In general type these petroglyphs correspond very closely to those of other areas, in which the so-called Shoshonian types occur, the most common, apart from those presented in Pls. I and II, consisting of concentric circles, rings, footprints of the bear and of man, and various outlines of the human form, beside numerous unintelligible forms.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. I
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. II
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.
Southeastward of this locality there is a low divide leading across the Benton range into the broad, arid, sloping sand desert of Owens valley proper, but it is not until a point 12 miles south of Benton, along the line of the old stage road, is reached that petroglyphs of any consequence are met with. From this point southward, for a distance of 6 miles, large exposures and bowlders of basalt are scattered, upon which are great numbers of petroglyphs, pecked into the rock to depths of from half an inch to 1½ inches, and representing circles, footprints, human forms, etc.
The first series of illustrations, selected from numerous closely-connected bowlders, are here presented on Pls. III to VII. The designs marked a on Pl. III resemble serpents, while that at d is obviously such. This device is on the horizontal surface, and is pecked to the depth of about 1 inch. The scale of the drawing is one-thirtieth of the original petroglyph. The characters indicating the human form in e, g, and h resemble the ordinary Shoshonian type, and are like those from various localities in Arizona and southern Utah and Colorado.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. III
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.
The upper characters in A on Pl. IV represent the trail of a grizzly bear—as indicated by the immense claws—followed by a human footprint. The original sculpturings are clearly cut, the toes of the man’s foot being cup-like, as if drilled with a blunt piece of wood and sand. The tracks average 15 inches in length and vary in depth from half an inch to more than an inch. The course of direction of the tracks, which are cut upon a horizontal surface, is from north-northeast to south-southwest.