Last updated: April 10, 2021
Place
Pictographs
Quick Facts
MANAGED BY:
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Prehistoric Pictographs
Another short spur trail takes you to the prehistoric pictographs and interpretive wayside exhibit. These images are rare reminders of ancient human history and that people have interacted with this landscape for thousands of years.
Images on rock or rock art were produced by many cultures worldwide. Petroglyphs are pecked or incised into the rock and pictographs are painted. Both types are found in this region, displaying images of animals, people, geometric designs, and natural features.
Pictographs can serve a variety of purposes. They are visual reminders of events, or serve to transmit information about the environment. These images may be communication between human(s) and the supernatural, or between two or more people.
Perhaps the images here were created during a healing ceremony, a vision quest, or a prayer to the creator, to a spirit helper, or to hunted animals. They might be symbols, or a sign marking the way, reminders of a vision and not meaningful to any other individual.
These pictographs were identified in 2003 by a park ranger and have been professionally documented. This documentation included the photographs seen here, taken with polarized light to capture pigment not visible to the unaided eye. Still unknown are the originator(s), age of the images, and the material used to paint the rock.
Can you find the designs in the pictographs on the rock?
Another short spur trail takes you to the prehistoric pictographs and interpretive wayside exhibit. These images are rare reminders of ancient human history and that people have interacted with this landscape for thousands of years.
Images on rock or rock art were produced by many cultures worldwide. Petroglyphs are pecked or incised into the rock and pictographs are painted. Both types are found in this region, displaying images of animals, people, geometric designs, and natural features.
Pictographs can serve a variety of purposes. They are visual reminders of events, or serve to transmit information about the environment. These images may be communication between human(s) and the supernatural, or between two or more people.
Perhaps the images here were created during a healing ceremony, a vision quest, or a prayer to the creator, to a spirit helper, or to hunted animals. They might be symbols, or a sign marking the way, reminders of a vision and not meaningful to any other individual.
These pictographs were identified in 2003 by a park ranger and have been professionally documented. This documentation included the photographs seen here, taken with polarized light to capture pigment not visible to the unaided eye. Still unknown are the originator(s), age of the images, and the material used to paint the rock.
Can you find the designs in the pictographs on the rock?