The Medallion, Volume 51, Number 3, Summer 2013 Page: 6
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HUGE HISTORY
Ranches and Ranges Preserve Texas Mountain Trail's Lofty Heritage
Text and Photos by Andy Rhodes
Managing Editor, The Medallionon approach, the rock shelter in Big Bend Ranch State
k appears to be a simple outcropping of limestone. Even
its shadowy nook is modest and unassuming, belying the
historical treasure within.
Once inside, it takes nearly a minute for your eyes to
fully adjust and absorb the magnitude of the ancient artwork
on the ceiling's rock canvas. One by one, they appear-
first the black fingers, then white, and finally red outlines
of the most recognizable and primal forms of human
connection: hands.
These mesmerizing pictographs, painted by Native
Americans up to 2,000 years ago, represent some of the
finest accessible rock art in the Trans-Pecos region ofTexas. The site, named Manos Arriba (Spanish for "hands
above"), is especially distinctive because it is one of
the region's only known archeological sites to feature
handprints exclusively.
"I think it's wonderful that visitors can take their time
experiencing this amazing rock art and make their own
decisions about the meaning behind the handprints," says
Blaine Hall, interpretive ranger at the park.
He adds that park archeologists have determined Native
Americans created the pictographs' pigments by mixing
water and powdered natural materials like manganese oxide
and hematite. Perhaps the most important element
was the binder-usually a portion of animal fat.Pictographs of human handprints decorate the ceiling of a rock shelter in Big Bend Ranch State Park.
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Texas Historical Commission. The Medallion, Volume 51, Number 3, Summer 2013, periodical, Summer 2013; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth342078/m1/6/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Commission.