Plains Indian Rock Art James D. Keyser and Michael A. Klassen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Keyser, James D.

Contributor:

Klassen, Michael.

Series:

Samuel and Althea Stroum Books

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rock paintings.

Petroglyphs.

Indians of North America--Antiquities.

Antiquities.

Great Plains.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (345 p.)

Place of Publication:

Seattle, WA : University of Washington Press, 2001.

Summary:

The Plains region that stretches from northern Colorado to southern Alberta and from the Rockies to the western Dakotas is the land of the Cheyenne and the Blackfeet, the Crow and the Sioux. Its rolling grasslands and river valleys have nurtured human cultures for thousands of years. On cave walls, glacial boulders, and riverside cliffs, native people recorded their ceremonies, vision quests, battles, and daily activities in the petroglyphs and pictographs they incised, pecked, or painted onto the stone surfaces. In this vast landscape, some rock art sites were clearly intended for communal use; others just as clearly mark the occurrence of a private spiritual encounter. Elders often used rock art, such as complex depictions of hunting, to teach traditional knowledge and skills to the young. Other sites document the medicine powers and brave deeds of famous warriors. Some Plains rock art goes back more than 5, 000 years; some forms were made continuously over many centuries. Archaeologists James Keyser and Michael Klassen show us the origins, diversity, and beauty of Plains rock art. The seemingly endless variety of images include humans, animals of all kinds, weapons, masks, mazes, handprints, finger lines, geometric and abstract forms, tally marks, hoofprints, and the wavy lines and starbursts that humans universally associate with trancelike states. Plains Indian Rock Art is the ultimate guide to the art form. It covers the natural and archaeological history of the northwestern Plains; explains rock art forms, techniques, styles, terminology, and dating; and offers interpretations of images and compositions.

Contents:

Cover; Contents; Authors' Note on Names; Preface; Acknowledgments; Part 1. Introduction and Background; 1 Introduction to Rock Art; 2 Dating Rock Art; Interpretation: Superimpositioning at a North Cave Hills Site; 3 Interpreting Rock Art; Interpretation: ""All Kinds of Spirits Dwell Up There""; 4 The Area and Its History; Interpretation: Medicine Rocks; 5 Native Cultures of the Northwestern Plains; Interpretation: War Bridles and Otter Bundles; Part 2. Rock Art Traditions of the Northwestern Plains; 6 Early Hunting Tradition; 7 Columbia Plateau Tradition

Interpretation: The Kokopelli of Grotto Canyon8 Dinwoody Tradition; Interpretation: Poha Kahni: Where Spirits Live in the Rocks; 9 En Toto Pecked Tradition; 10 Pecked Abstract Tradition; 11 Foothills Abstract Tradition; Interpretation: Bear Power, Bear Dreamers; 12 Hoofprint Tradition; 13 Ceremonial Tradition; Interpretation: Saahkomappi and the Big Dogs; 14 Biographic Tradition; Interpretation: The Battle Scene; 15 Robe and Ledger Art Tradition; Interpretation: Counting Coup at Crossfield Coulee; 16 Vertical Series Tradition; Interpretation: Grooves and Tallies

17 Sites Developed for the Public18 Summary and Conclusions; Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y; Z

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780295806846

0295806842

OCLC:

949885134