WKU Anth 336 Sample Outline

Darlene Applegate
Anth 336 New World Prehistory
September 15, 2006

Prehistoric Rock Art of Kentucky

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Definitions and Concepts

1. Rock art includes "any symbols or designs incised or painted on rock surfaces" (Brown 2002:34).

2. Rock art can be found on open-air rock outcrops or on boulders and walls of caves. The latter is referred
to as parietal art (Coy et al. 1997).

3. The prehistoric time period in Kentucky predates European contact. Rock art in Kentucky was made
during the Late Archaic (circa 2000 BC) through Late Prehistoric (circa AD 1500) periods (DiBlasi 1997).

B. Thesis

1. In this paper I will describe the methods of making rock art in Kentucky, discuss four examples of
prehistoric rock art sites in Kentucky, and evaluate explanations for why American Indians made rock art.

II. ROCK ART METHODS

A. Types of Rock Art

1. Petroglyphs are designs incised or engraved into rock surfaces with sharp objects (Coy et al. 1997).

2. Pictographs are designs painted on rock surfaces with charcoal or other pigments (Coy et al. 1997).

3. Mud glyphs are designs incised or engraves in sediments covering rock surfaces (Davis and Haskins 1993).

B. Tools Used in Making Rock Art

1. Incising on rock surfaces was accomplished using chert tools like gravers or flakes (Brown 2002). Shell
     may have been used on some rock surfaces (Feser 2000).

2. Incising on mud surfaces was done with sharpened sticks, shells, or stone tools (Davis and Haskins
     1993, DiBlasi 1997).

3. Brushes to apply paints may have been made of wood, cane, and animal hair (Feser 2000), but none
     have been found at sites in Kentucky.

C. Pigments

1. Pigments used to make paints included charcoal, manganese, red ochre, limonite, and kaolin (Feser 2000).

2. Pigments probably were mixed with animal fats (Brown 2003).

III. ROCK ART SITES IN KENTUCKY

         etc ....

IV. ROCK ART EXPLANATIONS

         etc ...

V.   CONCLUSIONS

A. There is a long history of rock art in Kentucky, spanning over 3,500 years.

B. Most rock art sites in Kentucky are open-air sites in eastern and western Kentucky.

C. Most rock art in Kentucky takes the form of petroglyphs. There are few pictographs and mud glyphs.

D. Rock art tells us a great deal about past human lifeways and beliefs.

E. Rock art sites are fragile cultural resources that must be protected and preserved.

REFERENCES

Brown, Y.
2003 Rock Art Methods and Techniques. Academic Press, New York. [this is a fictional reference!]

Coy, F.E., T.C. Fuller, L.G. Meadows, and J.L. Swauger
1997 Rock Art of Kentucky. The University Press of Kentucky, Lexington.

Davis, D.B., and V. Haskins
1993 A Preliminary Investigation of Mississippian Mud Glyphs in a Warren County Cave. Paper presented at Eastern States Rock Art Conference, Natural Bridges State Park, Kentucky.

DiBlasi, P.J.
1996 Prehistoric Expressions from the Central Kentucky Karst. In Of Caves and Shell Mounds, edited by K.C. Carstens and P.J. Watson, pp. 40-7. The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.

Feser, M.M.
2000 Kentucky's Fragile Rock Art. American Journal of Rock Art 34(1):34-49. [this is a fictional reference!]