McConkie Ranch—Dry Fork Canyon
Archaeological Site
Rock Art
This page contains a discussion of the rock art found at the McConkie Ranch—Dry Fork Canyon Archaeological Site near Vernal, Utah. All photographs are from our our personal collection. If you'd like to see more rock art from this location, or if you'd like to see higher resolution or larger images, send us an e-mail message and we'll see what we can do.
Most of the rock art on these panels appears to have been created by the Fremont Culture in what is knows as the Classic Vernal Style between 1 and 1200 A.D.. However, there are a few "shields" that may have been added later by the Ute peoples. See our personal notes for more details. There are many small panels on the sandstone surfaces all along about a 200 yard cliff face. The more dramatic anthropomorphic figures tend to be along the more northern group of panels.
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- See American Antiquities Act of 1906.
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This is a good example of the striking character of many of the anthropomorphic figures found at this site. Most of the pieces are petroglyphs, but there are examples of pictographs as well. One of the features that we had not seen before are the head shaped figures dangling between the apparently locked arms of two larger figures. Signs at the location speculate as to the possibility that these ancient peoples were head hunters. Our guess would be that these small figures represent offspring wrapped in swaddling clothes. Kind of an ancient family tree. |
As you walk along the rough path below the cliff face you come around a corner of rock to be confronted by this life size image (see close-up of the upper body), along with the character whose face you see at the top of this page. They are both a combination of petroglyphs and pictographs, with the red and white paint apparently applied after the pecking work was completed. They are both under a large overhang, so most of the paint work has been preserved in those areas closer to the protective covering. This makes me wonder if some of the other, more exposed, figures had once been painted as well. Perhaps their more exposed nature has allowed the paint to wash away. There are some figures that have a pecked headdress and earrings and eyes and nose, but there is no real head. I wonder if perhaps the head was painted in originally but is now eroded away. |
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Two larger than life sized figures were these fellows, standing side by side on a prominent panel. They have elaborate head gear and breastplates, and appear to be standing in front of shields, held behind them by their arms. This is a unique perspective that we have not seen on other panels elsewhere. Next to this pair (just visible in the lower right corner) there is an older, smaller figure, that appears to have a grass skirt and a series of ever larger triangular forms creating a breastwork. The head area is somewhat faded with time, but small dots can be made out at the site. The shield of the newer figure cuts across much of this older image. |
More Rock Art
All of these photos have been resized and manipulated in Photoshop to give the best representation of the image. Some color distortion is inevitable. If you would like to see higher quality versions of these shots, or if you would like to use these images for any purpose, please contact us and we would be glad to help if we can.
