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Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
The Rock Art of the Lower Pecos, Texas
HUNTER-GATHERER ROCK ART IN THE LOWER PECOS CANYONLANDS

Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Almost 4,000 years ago, in southwest Texas (USA) and Coahuila (Mexico), hunter-gatherer artists painted some of the most complex murals in the world. They wove together layers of black, red, yellow, and white paint to create visual narratives. In Indigenous realities, images such as these are not passive decorations. They are reservoirs of power actively engaged in creation-past, present, and future. This exhibit explores how form, color, materiality of the paint, and the image-making process infused the murals with meaning and activated the characters in the stories they relate.

Archaeologists have reported more than 300 prehistoric murals in the region. New rock art sites are discovered every year. The murals range considerably in size and complexity. Some are small, less than a meter in length and height, and have only a few figures. Others hold thousands of figures and are as much as 150 meters long and 15 meters high. While some may see these as a random collection of images painted over long periods of time, trained artists have shown that many of the murals are planned compositions.

Fate Bell Shelter
The Rock Art of the Lower Pecos, Texas

Fate Bell Annex, Fate Bell Shelter and Running Horse Shelter are all situated in Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site. Seminole Canyon is a major tributary of the Rio Grande River. Fate Bell is one of the most famous and largest Pecos River Style rock art sites in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands Archeological District — A National Historic Landmark. Not only is the rock art breath-taking but the archaeological deposits within the shelter are also extremely well-preserved.

Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation
 
Fate Bell Shelter Lower Pecos Canyonlands Rock Art America Texas United States Petroglyphs Pictographs Archaeology Prehistory Rockart
Fate Bell Shelter
© Bradshaw Foundation

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