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Bioregional Outdoor
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Outdoor Education for K-8 Teachers

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Employment, Education, and Leadership

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Adventure Education with a Mission and Expert Guides

 Discovery Institute for Conservation Education (DICE)

Place-based Learning about the Colorado Plateau
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Rock Art

Rock art, a generic term referring to paintings (pictographs) and carvings (petroglyphs) on stone canvasses, is one of the earliest creations of humankind. In the caves and rock shelters of France and Australia are found prehistoric paintings dating from between 45,000 and 35,000 years ago. In the American Southwest, the earliest rock art is associated with the Archaic culture and ranges from abstracts and geometrics to representational life forms such as anthropomorphs (human-like) and zoomorphs (animal-like). Petroglyphs are predominant in this period, with isolated instances of both painted and pecked features.

Archaic rock art on the Colorado Plateau is world renowned for the Barrier Canyon Style anthropomorphs. This style features large, human-like, front-facing figures that are elaborately costumed and headressed, and are ceremonial or other-worldly in appearance.

Rock art of the late Basketmaker through "Pueblo Anasazi" is abundant on the Colorado Plateau, particularly along the San Juan River. Anthropomorphs and zoomorphs predominate, but the figures are smaller, more abstracted, and less elaborately detailed than Archaic depictions. Significantly, the figures are often shown in animated postures and feature arms and legs, and sometimes shields. Both petroglyphs and pictographs are common during this period. One major, noteworthy Basketmaker rock art type is the San Juan Anthropomorphic Style, named for its predominance along the San Juan River. The elaborately decorated, front-facing figures sport masks, abstract elements around the ears and above the head, and feature arm, hand, leg and foot appendages.

Later rock art in the region includes realistic Ute and Navajo depictions of horses, warriors, women and children, sun and star motifs, shields, and battle scenes. In one instance along the San Juan River, a historic shoot-out between Anglos and Utes is illustrated.