Photo by Bill Sontag
The Panther is one of the iconic images appearing in many Lower
Pecos rock shelters. This image is 13 feet long from tail tip around
the body axis to the nose.
SHUMLA’s research efforts
are magnified by generous
photographers – amateur or
professional – or inheritors of
photographic collections. Con -
tri butions are scanned onto the
organization’s
server
at
Comstock, and originals are
safely returned to owners.
The premise of many mod-
ern archeologists – students as
well as fledglings and veterans
– is Boyd’s affirmation of a
growing conviction: “Prehis -
toric art is not beyond explana-
tion. Images from the past con-
tain a vast corpus of data –
accessible through proven, sci-
entific methods – that can
enrich our understanding of
human lifeways in prehistory
and, at the same time, expand
our appreciation for the work
of art in the present and the
future.”
Jett’s Grill
at the historic Hotel Paisano
serving dinner 5 to 9 p.m.
seven days a week
207 N Highland Ave • Marfa
432.729.3838
ayn Foundation
(das maximum)
prints and slides from the site’s
photographic heritage.
Photo comparisons have al -
ready revealed a crisis of infes-
tations of mud dauber nests at
Panther Cave. The nests are
believed to rip ancient paint
from the walls each time aban-
doned clay tubes fall. Before
construction of Amistad Dam
– even before humans first
applied paint to the rock shelter
walls, four millennia ago – this
lithic perch was a mere over-
look into the 104-foot abyss of
the Rio Grande. But with inun-
dation by Amistad Reservoir to
a conservation pool level of
1,117 AMSL (above mean sea
level), only 27 feet below
Panther Cave, the now-famous
rock shelter became riparian
habitat, adjacent to and inter-
active with the swollen river’s
moisture and biota.
maria zerres
“The Last Supper” “September Eleven”
Brite Building 107-109 n highland, marfa
open weekends noon to 5 p.m.
Please call 432.729.3315 for more information.
open by appointment.
SHUMLA: www.shumla.org
Archaic-period paint. Mineral
pigments such as red and yel-
low ochre were blended with
animal fat (such as deer bone
marrow), then emulsified to
applicable texture with the
soapy root residue of yucca
and sotol. Studies of the calo-
rie-meager diets of Archaic
peoples further demonstrate
the value natives placed on the
spiritual importance of the
painted images. They literally
moved nutrition – in the form
of fat – from the “family table”
to “paint pots” of the shamans.
Archeologists often quibble
over imponderables in their
discipline, but one consensus is
solid. The first step to the stew-
ardship of antiquities lies in
two words: baseline data. In
essence, what’s the best infor-
mation obtainable about the
current condition of the Lower
Pecos rock art? In 2009,
SHUMLA researchers initiat-
ed high-density laser scans of
rock art to secure computer
models with accuracy meas-
ured in tenths of a millimeter,
showing every nook, cranny,
crevice and placement of paint
in a rock shelter. Draped with
current high-resolution photos,
the record is complete and use-
ful for comparisons with future
digital images and historical
andy warhol
Rock Art Information:
www.nps.gov/amis
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/
findadest/parks/seminole_canyon
R E -R EADS B OOKSTORE
San Antonio’s Rock Art
Foundation: www.rockart.org.
A project supporting the daily operation
of the Alpine Public Library
If you have Lower Pecos rock art
photographs at least ten years old,
become part of the Panther Cave
Photo Legacy Project. Contact the
author: 830.768.1493.
Gently used books
at gentle prices.
Ave. E at 7th St., Alpine, Texas
Open 6 days a week
Mon-Tues 10-4 / Wed-Sat 10-5
220 East Oak
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2010
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