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.
