Found: Native American Pictographs​

Found in on Hospital Rock a POI in Sequoia National Park: prehistoric rock art or pictographs that go back to the natives who lived here....
Pictograph, Sequoia National Park
Native American Pictographs, Sequoia National Park, California

How about a pictograph for this week’s Monday Mural?

This ancient mural was a surprise find in Sequoia National Park when we were there a couple of months back. We had made a stop at Hospital Rock (the rock in the picture) when I spotted some red and black colouring on the side of the rock.

Curious about it, I went closer. It was only when I got to the top of the steps leading to the rock that I saw that they might be pre-historic inscriptions.

This rock art can be attributed to the Native Americans who lived up here on the western slopes of the Southern Sierras. While I was doing some reading on the park, I had learned that they lived here till the 1870’s. Then they were exposed to diseases that came with the outsiders who visited their parts. And then the numbers of the natives began to dwindle.

Petroglyph, Hospital Rock, Sequoia National Park.
A closer look at the drawings on Hospital Rock.
Rock Art on Hospital Rock, Sequoia National Park.
The Pictograph zoomed in.
Rock Art, Petroglyph

How to get to this pictograph

Look out for Hospital Rock. The rock stands just off General’s Highway, the main road that runs through Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks. If you are driving into the park from Three Rivers, you will find a marker to this stop around 6 miles from the entrance of the park.

Look for the Hospital Rock picnic area. The Hospital Rock is right across the road from there.

Found in Sequoia National Park - Native American Drawings.

Hospital Rock

The information on a board near Hospital Rock says this structure was a sacred site for the tribes that lived and died here. There was no explanation as to why it’s called Hospital Rock.

However, here’s what I found on Wikipedia:

Hospital Rock was once home to 500 Potwisha Native AmericansArchaeological evidence shows settlement as early as 1350, and bedrock mortar sites and petroglyphs remain. The Native Americans mostly used this site in the winter months. In 1860, Hale Tharp and his brother-in-law, John Swanson, were exploring the Giant Forest when Swanson sustained an injury to his leg. Swanson was transported to the locale where the injury was treated by local Indians. Hale Tharp gave the spot its name after a second similar incident. In 1873, James Everton recovered from a gunshot wound at the site. He had been injured by a shotgun snare set to trap bear.

Near the Hospital Rock, one can also see a rock with several mortars carved onto it. It is believed that there was once a community kitchen here that allowed many people to grind or pound food here at the same time.

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&
Our World Tuesday

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Dee (Divya): Blogger, Freelance Content Writer & Content Strategist. | 📸 Loves tripping.🛣 Tipsy from every TRIP!😬🫣 | 🏞Follow > for intoxicating virtual trips!🥂😉
18 Comments on this post.
  • joshi daniel
    27 January 2019 at 9:37 pm
    Leave a Reply

    That is wonderful 🙂

    • dNambiar
      28 January 2019 at 7:08 pm
      Leave a Reply

      It is, no?

      Thank you for coming this way, JD. 🙂

  • Mae
    27 January 2019 at 11:37 pm
    Leave a Reply

    Pictographs are definitely a type of mural — great that you thought of it. Unfortunately there are terrible people in this world who love to deface ancient pictographs — I hope your directions to this area don’t fall into their hands.

    best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    • dNambiar
      28 January 2019 at 7:13 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Thank you, Mae.

      I hope not. The Federal shutdown has not been kind to NPs. 😐

      Long live this rock art.

  • Bertie
    28 January 2019 at 12:56 am
    Leave a Reply

    Interesting. Thanks for sharing

    • dNambiar
      28 January 2019 at 7:13 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Thank YOU, Bertie, for visiting. 🙂

  • Sami Veloso
    28 January 2019 at 1:22 am
    Leave a Reply

    That is “the” original mural. Thanks for the great find Dee.

    • dNambiar
      28 January 2019 at 7:14 pm
      Leave a Reply

      It is, right? 🙂
      Thank you for this opportunity to showcase it, Sami.

      Have a great week. 🙂

  • Iris Flavia
    28 January 2019 at 3:39 am
    Leave a Reply

    The beginning…

    • dNambiar
      28 January 2019 at 7:15 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Actually! 🙂

      Thank you for stopping by, Iris, 🙂

  • tomthebackroadstraveller
    28 January 2019 at 8:16 am
    Leave a Reply

    …an ancient mural, wonderful.

    • dNambiar
      28 January 2019 at 7:16 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Like Sami says — the original mural, or one of them. 🙂

      Have a great week, Tom. 🙂

  • The Untourists
    30 January 2019 at 6:59 pm
    Leave a Reply

    So beautiful. I am fascinated with Native American culture. Have you been able to find any place that serves Native American cuisine, as original as possible? In my short visit to the US I couldn’t…

    • dNambiar
      1 February 2019 at 1:15 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Hmm…good question. I wonder why I didn’t even think of looking for that. 🙂 Let me see if I can find something for you for your next visit. 😉

  • Niranjan R
    31 January 2019 at 5:19 am
    Leave a Reply

    Wow. This looks interesting.

    • dNambiar
      1 February 2019 at 1:16 pm
      Leave a Reply

      It is intriguing, alle?

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    9 February 2020 at 6:36 pm
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