Ken's Photo Gallery: Mt Irish Archaeological Area

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Mt. Irish Archaeological District (Summary Page)

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This page last updated on 10/11/2017

Introduction: As I began to discover more and more rock art sites during my hikes over these past several years, I have become witness to far too many examples of where persons had seemed fit to deface them with graffiti and other examples of damage. Eventually I realized that the sharing of my hiking adventures could have the potential to increase public exposure, and thereby increasing the possibility for even more damage. As a result, I decided to preface each of my rock art pages with the following information to help educate visitors about the importance of these fragile cultural resources. Before scrolling down, I implore you to READ the following ... as well as the linked page providing guidelines for preserving rock art.

Here are a few simple guidelines you can follow that will help to preserve these unique and fragile cultural resources that are part of our heritage. Guidelines for Preserving Rock Art. If you would like to learn more about the Nevada Site Stewardship Program, go to my page ... Nevada Site Stewardship Program (NSSP).

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Directions: Mt. Irish Rock Art and Archaeological District is located in the Pahranagat Valley (Fig. 02), about 110 miles north of Las Vegas. From Las Vegas, drive north on I-15 to US Highway 93. Turn left onto US Highway 93 and drive north past the towns of Alamo and Ash Springs to the intersection of Highways 93 and 318. The entrance and gate to Mount Irish Rock Art Site is 3.9 miles from the intersection of State Route 375, State Route 318 and U.S. Route 93 (the “Y”). Traveling north on State Route 318, towards Ely, it is on the left (west) side of the road just past Key Pittman Management Area. A yellow BLM marker is just to the left of the gate. Go through the gate, and continue approximately 9.0 miles to the Echo Rock, the first petroglyph area (Fig. 02).

Area Description: The Mount Irish Archaeological Site lies just north of the wilderness area, and is filled with numerous rock art sites and other cultural resources. The 28,334 acre Mount Irish Wilderness Area (Fig. 02), with elevations between 4,800 and 7,504 feet, is located in central Lincoln County approximately 10 miles southwest of Hiko, Nevada. Forested with pinyon pine and juniper, the northern slopes, which make up the Mount Irish Archaeological Site, provide habitat for desert bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, and a variety of bird species. Also nearby on Mt. Irish itself (outside the wilderness area) are ancient stands of ponderosa pine. Chipped and ground stone, rock shelters and the petroglyphs studied there suggest the sites were occupied from 1000 B.C. to the 1860s. Even though the effects of age and weather are taking a toll on many of the petroglyphs found here, many are still fairly well preserved and include a wide variety of images including bighorn sheep, deer and various anthropomorphs, including human figures of Pahranagat Man, that are indigenous only to this area. Most of the petroglyphs found here have been classified by what is referred to as the Great Basin Representational style. Click the following link to learn more about Nevada Rock Art ... Understanding Nevada Rock Art.

(Fig. 03)

01/21/2015 Trip Notes: Harvey Smith, Robert Croke and I decided to take a daytrip to the Mt. Irish Petroglyph Site. The Mount Irish site is rich with Rock Art. Located on the top of the baja below the Mount Irish Range (Fig. 03), it is strewn with low bands of cliffs and many boulder piles formed from rhyolite, a hard, light colored volcanic ash-flow tuff. The view of Mount Irish and Sanderson Mountain in (Fig. 03) above was taken after hiking the hills behind the Echo Rock site. Listed in the order of our approach, this area provides four distinct sites to explore; Echo Rock, Paiute Rock, Shaman Knob and Shaman Hill. Thanks to Bob Croke's GPS, we have a summary (Fig. 04) of our time spent here. He also provided the hiking maps on the ensuing pages. It was interesting to learn that we hiked a total of 2-1/2 miles. Clicking on the links below, there is a map showing our hiking path for each area. There is a BLM brochure [Mt. Irish Trail Guide.pdf] that provides trails and information pertaining to the panels found at the latter three sites. I have created a separate page for each of these areas and provided links below.

(Fig. 04)

(Fig. 05)

Echo Rock: Drive west and up the hill on Logan Pass Road for 6.8 miles to the Archaeological District, the beginning of which is marked by a large BLM sign announcing the area (Fig. 05). Just beyond the first sign, look for a wide spot in the road opposite a large monolith-like rock pile out in the wash on the south side of the road. This is Echo Rock, which has some nice glyphs. Click here for pictures and info ... Echo Rock.

Paiute Rock: From Echo Rock, continue driving on Logan Canyon Road. Along the way you will come to a fork in the road marked with a sign stating, Mt. Irish Wilderness Area. Continue straight at this fork until you reach a second BLM sign and a steel sign-in register at the edge of the parking area, about 2 miles. This large rock pile that contains more than a dozen spectacular petroglyphs. Click here for pictures and info ... Paiute Rock.

Shaman Knob: Continuing up Logan Canyon Road for about a 1/3 of a mile you come to a fork in the road. This is Shaman Road. Turn o the left (south) and drive about 300 yards to the end of the road. The isolated rock pile left of the road is Shaman Knob. In addition to petroglyphs at these two sites, there are hundreds of petroglyphs in the area. You can literally spend an entire day wandering about the area looking for them. Click here for pictures and info ... Shaman Knob.

Shaman Hill: Continuing up Logan Canyon Road for about a 1/3 of a mile you come to a fork in the road. This is Shaman Road. Turn o the left (south) and drive about 300 yards to the end of the road. The boulder-covered hill on the right side of this short spur road is Shaman Hill. In addition to petroglyphs at these two sites, there are hundreds of petroglyphs in the area. You can literally spend an entire day wandering about the area looking for them. Click here for pictures and info ... Shaman Hill.

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Reference Materials:

Rock Art Glossary
Mount Irish Trail Guide
Lincoln County Rock Art Guide

"Rock Art of the Nevada Great Basin"
Manuscript written by Kenneth C. Clarke

Echo Rock (in the Mt. Irish Archaeological District)

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(Fig. 01)

(Fig. 02)

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01/21/2015 Trip Notes: Echo Rock is the first site you come to when visiting the Mt. Irish Archaeological District. Native American peoples etched a nice array of petroglyphs on the north (Fig. 06) and west (Fig. 07) faces of this large rock outcrop. As with many of the petroglyphs that I have encountered in the Pahranagat Valley area, many of its panels seem to have symbols that are representative of different native peoples that once inhabited the area. Scroll to the bottom of this page for more information on the ancient peoples that created these petroglyphs.

(Fig. 04)

The panels here include birds (Fig 04), sheep (Fig. 08) and many abstract elements (Fig. 05) that seem to defy interpretation. In addition to two completely different styles of zoomorphs, which suggests that they were created by different peoples, notice the symbol pointed out by the arrow in (Fig. 08). It appears to be the depiction of a Pahranagat man with a headress. Could it be representative of a Shaman? Another thing I have noticed is that some panels appear to have pictures that look like they were re-imposed over previous etchings, such as the sheep in the upper left of (Fig. 09).

(Fig. 05)

(Fig. 06)

(Fig. 07)

(Fig. 08)

(Fig. 09)

The view looking north in (Fig. 01) was captured from the side of Logan Canyon Road just southeast of the Echo Rock location. After taking pictures of the petroglyphs at Echo Rock we decided to hike up the ridge behind the rock to see if we could find any more petroglyphs. Even though we didn't discover any additional petroglyphs, the top of this ridge did provide some nice views (Figs. 10, 11 & 12) of the valley below. as you can see in the foreground of (Fig. 12) one of the boulders at the top of the ridge had a large hole, or mortar, which could have been used along with a stone pestle to process seeds, nuts, or possibly to mix
pigments, or to simply act as a tinaja to collect water during and after the rainy season. Over the course of the day we came across at least five of these. While I contend that some of them were man-made, chiseled out of the rock, Bob and Harvey felt they were natural occurrences.

(Fig. 10)

(Fig. 11)

(Fig. 12)

Site History: It is believed that today's Paiutes and Shoshones are direct descendants of the last hunter-gathers in southern Nevada. Peoples who, during the past several thousand years, were experts in living in an arid environment. Roaming on a seasonal basis in search of natural resources (water, plants and seeds) and game (bighorn sheep and deer), they lived in caves and brush structures in small open camps. Petroglyphs, as well as other archaeological finds, suggest that these sites were occupied from around 1000 B.C. to the 1860's.

The rock art found in the hills surrounding the Pahranagat Valley are representative of the three different cultures and have been classified with three distinct styles: The Great Basin Abstract Style, that is predominately abstract symbols (circles, grids, etc,); the Pahranagat Representational Style (bighorn sheep, deer and anthromorphs – human-like characters with rectangular bodies and solidly pecked out bodies and heads); and the Fremont Representational Style, that resembles the classic trapezoidal bodied Anthromorphs and Quadrapeds.

It is believed that various distinctive cultures, known today as the Desert Archaic, Fremont, and Southern Paiute, visited these areas. By AD 1300, the Fremont had disappeared from the archaeological record of Southern Nevada, perhaps as a result of long-term droughts or other, as yet, unknown factors. Most of the petroglyphs have been classified as the "Great Basin Representational" style (A.D. 1-1500). In general, the Pahranagat Valley was a winter site for a group of peoples known as the "Pahranagats", one of several Southern Paiute groups. In recent years, archaeological evidence indicates that some Southwestern groups co-existed in this area along with the Pahranagats c. AD 500-1250. Evidence of the Pahranagats and their way of life can be found throughout Lincoln County's network of interrelated rock art sites including: Ash Springs, Crystal Wash, Mount Irish, Rainbow Canyon, Shooting Gallery and White River Narrows. Click the following link to learn more about Nevada Rock Art ... Understanding Nevada Rock Art

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Shaman Hill (In the Mt. Irish Archaeological District)

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(Fig. 01)

(Fig. 02)

Directions: Mt. Irish Rock Art and Archaeological District is located in the Pahranagat Valley (Fig. 02), about 110 miles north of Las Vegas. From Las Vegas, drive north on I-15 to US Highway 93. Turn left onto US Highway 93 and drive north past the towns of Alamo and Ash Springs to the intersection of Highways 93 and 318. The entrance and gate to Mount Irish Rock Art Site is 3.9 miles from the intersection of State Route 375, State Route 318 and U.S. Route 93 (the “Y”). Traveling north on State Route 318, towards Ely, it is on the left (west) side of the road just past Key Pittman Management Area. A yellow BLM marker is just to the left of the gate. Go through the gate, and continue approximately 12.0 miles, about a quarter mile past Paiute Rock, to Shaman Hill & Shaman Knob, the final petroglyph area in the District (Fig. 03).

(Fig. 03)

01/21/2015 Trip Notes: Shaman Hill is one of the major public petroglyph sites in the district and consists dozens of panels on a large hill that is covered with hundreds of boulders and outcrops (Fig. 01). The BLM has placed eight numbered markers around this site, and produced a brochure [Mt. Irish Trail Guide.pdf] that provides information on the trail and each of the panels found here. If you’re lucky, you might fine one in the metal sign-in kiosk near the front of the site. As is true at most petroglyphs sites, the designs vary greatly — some are complicated and hard to distinguish, while others seem to be obvious depictions of people or animals. Based on examples of rock art from other indigenous people, one can pose some possible explanations, though, because no one has lived at these sites for hundreds of years, it is likely that definite conclusions will never be achieved.

At the first marker behind the sign-in kiosk, there is a grouping of boulders (Fig. 04), one of them containing a large Pahranagat anthropomorph (Fig. 05). Unfortunately, this “bird like” figure’s head and left arm are partially covered by lichen. Again, it is sad to see how much of the surface faces on these boulders have deteriorated over time due to weather and the natural ageing process. Moving to the right, behind this panel is another large panel containing what has been described as a “bee hive” cluster and several bighorn sheep (Fig. 06). The combination of the light and dark pecking's of the sheep at the bottom of the panel (Fig. 07) many be an indication, that over time, this panel was worked on by two different cultures or tribes. At marker #2, as you continue to your right, you will see a large fractured boulder with numerous elements and motifs.The circled crosses found in the upper right corner (Fig. 08) occur in rock art throughout many regions in North America, and therefore are not unique to the Mt. Irish site. It is not easy to attribute a specific function or meaning to these pecked cross-circle motifs, and even though many have offered possible explanations ranging from solar symbols and stars, to the sun, these, and similar motifs continue to fuel additional speculation about their meaning and why the Native Americans carved them into rocks. The next panel, (Fig. 09), has what appears to be a horned figure resembling the body of a Pahranagat Man. There is possibly an atlatl being held by the figure. At the next panel (Fig. 10), it has been suggested that the element may be representative of a “blanket”. The last panel in the first grouping is a large, well preserved, solid body Pahranagat anthropomorph (Fig. 11). I don’t understand why the brochure notes that this figure may be a female. I see nothing that might suggest that.

If you view the first five panels in order, you have to backtrack to locate the last three identified panels. The brochure describes the very large panel behind marker #6 as the “lizard panel” (Fig. 12). In addition to what appear to be a couple of lizards, this very busy panel appears to have several sheep, what may be a fence, a circle, and a zoomorph with a slim body and short legs that might be either a fox or a coyote, top of (Fig. 13). At marker #7 you will look down on a large boulder that has a patterned body anthropomorph (Fig. 14). In front of marker #8, the last panel in the brochure, described as the “many sheep” panel, there are some eight or nine well defined bighorn sheep (Fig. 15). One interesting feature here is the direction of the horns on the third sheep from the left in the top row, leading one to wonder if their is some special significance as to why they are pointing forward.

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(Fig. 06)

(Fig. 07)

(Fig. 08)

(Fig. 09)

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(Fig. 11)

(Fig. 12)

(Fig. 13)

(Fig. 14)

(Fig. 15)

Whenever I go hiking I am always looking for rock shapes that I feel represent a recognizable familiar image. As we rounded a bolder area at Shaman Hill, we all agreed that the picture shown in (Fig. 16) looked like a humongous desert tortoise. The collage in (Fig. 17) is a compilation of various glyphs found at this site.

(Fig. 16)

(Fig. 17)

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Paiute Rock (in the Mt. Irish Archaeological District)

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(Fig. 01)

(Fig. 02)

Directions: Mt. Irish Rock Art and Archaeological District is located in the Pahranagat Valley (Fig. 02), about 110 miles north of Las Vegas. From Las Vegas, drive north on I-15 to US Highway 93. Turn left onto US Highway 93 and drive north past the towns of Alamo and Ash Springs to the intersection of Highways 93 and 318. The entrance and gate to Mount Irish Rock Art Site is 3.9 miles from the intersection of State Route 375, State Route 318 and U.S. Route 93 (the “Y”). Traveling north on State Route 318, towards Ely, it is on the left (west) side of the road just past Key Pittman Management Area. A yellow BLM marker is just to the left of the gate. Go through the gate, and continue approximately 11 miles to Paiute Rock, the second petroglyph area (Fig. 03).

(Fig. 03)

01/21/2015 Trip Notes: Paiute Rock is the first site you come to when visiting the Mt. Irish Archaeological District. The Paiute Rock area, along with several other locations in the Mt. Irish Rock Art District served as a camping activity center for thousands of years. The predominant rock art style is the Great Basin Pecked Style. This includes the substyles of Great Basin Representational, Great Basin Curvilinear Abstract, and Great Basin Rectilinear Abstract (Heizer and Baumhoff, Prehistoric rock Art of Nevada and Eastern Californai, pp. 197-208; 1962).
The BLM’s Mount Irish Rock Art and Archeological District Trail Guide [Mt. Irish Trail Guide.pdf] provides descriptions for nine identified panels scattered throughout the rocks found in this rather large outcrop. As with many of the petroglyphs that I have encountered in the Pahranagat Valley area, many of its panels seem to have symbols that are representative of different native peoples that once inhabited the area. Scroll to the bottom of this page for more information on the ancient peoples that created these petroglyphs.

(Fig. 04)

(Fig. 05)

The first rock (Fig. 04), located directly behind the Mt. Irish interpretive sign is known as atlatl rock. Located near the top right side of the rock is the commonly accepted symbol for an atlatl (Fig. 05), an engraved throwing board used as a hunting implement to launch small dart-like spears prior to the appearance of the bow and arrow, which occurred at approximately AD 500. Typically, atlatl petroghyphs appear to have been schematized as a small circle bisected by a long line. Although the complete replacement of the atlatl by the bow and arrow may have taken a few centuries to effect, as a general rule of thumb we can consider atlas motifs to be greater than 1,500 years in age.

(Fig. 06)

(Fig. 07)

(Fig. 08)

As you begin hiking around the rocks in a counter clockwise direction from the sign-in register (Fig 03), the next grouping of boulders, see the arrows in (Fig. 06) approximately three feet up from the ground, contains a grouping of four anthropomorphs (human figures) that are standing side-by-side. It has been suggested that they might be representative of a ‘family’ (Fig. 07). Above and to the right, there is a single Desert Bighorn Sheep motif in a natural rock pocket (Fig. 08).

(Fig. 09)

(Fig. 10)

(Fig. 11)

Because the numerous examples of zoomorphic figures in the form of Bighorn Sheep (Figs. 09-11) throughout the site vary significantly, one has to assume that they were created over time by different tribes or cultures. There are also two examples of zoomorphs (Figs. 12 & 13) that portray what appears to be either a deer or elk; my favorite being a very detailed, well preserved one (Fig. 13) near the back side of the outcrop.

(Fig. 12)

(Fig. 13)

As you can see by the examples below (Figs. 14-17), several panels contain human motifs and abstract sheep combined with dots, curvilinear elements and multiple circles. After hiking all the way around the outcrop, the largest of these is the final panel you come to back near the road (Figs. 18 & 19). This is the most densely covered panel at this site. Due to its positioning behind a large open area, it is not hard to imagine that this area may have been used as a gathering place for activities both social and spiritual. Besides the many curvilinear and abstract elements, there are sheep, lizards, (Figs. 19 & 20) and what I find the most interesting, a drawing that appears to be a tribal shield (Fig. 21). It is sad to see how the effects of thousands of years of weathering are slowly damaging the rock surfaces. One can only imagine what images may have existed in the areas where the surface has flaked and fallen away.