Found: Native American Pictographs​

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.

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.

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 Americans. Archaeological 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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