as canvas
By Tim Roberts
Native American Rock Art in the Big Bend
While many people come to the Big
Bend region of West Texas to enjoy the
current art scene, the first painted or
etched imagery in the area was created
by Native Americans thousands of years
ago. These figures, referred to as pictographs and petroglyphs, adorn many of
the rockshelters, canyon walls, and other
rock outcrops across the rugged landscape of the Big Bend. At first glance, it
is difficult to look beyond this imagery as
a form of art; the color and composition of
these figures and the expertise with
which they were created makes them no
less aesthetically pleasing than any contemporary piece of fine art.
While the precise meaning of much of
this rock art remains to be determined,
the creation of much of this imagery goes
well beyond aesthetics. These figures
were often created as part of a ritual, and
reflect the spiritual beliefs of those that
painted or etched them. Other images
may represent events that were important to the group or that had a significant
Red monochromatic pictographs, possibly dating to
the Late Archaic or Late Prehistoric periods.
Chihuahuan Polychrome Abstract style pictographs
impact on the community, such as the arrival of the Spanish, and their horses, to
the region in the 16th century. Rock art
also functioned to help define the territory of those that created the figures.
Abstract and geometric figures, including vibrant multi-colored paintings belonging to the Chihuahuan Polychrome
Abstract style, are thought to be the oldest rock art in the Big Bend. Some researchers believe that this imagery may
be over 5,000 years old, dating to what
archeologists refer to as the Early Archaic
period. These abstract images, the colors
of which were created using hematite,
manganese, gypsum, and other mineral
pigments, may represent simple forms
that appeared to shamans, or spiritual
leaders, in the early stages of trance.
Shamans were, and still are, considered
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