About the Petroglyphs
Dinwoody Petroglyphs
In 1873 William A. Jones reported, “ throughout the Wind River country of Wyoming many pictographs have been found and others reported by the Shoshoni Indians.” These petroglyphs were not even surveyed for archeological purposes until 1983.
Why did people make petroglyphs?
We may never know for sure what the petroglyphs really mean. Whether done for religous purposes, to mark migratory routes or water sources, to commemorate an event, to tell stories, or to keep track of seasons, these images carved into stone bring up many questions.
What are Petroglyphs?
Petroglyphs are powerful cultural symbols that reflect the religions and societies of the once present tribes. Petroglyphs are sacred monuments scattered around a landscape where traditional ceremonies still take place. They are rock carvings made by pecking, scratching or grounding directly on the rock surface using a stone chisel and hammerstone.
Who made the petroglyphs?
The Tukadeka people were one of the most common people to make petroglyphs in Dubois. There was also the Shoshone, Crow, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho who made many of the petroglyphs around the area. These petroglyphs have been around for thousands of years. These people made them for reasons we just don't have all the peices to the story yet. We may never know everything about these tribes and about there rituals and ceremonies, but we do know what can to find interesting historical things left by them.
More Petroglyphs
Ancient rock images have long been a source of wonder. The Wind River and Big Horn Basin are home of some of the most interesting and historical petroglyphs in the world, according to Dr.Loendorf, an archeologist and one of the top acaedemics in the field and a professor at the University of Mexico. He has lead many tours around the Dubois area showing all different kinds of petroglyphs along with the meanings and significance of these ancient images.
Dr. Love
Dr. J. David Love was one of Wyomings most famous geologists. He was born in Wyoming on April 17, 1913 where he grew up on a family ranch in the wind river basin, south of Riverton. The only time he ever left the state was to get his PHD from Yale University. He returned to Wyoming in 1942 where he was hired by the USGS. There he mostly did work in mapping the area. After 45 years he retired in 1987. Over the years he received many awards and honors, including the USGS Meritorious Service Award and the American Geological Institute’s very first Legendary Geoscientist Award. Both of his sons (Charles Love and Dave Love) became geologists. Love died on Friday August 23, 2002 at the age of 89. "He was a very fortunate person because he was able to stay in the part of the country that he loved the most and he was paid to do what he loved to do," says Love's daughter Frances Froidevaux. "From childhood, he was fascinated by the land around him." "I've been a lucky person all my life," Love said in a Geotimes article two years ago. "Geology is so exciting. It doesn't matter what angle you approach. It can be extraordinarily rewarding. I'm still excited about it, as you can tell."
