Redacted version with site location information removed: contact the BLM Carlsbad Field Office o... more Redacted version with site location information removed: contact the BLM Carlsbad Field Office or lead author for an unredacted copy.
This report presents the results of the archaeological documentation and interpretation of 21 rock art sites on lands in the Guadalupe Mountains and Azotea Mesa regions administered by the Carlsbad Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management. The comprehensive documentation of rock art at 21 sites was a multidisciplinary and multiphase effort over the course of two years that involved several specialists as well as field and post-field consultations with Native American Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, elders, and other representatives. The rock art and surrounding occupation areas of 21 sites were documented. This vast and varied panorama of rock art paintings and engravings spanned a period of at least 4,000 years. A total of 168 rock art panels with 1,045 individual elements were drawn, photographed, and described. The artistic and symbolic content of the panels include abstract paintings, zigzag elements, and polychrome paintings dating to the Archaic Period; possible representational images and masks from the Formative/Ceramic Period; and dynamic scenes of humans, horses, and other animals dating to the 1800s. Ten pictographs were directly dated using plasma oxidation radiocarbon dating of paint samples. In addition to the rock art, other evidence of past human interaction with the landscapes of southeastern New Mexico is presented. The rock art panels are surrounded by shrine features, cairns, rock walls, house structures, and agave baking pits. Most of the rock art is associated with distinctive natural features such as caves, rockshelters, cliffs, and boulder outcrops. When considered together, the rock art, shrines, striking vistas, and dynamic settings provide profound insights into the ways in which the past inhabitants of the canyons and mountains of the Guadalupe Mountains engaged with the natural and spiritual world.
The rock art at the Robert’s Indian Caves site (LA14288) was recorded as part of New Mexico’s Per... more The rock art at the Robert’s Indian Caves site (LA14288) was recorded as part of New Mexico’s Permian Basin cooperative agreement where oil companies, the Bureau of Land Management, and the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office have created a system to complete problem-oriented archaeological research. Tool grooves and small holes drilled into the rock surface at the Robert’s site were recorded and suggested to represent the making of arrow and atlatl foreshafts. Additional research is needed to find and record similar holes at other sites for comparison to the Robert’s site.
Redacted version with site location information removed: contact the BLM Carlsbad Field Office o... more Redacted version with site location information removed: contact the BLM Carlsbad Field Office or lead author for an unredacted copy.
This report presents the results of the archaeological documentation and interpretation of 21 rock art sites on lands in the Guadalupe Mountains and Azotea Mesa regions administered by the Carlsbad Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management. The comprehensive documentation of rock art at 21 sites was a multidisciplinary and multiphase effort over the course of two years that involved several specialists as well as field and post-field consultations with Native American Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, elders, and other representatives. The rock art and surrounding occupation areas of 21 sites were documented. This vast and varied panorama of rock art paintings and engravings spanned a period of at least 4,000 years. A total of 168 rock art panels with 1,045 individual elements were drawn, photographed, and described. The artistic and symbolic content of the panels include abstract paintings, zigzag elements, and polychrome paintings dating to the Archaic Period; possible representational images and masks from the Formative/Ceramic Period; and dynamic scenes of humans, horses, and other animals dating to the 1800s. Ten pictographs were directly dated using plasma oxidation radiocarbon dating of paint samples. In addition to the rock art, other evidence of past human interaction with the landscapes of southeastern New Mexico is presented. The rock art panels are surrounded by shrine features, cairns, rock walls, house structures, and agave baking pits. Most of the rock art is associated with distinctive natural features such as caves, rockshelters, cliffs, and boulder outcrops. When considered together, the rock art, shrines, striking vistas, and dynamic settings provide profound insights into the ways in which the past inhabitants of the canyons and mountains of the Guadalupe Mountains engaged with the natural and spiritual world.
The rock art at the Robert’s Indian Caves site (LA14288) was recorded as part of New Mexico’s Per... more The rock art at the Robert’s Indian Caves site (LA14288) was recorded as part of New Mexico’s Permian Basin cooperative agreement where oil companies, the Bureau of Land Management, and the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office have created a system to complete problem-oriented archaeological research. Tool grooves and small holes drilled into the rock surface at the Robert’s site were recorded and suggested to represent the making of arrow and atlatl foreshafts. Additional research is needed to find and record similar holes at other sites for comparison to the Robert’s site.
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Books by Larry Loendorf
This report presents the results of the archaeological documentation and interpretation of 21 rock art sites on lands in the Guadalupe Mountains and Azotea Mesa regions administered by the Carlsbad Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management. The comprehensive documentation of rock art at 21 sites was a multidisciplinary and multiphase effort over the course of two years that involved several specialists as well as field and post-field consultations with Native American Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, elders, and other representatives.
The rock art and surrounding occupation areas of 21 sites were documented. This vast and varied panorama of rock art paintings and engravings spanned a period of at least 4,000 years. A total of 168 rock art panels with 1,045 individual elements were drawn, photographed, and described. The artistic and symbolic content of the panels include abstract paintings, zigzag elements, and polychrome paintings dating to the Archaic Period; possible representational images and masks from the Formative/Ceramic Period; and dynamic scenes of humans, horses, and other animals dating to the 1800s.
Ten pictographs were directly dated using plasma oxidation radiocarbon dating of paint samples.
In addition to the rock art, other evidence of past human interaction with the landscapes of southeastern New Mexico is presented. The rock art panels are surrounded by shrine features, cairns, rock walls, house structures, and agave baking pits. Most of the rock art is associated with distinctive natural features such as caves, rockshelters, cliffs, and boulder outcrops. When considered together, the rock art, shrines, striking vistas, and dynamic settings provide profound insights into the ways in which the past inhabitants of the canyons and mountains of the Guadalupe Mountains engaged with the natural and spiritual world.
Papers by Larry Loendorf
This report presents the results of the archaeological documentation and interpretation of 21 rock art sites on lands in the Guadalupe Mountains and Azotea Mesa regions administered by the Carlsbad Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management. The comprehensive documentation of rock art at 21 sites was a multidisciplinary and multiphase effort over the course of two years that involved several specialists as well as field and post-field consultations with Native American Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, elders, and other representatives.
The rock art and surrounding occupation areas of 21 sites were documented. This vast and varied panorama of rock art paintings and engravings spanned a period of at least 4,000 years. A total of 168 rock art panels with 1,045 individual elements were drawn, photographed, and described. The artistic and symbolic content of the panels include abstract paintings, zigzag elements, and polychrome paintings dating to the Archaic Period; possible representational images and masks from the Formative/Ceramic Period; and dynamic scenes of humans, horses, and other animals dating to the 1800s.
Ten pictographs were directly dated using plasma oxidation radiocarbon dating of paint samples.
In addition to the rock art, other evidence of past human interaction with the landscapes of southeastern New Mexico is presented. The rock art panels are surrounded by shrine features, cairns, rock walls, house structures, and agave baking pits. Most of the rock art is associated with distinctive natural features such as caves, rockshelters, cliffs, and boulder outcrops. When considered together, the rock art, shrines, striking vistas, and dynamic settings provide profound insights into the ways in which the past inhabitants of the canyons and mountains of the Guadalupe Mountains engaged with the natural and spiritual world.