Pahranagat Man with an Atlatl |
Overview
The Delamar Valley Archeological Sites are among the largest rock art sites in Lincoln County. The area is known as Black Point, The Gathering, Gallery of the Ancients, and The Rex Site. These are in an area of lightly desert-varnished volcanic boulders on a ridge overlooking the Delamar Valley. Ancient people apparently liked the area, which would have been a marsh at the time, and the Delamar Valley even held native grasses "belly deep on a horse" when cattlemen first arrived. Unfortunately, the cows ate the grass, and it never grew back on the desert flats, but some can still be found on the rocky hillside.
Researchers discovered sites in this area with stone points, biface blades, and other artifacts associated with the Paleoarchaic Period (a period of time coinciding with the end of the Pleistocene Ice Age), an era ranging from 7,000 to 12,000 years ago, but the rock art is thought to date from 2,300 to 1,500 years ago.
These sites are along dirt roads and easily accessible, but the sites are not advertised by land management agencies, so I won't disclose the locations. Enjoy the photos, think about the lives of the people who lived here back then, and plan your adventure into the desert in search of these and other treasures in Lincoln County. |