The Geologic Story of Arches National Park / Geological Survey Bulletin 1393

by Stanley William Lohman

Prehistoric People

The Canyon lands in and south of Arches were inhabited by cliff dwellers centuries before the first visits of the Spaniards and fur trappers. Projectile points and other artifacts found in the nearby La Sal and Abajo Mountains indicate occupation by aborigines during the period from about 3000-2000 B.C. to about A.D. 1 (Hunt, Alice, 1956). The Fremont people occupied the area around A.D. 850 or 900, and the Pueblo or Anasazi people from about A.D. 1075 to their departure in the late 12th century (Jennings, 1970). Most of the evidence for these early occupations has been found in and south of Canyonlands National Park ([Lohman, 1974]), but some traces of these and possibly earlier cultures have been found also within Arches National Park.

Ross A. Maxwell (National Park Service, written commun., 1941) investigated two caves in the Entrada Sandstone in the upper reaches of Salt Wash that contain Anasazi ruins. He mentioned that perhaps a dozen or more other caves should be checked for evidence of former occupation and, also, that he found several ancient campsites littered with flint chips and broken tools.

One cave Maxwell explored some 5 miles north of Wolfe Ranch and north of the park is about 300 feet long and 100 to 150 feet deep. It contains the remains of one or more ruins of a structure he thought may have covered much of the floor. The remaining parts of walls now are only two to four tiers of stones in height, although originally they may have been more than one story high. Maxwell explored a second cave on the east side of Salt Wash, about 2 miles north of Wolfe Ranch, which contains 16 storage cists of adobe.

The faces of many older sandstone cliffs or ledges are darkened by desert varnish—a natural pigment of iron and manganese oxides. The prehistoric inhabitants of the Plateau learned that effective and enduring designs, called petroglyphs, could be created simply by chiseling or pecking through the thin dark layer to reveal the buff or tan sandstone beneath. Most petroglyphs were created by the Anasazi, but those showing men mounted on horses were done by Ute tribesmen after the Spaniards brought in horses in the 1500’s. The Fremont people and some earlier people painted figures on rock faces, called pictographs, and some of these had pecked outlines.

The so-called “Moab panel” was described by Beckwith (1934, p. 177) as a petroglyph, but, as pointed out by Schaafsma (1971, p. 72, 73), it comprises figures having pecked outlines and painted bodies, which actually are combinations of petroglyphs and pictographs. This beautifully preserved group of paintings is shown in the upper photograph of [figure 2]. Mrs. Schaafsma goes on to say, concerning the “Moab panel”:

The long tapered body, the antenna like headdresses, and the staring eyes are characteristic features of Barrier Canyon style figures elsewhere * * *. Of special interest here are the large shields held by certain figures. A visit to this site indicated that the shields, although apparently of some antiquity, have been superimposed over some of the Barrier Canyon figures. Whether or not this was done by the Barrier Canyon style artists themselves or later comers to the site is impossible to tell.

Although definite proof seems lacking, she suggested (written commun., Nov. 3, 1973) that the “‘Barrier Canyon style’[3] * * * is earlier than the work in the same region clearly attributable to the Fremont.” Note the three bullet holes in and near the right-hand shield. A ledge above the panel that contained petroglyphs during her earlier visit had fallen to the base of the cliff by the time my wife and I inspected the panel in September 1973.

ROCK ART IN ARCHES NATIONAL PARK. A (above), “Moab panel,” on cliff of Wingate Sandstone above U.S. Highway 163 between Courthouse Wash and Colorado River, believed to be the work of “Barrier Canyon” style people. B (below), Petroglyphs on ledge of sandstone in Morrison Formation on east side of Salt Wash just north of Wolfe Ranch, believed to have been cut by Ute tribesmen. (Fig. 2)

Mrs. Schaafsma believes the petroglyphs in the lower photograph of [figure 2] to be the work of Ute tribesmen, not only because of the horses, but also because of the stiff-legged appearance of the mountain sheep. Note the bullet hole above the panel.