Petroglyph Rubbing Item Number: 2003-52/WA3 from the The Burke: University of Washington
Description
Petroglyph rubbing on webril with blue and black ink. A. Gillespie 2/12/2004 From "Descriptive Catalogue of Petroglyph Prints for the University of Washington, from The Dalles Dam Reservoir, 1956." by Mark Hedden, located in the Archaeology Archives: " "Watermonster" (?): Large, oval body with vertical stem bisecting, and horizontal zigzags suggesting rib, water, or carapace; round head directly attached to body, with large round dots as eyes, slightly curved mouthline and small nosedot; headdress or horns attached to head as rounded cones segmented by pattern of horizontal dashes, ending with two, parallel arcs flaring off; five fingered appendages, one having more the appearance of a flipper than a hand; a curious tail, which appears on certain painted birds on cliffs nearby, consisting of concentric arcs with a spike center. Head is flanked by two small dots at juncture with body. On the same level, but flanking the upper hands or flippers, are two centered ovals or circles, one having quite distinctly the appearance of a 'classic' Northwest Coast eye design. Adjacent, right, to the 'Watermonster', is the head of another figure with no apparent body. The head consists of a circular outline with a straight noseridge extending from the 'crown' of the head to the mouth-line. Two dots indicate eyes. The figure is topped by a single, rounded cone, segmented, like the 'watermonster', by horizontal dashes, with two flaring extensions on each side. The segmented cone is complemented below by a similar cone, oriented in the opposite direction. On the whole, the design suggests a head on representation of a Northwest Coast bird mask, with open jaws revealing a face enclosed. A smaller, but very indistinct version of the same head appears tangent to the larger face. Other designs include a circle wit four rays and circular terminations, with a very delicate weblike carving above. A quadruped with body and legs suggesting a sawhorse, appears below the smaller face. Adjacent, left, to the "Watermonster", are two centered circles on stems, with short rays. Although there are no other features or head outline, the design, by itself, is a very characteristic treatment of the eye, which appears elsewhere in this area ( See WA16 ). Directly above this is a star, with a centered circle as center, and four lenticular points. Another design appears above the star but does not conform to a definite pattern. The elements include two centered ovals superimposed (vertebrae ?) and a zigzag or triangle at the upper end."
Geographical Search Terms
Eastern Washington Klickitat County Lower Columbia North America Pacific Northwest Plateau Washington State Western United States
Credit Line
Gift of Mark Hedden
Dimension Details
L:127.500 cm, Length(Part 2), W:170.000 cm, Width(Part 2)
Item History
- Collected by Mark Hedden on January 1, 1956
What
- Name
- Petroglyph Rubbing
- Identification Number
- 2003-52/WA3
- Type of Item
- petroglyph rubbing
- Material
- webril and ink
- Overall
- length 128.27 cm, width 56.515 cm, height 0.0 cm, diameter 0.0 cm, circumference 0.0 cm, weight 0.0 g
Who
- Field Collector
- Mark Hedden
Where
- Holding Institution
- The Burke: University of Washington
When
- Collection Date
- on January 1, 1956
Other
- Accession Number
- 2003-52
- Collection
- Burke Museum Archaeology Collection
- Object Count
- 2
- Object Category
- Reproduction
- Object Sub Category
- Reproduction, Composite