Transactions of the Regional Archeological Symposium for Southeastern New Mexico and Western Texas: 1983 Page: 84
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Archeological inves-igations in the lower Trans-Pecos region have
established occupancy by native peoples back to ancient.times. The records
also show almost continuous occupancy of some sites by various peoples
down to historic times. It is not the purpose of this paper to examine
the full archeological record at Meyer's Spring, but rather to focus on
the unique aspect of Indian occupancy of the site
Just to the east of Bullis's tank and the mouth of the spring, there
is a large cliff face some fifty feet in height and three hundred feet in
length. It is a continuation of the same wall from which the spring issued
and one of many along the rocky canyon that eventually empties into Lozier
Canyon and the Rio Grande. Rocky ledges overhang much f the wall, pro-
tecting it somewhat crom the elements.
Beneath the protective overhag, upo hat c iff face, is one of the
largest collections of Indian pictographs in the state of Texas. A
profusion of human and animal figures, abstract symbols, and doodles are
jumbled together and atop one another in a variety of types and styles.
The paintings cover the limestone wall.to a height of about twelve feet
and extend along the wall for about seventy-five yards. In addition to
the unified span of paintings there are isolated drawings scattered about
the site. When artist Forrest Kirkland copied the paintings in the summer
of 1935, it required ten drawing boards to record them all. (See Figure 4)
The lower half of the shelter face has been repeatedly covered by
water as the result of drainage through the canyon. The persistence of
the paintings testifies to the quality of the Indian paints. The pre-
dominant color is red. An Indian comment on paints yields information
regarding the nature of the paint bases:
"Long ago there was no such thing as a mixture of
earths to make paint. There were only three colors
of native earth paint--red, white, and black. These
could be obtained only in certain places. When other
colors were desired, the Indians mixed the juices of
plants, but it was found that these mixed colors faded
and it could always be told whe. T re' ,as genine -
the red made cf brned c_ lay."
All the rock art ct Meyers Spring consst of pictograph8. That is,
they are painted on the surface of the rock, rather than being carved into
it. Historic awareness of the paintings dates back to at least 1858. A
map dated to that year shows Meyer's Canyon and refers to it as "Painted
Rock Arroyo." Other early maps use similar des- <ig ,ons
The red pictographs were painted using an ion oxcide or, simply, red
earth. The exact nature of the substances which were mixed with the earth
to produce paint is unknown, though several theories exist. In addition
to several shades of red, there are a few yellow-colored paintings, also
an earth color. One or two figures in black, made from charcoal, are now
rather dim (Other Texas sites reveal e fort- color, white., mae from
chalk deposits).
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Transactions of the Regional Symposium for Southeastern New Mexico and Western Texas: Index to Volumes 1-57 [1965-2024] (Book)
Index to the proceedings of the regional archeological symposium including separate lists by subject, title, author, and volume along with subject categories, a map of regions, and Texas county abbreviations.
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Transactions of the Regional Archeological Symposium for Southeastern New Mexico and Western Texas: 1983, book, 1984; United States. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1661464/m1/92/?q=+date%3A1945-1972: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Southwestern Federation of Archaeological Societies.