Basalt Lowlands - Site 2

Three simple petroglyph panels and a few bedrock milling slicks (worn areas from grinding seeds) comprise this site, which is located on a north-facing basalt scarp that overlooks a large west-flowing drainage.

Representational designs dominate each panel. Out of a total of fifteen elements, eleven are sheep, one is a dog or mountain lion, and only three are abstract designs. The sheep tend to occur in small groups, forming a head-to-tail procession. Their bodies are often oblong or straight to sway-backed. Their heads are often drawn in profile, with both horns curving over the back, though several appear to be looking straight at you, with one horn curving out from each side of the face.

This site lacks any associated artifacts to suggest how old this artwork is. However, at Panel 1, the sheep at the left edge of the panel overlays an abstract design of nested circles. From this superpositioning, we can conclude that the abstract design is older than the sheep. Observation of many superpositions like this one led Campbell Grant and others to suggest that abstract designs are older than representational ones.

The site map below shows the location of rock art panels as yellow dots. Click on any of the dots to see a photo of the panel at that location.