Jeffers petroglyphs: examining socioeconomic and cultural differences between late archaic and late prehistoric periods introduction

Rahman Abdullayev

JEFFERS PETROGLYPHS: EXAMINING SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LATE ARCHAIC AND LATE PREHISTORIC PERIODS
INTRODUCTION

Located in Cottonwood County in southwestern Minnesota, the Jeffers Petroglyphs Site is a large group of rock art in the state. Glaciers and the hot, dry environment that followed the end of glacial activity have significantly shaped this region (Callahan 2001). What Jeffers does document is the use of the site by groups coming from, or influenced by contact with people from, a wide geographic area. The site provides a possible insight into Archaic economic, social, and spiritual life and demonstrates a worldview not limited to southwestern Minnesota (Buhta et al. 2017:88). The imagery of rock rt has the ability to provide insights on the nature and evolution of prehistoric and protohistoric American Indian cognition, subsistence practices, technology, aesthetics, and other cultural characteristics that are difficult or impossible to interpret through other means (Dudzik 1995:99).

The Jeffers petroglyphs are located in the Praire Lake archaeological region. The Praire Lake Region includes the majority of southwestern Minnesota, northeastern South Dakota, and north-central Iowa. The region is characterized by a consistent distribution of tallgrass prairie vegetation and a concentration of shallow, non-alkaline lakes of varied sizes. While natural element patterns define the region's borders, archaeological examinations show that major cultural elements appear to be contained within the same confines (Anfinson 1997:1). Although archaeological investigations in the area have generated no important finds, excavations in the monument's neighbouring sites (Lothson 1976:4-5) and the overall archaeological characterization of the region allow Jeffers Petroglyphs to be evaluated in the archaeological context of the Praire Lake Region.

According to the results of recent archaeological investigations in the area, the region featured a more durable cultural tradition that was immune to outside influences during the Middle Prehistoric period (Anfinson 1997:2). Evidence of growing settlement patterns in the region throughout the Middle Prehistoric period suggests that at least some parts of the images in the Jeffers Petroglyphs were made during this period. However, the goal of this study is not to establish a chronology of rock art but to connect the themes of carvings from different archaeological periods with the economic and social life of the inhabitants. For this reason, although it was published 45 years ago, the periodic classification of Lothson Gordon, which remained the most relevant study in the chronology of Jeffers Petroglyphs, was taken as the basis. Since Lothson attributed the petroglyphs mainly to the Archaic and Late Prehistoric periods relying on indicative topics (Lothson 1976:29), this study is based on the mentioned periods.

The first information about the existence of petroglyphs in Red Rock Ridge was published in 1885. In 1889, Theodore H. Lewis documented some of the petroglyphs (Lothson 1976). Researchers have proposed a variety of uses for rock art, ranging from dream recall to conducting spiritual rites (Callahan 2001; Lothson 1976).

Gordon Lothson was the first archaeologist to study and interpret individual petroglyphs in detail. He mapped out the location and attempted to explain the various motifs. Lothson attributed some petroglyphs with hunting magic based on the abundance of game animals, hunting implements such as the atlatl and projectile point, and hunting scenes. He associated motifs such as the thunderbird, which matched the Dakota, Oto and Iowa people's religious symbols with sacred ceremonies. To the third group of interpretations, Lothson Gordon referred to scenes depicting people, primarily armed and in stylized clothing, and described these scenes as a record of significant events in the lives of people of high social status.

Others, including archaeologists, rock art specialists, and Native Elders, have researched the carvings in recent decades, explaining the purpose of the petroglyphs and the circumstances of their production (Sanders 2017; Callahan 2001).

Callahan Jeffers' interpretation of rock art is based on the spiritual world of several Native peoples that inhabited the area at various periods (Callahan 2001). Unlike Callahan, Tom Sanders involved the Dakota Elders in the research process and directly applied their perspective to interpret the images (Sanders 2017).

While we may never know how early Indians began to carve glyphs at Jeffers, an Archaic presence is very likely (Buhta et al. 2017:88). Lothson Gordon established the chronology of Jeffers rock art by comparing subject matter with known archaeological evidence. According to the motif groups, there are two main periods in Jeffers rock art: the Late Archaic period (from 3000 BC to 500 BC), represented mainly by the atlas and projectile point, and the Late Prehistoric period (from 900 AD to 1750 AD), dominated by thunderbird and stylized human figures (Lothson 1976: 30-31).

The different motif patterns that constitute the two main cultural horizons represented in the Jeffers petroglyphs, the Late Archaic and the Late Prehistoric periods, represent its creators' different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. Consequently, various methods and approaches have been proposed to link rock art and archaeological culture.