UTA students step into ancient rock art
In Central Texas near Paint Rock, just north of the Concho River, a 70-foot limestone cliff stretches across the landscape, covered in more than 1,500 vivid images of animals, people and symbols—Native American pictographs dating back thousands of years. Known as the Painted Rocks Historical Site, it is the largest rock art site in Texas.
During spring break, Kelsey Hanson, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and a fellow with the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies at The University of Texas at Arlington, took her “Archaeology of Rock Art” class to Paint Rock to experience the site firsthand and put basic fieldwork techniques into practice.
“Paint Rock is an incredible place where there’s a huge diversity of styles, colors and mediums of rock art. Much of it is clearly meant to document important cosmological events, with sunlight and paint used to mark and tell stories during equinoxes and solstice,” Dr. Hanson said. “I think this field trip experience gave my students a much bigger picture of what the process is to record rock art and how to think through complex issues of analysis, interpretation and stewardship—the way any archeologist would.”
The field trip was optional, but almost all 19 students in the class chose to join. For many pursuing anthropology and archeology careers, it was their first opportunity to work in the field, mapping and recording the pictographs as part of a team.
“When we learn about archaeology in the classroom, we’re learning about everything that can be done out in the field, but we can’t have those experiences just sitting down,” said Prabhashi Jayawardhana, a senior anthropology major. “I wish I could’ve spent more time out there. The overall feeling of being in the field really solidified this career path for me.”
Jayawardhana added that seeing the rock art and learning the meanings of each image was mind-blowing.
Gareth Nutt, a freshman anthropology major, knew he had to join the field trip to Paint Rock to gain as much field experience as possible during his time as a student.
“When Dr. Hanson mentioned how culturally significant the site is, how it has all this astrological symbolism in many of the rock art panels, it made me even more interested to explore the site,” Nutt said. “I love anthropology and learning about contemporary and past cultures and how they intertwine, so this site really piqued my interest.”
Nutt added that the opportunity to learn and work with actual archeological data helped him realize the type of fieldwork he wants to pursue and how he hopes to shape his career.
Hanson, an archeologist specializing in paint technology, has been diligent in finding local opportunities for her students to step into the field, learn the basics of fieldwork and participate in her research.
Paint Rock emerged as a serendipitous opportunity to continue her research after she arrived at UTA, as it was close enough to involve her students.
In March, Hanson had a chance to work with a colleague to learn more about the composition of the paint and the recipes used in the work at Paint Rock. Hanson and her colleagues used three non-destructive analytical instruments to find answers to how people who passed through Paint Rock created color, all while not affecting the fragile rock art.
“In some early data we got to see, we saw a consistent use of beeswax as a binder. That’s really significant because of the cultural identity around honey and beekeepers for the Comanche,” Hanson said. “To be able to get this type of information and to do so without scraping or harming the image is extremely remarkable.”
She is now working toward bringing some of those instruments to UTA so her students can be trained on new techniques that will support her research and toward creating more opportunities for them to get involved.
“I think one of the most significant parts of Paint Rock is how many different communities are represented there and how many different stories and histories can be found on the site, how these stories continue to teach people today,” Hanson said. “Keeping a strong record of the site is not only valuable to the landowners and archeologists, but also extremely valuable to the descendent communities.”
She is also currently working on developing a field school for UTA students that would help the landowners thoroughly document the site.
About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of Dallas-Fort Worth. With a student body of over 42,700, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.