San Rafael Swell
Rock Art:
Buckhorn Draw
This page contains a discussion of the rock art found on the Buckhorn Draw Panel within the San Rafael Swell in 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.
As one drives south down Buckhorn Draw there is a large bend in the canyon. On the left there is a parking area and a marked panel of pictographs. The long, impressive panel faces the south. It is perhaps 100 feet long, with most of the images well above the present ground level. These are some of the most ghostly and impressive Barrier Canyon style figures that I have seen, ranking with pictographs from Thompson Canyon to the east and the Great Gallery of Horseshoe Canyon to the south, as well as similar pictographs found at the Lower Courthouse Wash site in Arches National Park.
There had been a great deal of vandalism on this panel, but volunteers have cleaned it up nicely. Some shadowy remnants attest to the destructive nature of modern Man.
The panel is composed of large painted anthropomorphs and related figures that closely resemble the pictographs at Lower Courthouse Wash near Moab, as they are both in the Barrier Canyon Style, but the Buckhorn Draw figures are quite different from the figures in the Great Gallery, having elongated, narrow bodies, short legs, and outstretched, short arms with hands. Many of them also have horns rather than the antennae found in the Great Gallery.
Several colors have been used, including maroon, hematite red, and limonite yellow. Many of the figures have been outlined in white, as was done at Courthouse Wash.
The figures lack complex interior designs found at the Great Gallery, but snakes, wavy lines, and tiny animals are drawn around the figures in complex compositions as at Great Gallery. One large snake appears to be attacking a red anthropomorph.
- Archaeological Resources Protection Act Hotline: 800-227-7286.
- See Archaeological Site Etiquette.
- See American Antiquities Act of 1906.
- See Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979.
- See More Rock Art Sites.
Other rock art sites within the San Rafael Swell:
Photo Gallery
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.
Select an image to see a full sized version.
| Anthropomorphs | |
 |
BD019: One of the main groupings of anthropomorphs on this large panel. Most of the figures at this site are of the Barrier Canyon style, but show the similarity of that style of pictograph to the Classic Vernal style Fremont petroglyphs, with their elongated trapezoidal and triangular shaped torsos. |
 |
BD13: This anthropomorph has no "arms" but appears to be holding sticks or some sort of weapon, attached to the shoulder areas. This figure also has the "heart mark" as well as similar pecking at the shoulders. |
 |
BD021: This anthropomorph appears to be holding a long snake. It also has the "heart mark." |
 |
BD017: There are two similar Barrier Canyon style figures in this photo, as well as a smaller figure that appears to be of a slightly different style, perhaps Fremont. |
 |
BD016: The larger, prominent figure here has raised arms, one of which has a hand with spread fingers. The other arm appears to be holding a stick or weapon of some sort. There is also a smaller, lighter, reddish colored figure to the left of the larger figure. This smaller figure appears to have raised arms and may be Fremont. |
 |
BD033: This figure appears older than some and is very similar to those found in Horseshoe Canyon within the Great Gallery. It has the "heart mark" which was obviously added much later. |
 |
BD027: This is another very old figure with a light "heart mark." |
 |
BD003: Here is a nice group of figures of various types. The figure to the left appears to be a "carrot man" style. The largest figure also has somewhat of a "carrot man" torso, but has raised arms ending in blobs. The figure has a thick neck and rounded bucket-like head with no features. Next there is a snake and an unidentifiable object, followed by two more thing anthropomorphs. One has a trapezoidal shaped body with legs and feet, and has raised arms, one of which has and hand with a pair of fingers. The last anthropomorph is slightly bent over toward the right and has extended arms that seem to be coaxing a small zoomorph. |
 |
BD005: This is a close up of the largest figure found within image BD003. |
 |
BD004: This is a close up of the two right-most figures in BD003. |
 |
BD028: It is difficult to say what this group represents. They could be stylized anthropomorphs marching in a row with long spears. |
 |
BD039: This group of anthropomorphs appear to have wings, similar to at least one other figure we've seen in Horseshoe Canyon. |
 |
BD041: This is a closer look at two of the "winged" figures in BD039. |
 |
BD040: And a closer look at another of the "winged" figures in BD039. |
 |
BD009: There are several figures in this section of the panel. To the left in this view there are several faded lines that may or may not represent anthropomorphs. But there are three prominent anthropomorphs to the right. One small figure with raised arms appears to holding snakes. The larger, elongated figure also has raised arms and appears to be reaching for or otherwise engaged with a very long snake. This may be a horned snake, but it is difficult to tell. The third, smaller, carrot man type figure has lowered arms and may have a large heart mark in its chest. |
 |
BD011: This is a slightly different view of the two main figures within the group in BD009. |
 |
BD010: This is an enlarged view of the smallest figure (in the lower right) in photo BD009. It appears that the figure wears a feathered headdress. You can also see that the right hand is somewhat claw-like, while the left hand appears to be holding something that looks like a sword. It is difficult to tell what the basket-like image is supposed to represent, just to the right of the anthropomorph. The red line across the top may be a snake, but it is difficult to tell. |
 |
BD012: This is even a closer look at image BD010. |
 |
BD043: This is another cluster of anthropomorphs along the panel. This group was painted on a large concoidal fracture in the very uniformly composed sandstone that creates the working surface. The cliff face is very tall and impressive. |
 |
BD22: This is a close up of the left most group of figures in BD043. The largest, most prominent figure has dramatically outstretched arms and has a raised area that appears to be a head, with short, pointed ears, giving this figure a bat-like appearance. |
 |
BD044: This is a close up of the two right figures in BD043. The larger figure has outstretched arms and appears to be holding a club or some other large object in its left hand. The thin figure to the left of the larger figure could either be a very thin anthropomorph or perhaps an outstretched snake. If so, it may be a horned snake. |
 |
BD037: This is another pair of figures that are very similar to BD044, but less well defined. |
 |
BD17: These two elongated pictographs have the heart mark, like so many others at this site. The figure on the left is somewhat of a carrot man, with no arms. The figure on the right has raised arms and a heart mark type pecking in what would be the groin area. |
 |
BD032: This is a closer view of the right figure in BD026. |
 |
BD023: This interesting figure has a right arm that curves down toward its torso, with a four-fingered hand. The left arm extends horizontally from the shoulder and has six vertical lines descending from it, giving the impression of an opened wing. One of the middle vertical lines extends farther downward than the others, and also extends above the arm, creating a fine arc over the head and downward on the far side of the figure. The figure also has legs and feet, and my have a heart mark that has been repatinated. |
 |
BD022: This is a tall, thin figure with legs and pointed feet. There appears to be some residual color around the chest area, and the figure appears to have a repatinated heart mark. |
 |
BD020: This figure is unusual in that the torso is made up of painted dots in its upper half, and a solid pigmenting in the lower torso, giving it somewhat of a carrot man figure. It has prominent raised arms ending in four and five fingered hands. There does not appear to be a head, and, there may be a "heart mark" in the groin area. There is a smaller figure of a slightly different style to the right, also with upraised arms, and with short spread legs. This figure may also have the "heart mark" in the groin area. |
 |
BD018: This figure has upraised arms and a small head. It may also have the "heart mark" in its stomach area, and there may be a more faded mark in the groin area. |
 |
BD007: This image shows an anthropomorph and two zoomorphs. The anthropomorph has a carrot man torso but with legs positioned so that it appears the figure is facing the two zoomorphs. The smaller of the two zoomorphs looks something like a cat or dog and appears to be leaping onto the head of the anthropomorph. The other zoomorph appears to be a large horned snake with an open mouth. |
 |
BD3: This image has several anthropomorphs and one zoomorph that may be a horned snake. The main figure has a carrot man torso with short legs and outstretched arms. |
 |
BD006: This is a featureless carrot man figure that has a row of white dots painted above its head. |
 |
BD049: This is a close up of one of the figures in panels BD15 and BD031 below. It appears to be a winged anthropomorph attended by a couple of zoomorph spirit helpers. |
| Geometric Figures and Patterns | |
 |
BD18: This is an unusual group of designs. The one in the upper left has somewhat of an Egyptian scarab appearance. |
 |
BD035: This is a close up of the "scarab" portion of image BD18. It also has the look of some sort of plant, perhaps a bloom or seed pod of some variety. |
 |
BD038: This is a close up of the lower right figure in BD18. It is hard to identify what it might be. |
 |
BD008: Three parallel rows of painted red dots. This group of dots is several feet long and high up on the panel. |
 |
BD013: This is a group of faded figures, with the most prominent being a series of red painted vertical bars joined at the top, giving the appearance of a fence. However, this group of vertical bars may be an extension of the left arm of a faded anthropomorphic figure. |
 |
BD030: A series of 14 vertical marks. Perhaps some sort of calendar or counting device. |
 |
BD036: It's hard to tell what this might represent. It is drawn diagonally with thick outer lines and a series of parallel interior lines. There does appear to be a wavy line to the left of the figure which might represent the tail of a snake. It's possible that this was an anthropomorph, with the top portion now eroded away. |
 |
BD046: This figure is very faint and has had some historic abuse. It is difficult to say what it might be. |
| Panels | |
 |
BD11: This is one of the main groupings of pictographs at this site. |
 |
BD024: This is a slightly different view of BD11, taken at a different angle at a later date, with different lighting and a different camera. |
 |
BD14: This is another of the main groupings at this site, and perhaps one of the more interesting groups of petroglyphs within Utah. |
 |
BD025: This is a different view of BD14, taken on a later date with different lighting and camera conditions. |
 |
BD15: This is a close up of the upper right portion of BD14 and BD025. This is possibly the most interesting and intricately composed groups at this site. |
 |
BD031: This is another image of BD15 taken on a later date with different lighting and camera conditions. |
 |
BD051: This is a close up of the top portion of BD15 and BD031. |
 |
BD2: This is a set of some of the few petroglyphs at this site. There appears to be a central anthropomorph, while the most identifiable figure is in the upper left and appears to be an elk stag with an exaggerated rack. |
 |
BD002: This is another view of BD2. |
 |
BD23: This is another of the main panels at this site. |
 |
BD047: This is a different view of BD23, taken at a later time with different lighting and camera conditions. |
 |
BD7: This is an interesting pair of figures. One is of an anthropomorph, while the other is a relatively large horned snake, apparently coiled and ready to strike. Perhaps this pair represents a snake charmer. |
 |
BD8: One of the more faded panels at this site. |
 |
BD015: This is a close up of BD8, taken at on a later date. It is possible to make out a few more details. |
 |
BD9: A close up of a portion of one of the more faded panels at this site. If you look closely near the bottom of this image you can make out what appears to be a large zoomorph, facing to the left. |
 |
BD034: A panel view, containing images BD18, BD035, BD037, and BD038. |
 |
BD048: Many of the images on this panel are intriguing and ghostly. Very unusual and a bit spooky. I believe this is a very old panel, going back thousands of years. Most of the main images are about five to six feet tall. Also, notice that most of the figures have a chipped out spot about where the heart would be. My first thought was that some cowpoke had used them for target practice. But if that is the case, then he was darn accurate and consistent. I couldn't find any evidence of where he might have missed. I suspect that these may have been done intentionally, either by the original artist or by a subsequent group. Perhaps to release the soul of the person the figure was intended to represent. But who knows for sure. |
| Zoomorphs | |
 |
BD1: This is one of the few petroglyphs found at this site. It shows what appears to be a two-headed mountain sheep or Desert Bighorn. Some believe this may represent a birth, and I tend to agree. At other locations where similar images appear, one of the heads is always much smaller than the other. The torso of this figure is unusual in that it is rectangular, and appears to be divided into quarters. There is also what might be a portion of an atlatl in the upper left, and maybe another, smaller zoomorph in the upper right. |
 |
BD001: This is a different view of BD1. |
 |
BD029: This little pictograph looks a bit like a running rabbit. |
 |
BD042: This zoomorph appears as a spirit helper to one of the anthropomorphs. It could be almost any critter. |
 |
BD050: This is a close up of part of one of the panels, showing what may be the head of a horned snake, and perhaps the head of another "normal" snake. |
