News Release

Cave Art of the American Indians of the Southeast

Date: April 22, 2022
Contact: Kim Coons, 706-866-9241, ext. 139

Fort Oglethorpe, GA: On Saturday, May 7, at 2 pm, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the public to participate in a special one-hour, ranger-led, program discussing cave art and petroglyphs of the American Indians of the Southeast. This program will take place at Moccasin Bend National Archeological District’s Gateway Site (10 Hamm Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405). Visitors are welcome to bring folding chairs and are encouraged to dress accordingly for weather conditions.

When we think of cave art, instinctively, we think of the images on caves in some European countries. In fact, the world’s first modern discovery of cave art was made in 1879, at Altamira, in northern Spain. Rarely do we consider the cave art and petroglyphs of the native peoples where we live, here in the Southeastern United States. Nevertheless, the mountains of east Tennessee, northeast Alabama, and northwest Georgia provided for the formation of caves, that those who are now lost to history had the opportunity to record some of their daily encounters for us to now interpret. Come learn the fascinating stories of this era of human history in our area.

For more information about programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit the park website at www.nps.gov/chch.