Rock Impressions

Rock Impressions. . , Stories Over Time , The earliest known southwestern rock images were created by hunter-gatherer Native People several thousand years ago., Images include representations of humans, animals, and plants as well as abstract designs like spirals, circles, stars, and dots. These images may be related to hunting rituals, water sources, migrations, astronomical events, and religious practices., In Red Rock Canyon, Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) Mojave Indians, and early explorers and settlers continued to create rock images over images through the years., Images From The Past , The red handprints at this site are pictographs. The Native People may have created them be coating their hands in paint, then pressing them on the surface of the rock to make the prints. Paints were made by mixing powdered minerals, clays, or charcoal with a liquid binder such as plant juices, saliva, or egg whites., The red pigment of these handprints came from hematite (iron oxide). Paint could be applied with fingers, hands, or fiber brushes., Leave What You Find; help keep the story intact by not touching fragile, ancient artifacts and images. ,