrumental in organizing the in the construction of drawings used in this site priorities and logistics. Their knowledge report as well as those used by the park staff of the park's archeological resources and the for their long-term monitoring of these sites. management responsibilities relative to these We found it necessary that both scale drawing sites helped us immensely in putting this and photography be used in the documenta­ project into perspective. The voluntary assis­ tion of the rock art sites. Anne WolleyVawser tance of Katie Askeris during our field work compiled data for the site forms, conducted in 1989 is greatly appreciated. We also want the mapping of all sites, organized the format to thank Don Toney of the U.S. Fish and of documentation for the park's monitoring Wildlife Service and staff of the Jones Hole program, and drafted and edited numerous Fish Hatchery for their assistance and accom­ portions of this report. Without her involve­ modations while working in the Jones Hole ment this project would not have been com­ area of the park. pleted in a timely manner. Photogrammetric 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... v Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Environmental Background ..................................................................................................... 3 Archeological Overview and Cultural History ........................................................................ 5 History of Archeological Investigations in the Monument ................................................... 11 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 15 Still Photography ........................................................................................................... 15 1988 Equipment and Materials ......................................................................... 15 Film .................................................................................................................... 16 Filters ................................................................................................................. 18 1988 Field Procedures ....................................................................................... 20 Lighting .............................................................................................................. 23 1988 Lab Procedures ......................................................................................... 25 1988 Results ....................................................................................................... 28 1989 Equipment and Materials ......................................................................... 31 1989 Field Procedures ....................................................................................... 31 1989 Lab Procedures ......................................................................................... 33 Photographic Documentation for Future Projects ........................................... 34 Field Sketches and Scale Drawings .............................................................................. 40 Terrestrial Photogrammetry ......................................................................................... 46 Video Photography ........................................................................................................ 48 Site Descriptions ..................................................................................................................... 49 111 ROCK ART A Perspective on the Rock Art in Dinosaur National Monument ....................................... 79 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 79 Chronological and Cultural Placement ........................................................................ 79 The Interpretation of Rock Art .................................................................................... 81 Dinosaur Rock Art: An Assessment ............................................................................. 89 Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 95 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 97 Notes ....................................................................................................................................... 99 References Cited .................................................................................................................. 101 Appendix A. Dinosaur National Monument Rock Art Documentation and Monitoring Program Field Monitoring Packet and Forms ..................................................................... 119 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Chronological listing of compliance-related archeological projects completed between 1970 and the present in Dinosaur National Monument ......................................... 13 Table 2. Equipment used for photographic documentation during the 1988 field season ...................................................................................................................................... 16 Table 3. Equipment used for photographic documentation during the 1989 field season ...................................................................................................................................... 32 Table 4. Rock art sites recorded in Dinosaur National Monument during 1988 and 1989 ......................................................................................................................................... 50 Table 5. Rock art styles present at sites recorded during 1988 and 1989 in Dinosaur National Monument ............................................................................................................... 82 Table 6. Rock art element classifications ............................................................................. 91 lV TABLE OF CONTENTS Table 7. Information measures for rock art at rockshelter sites .......................................... 93 Table 8. Information measures for rock art on cliff faces .................................................... 94 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Dinosaur National Monument. Circled locations show general areas of site documentation ................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2. Panel 3 at site 42UN178 shot under flat lighting conditions to eliminate surface texture and enhance the pictographs ......................................................................... 24 Figure 3. Panel 3 at site 42UN178 shot under acute-angled lighting conditions to enhance the petroglyphs ......................................................................................................... 24 Figure 4. Panel 2 at site 42UN192 shot without a polarizing filter .....................................