
Determining the meaning of the pictographs in wild horse canyon is conjectural. the following is introduced in the spirit of investigation. Feel free to say to yourself, this could be completely wrong.
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The pictographs in wild horse canyon are about progression. This group represents the spiritual ( thought) represented by white paint. And the physical (the material world) represented buy brown paint photo 1 . The figure with roots growing out of his feet might represent the material world photo 2. In his hand is a bundle of plants of some sort. The figure seem to be Offering the grass to the middle figure. photo 3. This " grass" is harvested from the ground, and the feet of this shaman (figure) are rooted in the ground. The figure to the right is hollow but his head is filled in. If you look closely you will see that the head is decorated. This figure also has white dots rising out of it's head, seemingly to represent power or knowledge coming from the head. I do not know if the people who created the painting equated the head with knowledge but for the sake of this discussion they did. photo 4
The middle figure takes from both the material and the physical. I make this assumption from the white and brown dots above the head. The dots do double duty as they make the middle figure the biggest and therefore the most important. fig 1
The next figures represent the peoples fears. One is holding a snake, his neighbors eyes are open wide in terror. fig 5
The next figures to be considered start with a figure with a feather on it's head #1. The feather represents an elder of a tribe. To the left of the feather guy are two lanky figures with long hair and faint white stripes on their upper bodies#2. The figure with the feather instructs the lanky figures. Through this instruction they go through a transformation that is represented by the dotted figure #3. The next two figures with their styled hair, bigger white spots represent the same two men after their transformation #4. Remember white represents knowledge or the spiritual.
The people who created the rock art knew its meaning. Just as we know that something with a slash through it means no, or that a red light means stop. They were familiar with a language filled with metaphor. In rock art it seem that there are many levels of meaning. you understand what you understand. It speaks to you on your own level. Perhaps the next time you will be able to understand more.
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