“At Cueva de la
Serpiente, can be found the most extraordinary composition in the Great Mural
area. This 26-foot-long panel panel, apparently painted by one artist. No other
site displays fanciful creatures like these deer-headed serpents, nor do others
show large groups of interrelated figures like those clustering around the
sinuous body of the snake-monster on the right. As if to heighten the mystery
of this unique conception, the smaller figures do closely resemble the work of
Painters at other sites. The photograph of the area between the serpents shows
the rough surface on which this great work was rendered - and attests to the
fidelity of Joanne Crosby's recreation of the entire panel.”
Sam Hicks leads Erle Stanley Gardner to the
Cave of the Serpent, Sierra San Francisco.
(Erle Stanley Gardner was an American lawyer and
author. Though best known for the Perry Mason series of detective stories, he
wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces... Wikipedia)
In a research paper 'Cueva de la Serpiente: Interpretive Analysis
of an Archaic Great Mural Rock Art Panel' by Roberto Martínez, Larissa Mendoza
and Ramón Viñas (2012) the authors explain that snakes are very uncommon in the
Great Mural imagery, which makes the case of the two a horned snakes with
fish-like tails that preside the panel at Cueva de la Serpiente practically
unique.
They offer several interpretations of this Great Mural rock
art panel, found in Arroyo del Parral within the San Francisco Sierra. The
panel composition, thematic, colour pallet, and site orientation, as well as
ethnographical analogy and the contextual examination, are all important
indicators for such interpretations. The motifs shown on the site's rock art
are associated with concepts that refer to creation myths; death and the cyclical
renewal of life and the seasons. The central figure of the horned serpent is
present throughout the American continent and prevails in the worldview of
several native cultures.
They conclude that the horned serpent is associated to
water, abundance and fecundity. The two facing snakes at Cueva de la Serpiente
seem to symbolize the opposition of youth - the early rain season and its
wealth of resources in life - and old age - dry and sterile. Many Native
American world views are based on duality and binary oppositions, which seem to
constitute the panel's subject: the wet season generates life and, the dry
season, death. Moreover, human and animal life is created, transformed and
renewed. In this way, the equinox serpent of light and shadow might reflect the
marking of a moment, when the dry season ends and new life begins. The horned
serpents in the panel of Cueva de la Serpiente refer us to the seasonal
transition from abundance to scarcity, as well as to the individual's personal
transition through life, and the process of renewal and the creation of new
life.
Two deer-headed serpents give Cueva de la Serpiente its
name. The right-hand one is complete, with deer-like ears and antlers, long
banded body, bifurcated tail. Only the head of the left one is preserved; the
body was painted on a section of rock that fell away. The 26-foot-long mural
also has more than 50 doll-like human and animal figures. (Photograph by Harry
W. Crosby, courtesy Sunbelt Publications).
http://www.bajaquest.com/cavepaintings/index.pdf
Harry W. Crosby discovering the Great
Murals of an Unknown People
‘The Cochimi were
the aboriginal inhabitants of the central and northern parts of the Baja
California peninsula. Two other ethnic groups occupied the peninsula further
south; the Guaycura and the Peric. Archaeological research suggests that the
peninsula was inhabited up to 10,000 years ago….
The Unknown Painters of the Baja
California Great Murals
“The Cochimi were
hunter-gatherers, leading a prehistoric existence without agriculture or
metallurgy. Pottery was used and there is evidence of wooden drums or tablas.
Ceremonies and shamanic practices were held. Perhaps their greatest cultural
legacy is the cave paintings; the Great Murals of Baja California have been
attributed to the Cochimi, although on-going research aims to confirm this
assertion.
It is hypothesized
that the rock art was produced in the context of shamanic rituals. Indeed, the
paintings are a significant statement of the cultural sophistication of a
prehistoric people whose material culture was relatively minimal [Schaafsma
1997]…” http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/baja/cochimi/index.php
"The Cochimi Indians fished and lived off the land at the Wall as much as 15,000 years ago and the evidence is widespread. Around the sleeping rings and midden piles, we found bones, arrowheads and flakes left over from tool making."
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