Elk Hooves and Sharpening Grooves: Evaluating the Relationship between Three Rock Art Types on the Great Plains

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Rock Art Documentation, Research, and Analysis" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Hoofprint markings are a widespread macro tradition across the Plains and Great Lakes region but their relationship to elk imagery has not been fully explored. Along those lines, limited research has been done on what is known of track grooves or rock art imagery attributed to Indigenous women sharpening their tools and leaving groove marks on rock panels. Additionally, elk images within a ceremonial context are sometimes found at these same rock art sites. Though these traditions are commonly seen on rock art panels together, how they may relate is not fully known. In order to explore their relationship, I will compare imagery patterns and use information regarding associated artifacts, landscape features, and geological attributes from state site forms to better contextualize the images. This interpretative framework will allow me to define the relationship between hoofprint tradition, track grooves, and ceremonial elk imagery and can illuminate information on the women who created and interacted with these types of panels.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Interdisciplinary Approaches to Rock Art Documentation, Research, and Analysis   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36418.0