Pictographs on Painted Rock at the Carrizo Plain National Monument, on BLM property near Soda Lake.
Pictographs on Painted Rock at the Carrizo Plain National Monument, on BLM property near Soda Lake. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_Rock says in part Painted Rock is a smooth horseshoe-shaped marine sandstone rock formation about 250 feet across and 45 feet tall near Soda Lake within the Carrizo Plain National Monument. The interior of the rock alcove is adorned with many pictographs created by the Chumash, Salinan and Yokut peoples over many thousands of years. In recent times there have been many marks left by early settlers such as one reading "Geo. Lewis 1908", founder of Atascadero, California... there has also been major defacing of this site... Ancient rock art in red, black and white yucca pigments, and some yellow, green and blue were painted with rodent tail hair brushes or simple finger painting. Estimates are that the Chumash people first populated the Carrizo Plain about 2000 BCE but mostly abandoned it, possibly due to drought, about CE 600. The Yokut people common in the nearby San Joaquin Valley moved in and out of the Carrizo Plain area after the Chumash departed, creating their own rock art. Yokut pictographs often include large colorful figures and motifs, while the Chumash pictographs tend toward small elements, circular mandalas, and complex red, black and white panels. There is much debate about what group of native peoples lived in this area, as the Salinan, Yokut and Chumash peoples all lay claim to it. Photos by Michael "Mike" L. Baird, mike at mikebaird d o t com, flickr.bairdphotos.com; close-ups Canon 5D 100-400; wides Nikon P6000 w/ built-in GPS.
Pictographs on Painted Rock at the Carrizo Plain National Monument, on BLM property near Soda Lake.
Pictographs on Painted Rock at the Carrizo Plain National Monument, on BLM property near Soda Lake. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_Rock says in part Painted Rock is a smooth horseshoe-shaped marine sandstone rock formation about 250 feet across and 45 feet tall near Soda Lake within the Carrizo Plain National Monument. The interior of the rock alcove is adorned with many pictographs created by the Chumash, Salinan and Yokut peoples over many thousands of years. In recent times there have been many marks left by early settlers such as one reading "Geo. Lewis 1908", founder of Atascadero, California... there has also been major defacing of this site... Ancient rock art in red, black and white yucca pigments, and some yellow, green and blue were painted with rodent tail hair brushes or simple finger painting. Estimates are that the Chumash people first populated the Carrizo Plain about 2000 BCE but mostly abandoned it, possibly due to drought, about CE 600. The Yokut people common in the nearby San Joaquin Valley moved in and out of the Carrizo Plain area after the Chumash departed, creating their own rock art. Yokut pictographs often include large colorful figures and motifs, while the Chumash pictographs tend toward small elements, circular mandalas, and complex red, black and white panels. There is much debate about what group of native peoples lived in this area, as the Salinan, Yokut and Chumash peoples all lay claim to it. Photos by Michael "Mike" L. Baird, mike at mikebaird d o t com, flickr.bairdphotos.com; close-ups Canon 5D 100-400; wides Nikon P6000 w/ built-in GPS.