Petroglyphs

On a not so sunny Saturday afternoon in November, while running errands into Nanaimo
for a Thanksgiving celebration, JV and I stopped at a local Provincial Park, tucked right by the side of the highway that runs from the bottom to the top of Vancouver
Island. As is often the case with these places, because they are so convenient, we rarely take the time to go to them. We like "planning" to go places. Lucky for us that thanks to the weather, few other people had the same idea, and we had the whole place nearly to ourselves.

I first heard of pictographs(rock paintings) and petroglyphs (rock carving) when I began my work with In-SHUCK-ch. The traditional territory has a number of them and we have struggled for a number of years to find ways to protect them. They are a significant part of their culture and mark important moments in their community. Since this group is considered somewhat remote thanks to the fact that access is limited by a forest service road, they have managed to protect them better than other First Nations. In the Kamloops area, the First Nations there have lost some of their pictographs to unscrupulous people who have removed them with chisels and large vehicles.

Near our house in Phoenix, there is a collection (over hundreds of petroglyphs) on what looks like a great mound of rocks. There is no real explanation about why there are so many; there are theories that include from a "message board" for groups that passed through on their way to hunting. I have taken a few guests there and each time, I marvel at the work it took, and wonder why do it at all. The interpretive center is quite good and the resident Tohono O'odam docent is very helpful. They have a pretty good website.

The petroglyphs in the Provincial Park are quite spectacular, though not many. They are quite a contrast to their desert cousins; they are on prone rocks, sheltered by trees and partially covered by moss. There are some interpretive signs that explain the symbols carved. I've included a recent article on the site that I have edited a bit for length so that you too can be knowledgeable about some of the issues. It's a little longer than I usually post, but the issue is worthy.


Man, Nature Causing Erosion of Island Petroglyphs
Times Colonist (Victoria) Saturday, January 24, 2009 Page C04 By Dustin Walker

Gary Manson raises his voice against the roar of traffic as he walks toward the entrance of Petroglyph Provincial Park, a two-hectare parcel near a highway dotted with aboriginal rock carvings. The petroglyphs are more than 1,000 years old, but are quickly becoming extinct because of both man and nature.

"It's a place for dreams," says Manson, an elder and spiritualist with the Snuneymuxw First Nations. This is where the powerful shaman Thauxwaam was turned to stone by the creator Xaals as punishment for his arrogance, explained the elder. "He dared talk disrespectfully to Xaals."
Years ago this park was a spiritual refuge for the Snuneymuxw, said Manson. But as traffic increased and more people began visiting the park, it lost its sense of otherworldly solitude.

"Every petroglyph contains our ancestors' spirit. Due to the traffic around us, it has been weakened by that," said Mason. "It's hard for people to use it now. When we do our vision quests, we want our alone time. The traffic is a distraction."

Although there are replicas of the petroglyphs in the park, visitors seeking out the original carvings hidden among the trees and bushes have worn away the artifacts. Vandalism has also been a problem over the years.
While this petroglyph site is relatively well-known in Nanaimo, there are many other First Nations relics in and around the community that people might walk past without even knowing it.
Dealing with these ancient sites presents a dilemma, says Doug Glaum, a manager with the archaeology branch of the B.C. Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts.
If you draw too much attention to them, it will attract more people eager for a peek at the relics and increase the chance that the carvings will be worn away or vandalized. Keep them hidden, and they could be destroyed inadvertently.
For example, hikers and all-terrain vehicles have ground away unmarked petroglyphs several kilometres away on the slopes of Mount Benson, the peak that overlooks Nanaimo and offers a vista of the Strait of Georgia.

Even if they are unaware they are doing so, people who damage or disrupt petroglyphs risk angering the powerful spirits that reside within them, warns Manson.

"You do not want to bring something to life you can't deal with," said Manson. "When you run into this stuff, be careful with it. When you visit the site, be respectful of it."

A number of such relics have been destroyed in Nanaimo over the years, said Snuneymuxw archaeologist Lorraine Littlefield. About half a century ago, construction along Nanaimo's Departure Bay likely led to the demise of one petroglyph site that was visible at low tide.

During construction of a bridge, completed in 1878, another site was destroyed.
"There were petroglyphs all over Snuneymuxw territory, and many of them now are either buried under moss or have been destroyed by development as the town has grown," said Littlefield. Requirements that exist today for developers to report such artifacts weren't around during Nanaimo's early days.

Petroglyph Provincial Park, established in 1948 to protect the relics, still exposes them to vandalism, she said. Fences have been put up to guide visitors away from trails that lead to sensitive sites, but there is little else to prevent people from following the well-worn paths to sensitive areas.

Manson said he would like to see more protection for petroglyphs in Nanaimo, but there is limited funding available for such projects.

.....

Patricia Ormerod, with the Archaeological Society of B.C., said opinion surveys have shown that documenting and preserving Canada's history before European settlers isn't a major priority for the public.

Gaining funding to preserve a heritage building is also generally easier to secure from the province that securing cash for an archeological project.

"They are putting money into heritage, but they're putting it into European-derived heritage," she said.
Manson takes comfort that much information, such as replica castings, has been recorded about the relics in Petroglyph Park. Many archeologists say that even if the original site can't be preserved, at least some lessons can be taken from it.