Petroglyphs by Fremont Indian - Capitol Reef National Park, UT
N 38° 17.321 W 111° 14.533
12S E 478817 N 4237873
These petroglyphs are located in Capitol Reef National Park, along Hwy 24, between the Historic Fruita School and the Hickman Bridge Trailhead.
Waymark Code: WMCK3J
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 09/15/2011
Views: 18
The prehistoric Fremont Culture existed throughout Utah and adjacent areas of Idaho, Colorado and Nevada from approximately AD 600 - 1300. Fremont ‘culture’ is primarily defined by a consistent set of traditions and practices that have been identified as unique and separate from their contemporaries, the Ancestral Puebloans, better known as the Anasazi. The Fremont Culture was named for the Fremont River Valley in which sites were discovered and first defined.
Fremont figurines and rock art resemble each other. Pictographs (painted on rock surfaces) and petroglyphs (carved or pecked into the rock surface) depict people, animals and other shapes and forms on rock surfaces. Anthropomorphic (human-like) figures usually have trapezoidal shaped bodies with arms, legs and fingers. The figures are often elaborately decorated with headdresses, ear bobs, necklaces, clothing items and facial expressions. A wide variety of zoomorphic (animal-like) figures include bighorn sheep, deer, dogs, birds, snakes and lizards. Abstract designs, geometric shapes and handprints are also common.
The meaning of rock art is unknown. Designs may have recorded religious or mythological events, migrations, hunting trips, resource locations, travel routes, celestial information and other important knowledge. Many archeologists propose that rock art uses symbolic concepts that provide an observer with important information and that it was not simply artistic expression.
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The information sign titled, "Stories in Stone" at the petroglyphs relates the following:
Mountain sheep, imposing anthropomorphic (human like) figures, and geometrical shapes are pecked into the cliff face ahead. These markings were created by people archeologists refer to as Fremont Indians, ancestors to various modern Indian tribes living in the American Southwest today. Over 1,000 years ago, the Fremont Indians were the valley's first settlers, building homes and farming here.
Hopi and Zuni people tell us that these petroglyphs record the travels, activities, and ceremonial observances of their ancestral clans. The petroglyphs, they say, also tell of the supernatural katchinas who provide for the people. Much more than simple drawings or "rock art", the markings are the historical and spiritual legacy of modern Indian peoples, whose roots grow deep through this country's past.
Visit Instructions:1. You may log as many different waymarks as you wish but you may only log each one once.
2. You must include a close up photo of the pictograph and your GPSr. The pictograph must be recognizable.
3. Tell a little bit about what you learned of the area.