Comments (38) | Add a comment
1,000-year-old art ruined in just a few minutes
-
JASON BEAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Mark Boatwright, an archaeologist for the Bureau of Land Management, talks to journalists at a historical rock art site at Red Rock National Conservation Area on Tuesday. Vandals covered many of the areas petroglyphs and pictographs with graffiti. » Buy this photo
Tools
Graffiti left at ancient rock art site
MORE INFORMATION
Anyone with information about the vandalism can call the BLM Law Enforcement Hotline at 515-5151.
Information about making donations for a reward or the restoration effort can be found at friendsofredrockcanyon.org.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Dec. 1, 2010 | 10:00 a.m.
Artistic symbols painted by American Indians had endured for 1,000 years in the northwest end of Red Rock Canyon until about a month ago, when vandals in just a few minutes marred the Aztec sandstone panels with maroon spray paint.
"I would say not all graffiti is bad, but to place graffiti over rock art crosses a different threshold," Bureau of Land Management archaeologist Mark Boatwright said Tuesday of the rock shelter that he thinks was used for centuries by Southern Paiute and Colorado River tribes and their ancestors.
"It's just sad," he said. "There are a lot of people who are angry. All it takes is one person to screw it up for everybody."
BLM Law Enforcement Ranger Robert Mitsuyasu said investigators are checking out leads and tips received since the graffiti was reported about two weeks ago. Because the investigation is ongoing, he said, he is not at liberty to comment.
A BLM spokeswoman, however, said there were no suspects for the felony crime, which carries a penalty of up to $100,000 and five years in prison for violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.
Photographs released Monday and published by several news outlets show 2-foot-tall letters, "NHC," in relatively fresh maroon spray paint. The names "PeeWee" and "Rodo" appear in the same paint on a rock face across from the shelter wall, where more graffiti appears just above several ancient pictographs, or symbols, painted by native Americans.
"Just because you see somebody's name doesn't mean they're responsible," Boatwright said.
Based on other evidence along Lost Creek Trail, Boatwright said he thinks as many as three people might have been involved in the vandalism. Another name, "Bones," is painted in small letters on a sign near the trail.
Even though the initials "NHC" are spelled out as "Nevada Has Chronic" on one vandalized panel, the same initials stand for "Nasty Habits Crew" in a YouTube video that features graffiti in Las Vegas.
Mitsuyasu acknowledged that investigators are aware of the NHC video posting, but he wouldn't comment on whether it has been linked to graffiti left at the ancient rock art site.
The ancient artists used a type of iron called hematite that Boatwright said is mixed with a binding liquid such as blood, water or urine to give the paint longevity.
In the corner of one rock slab that apparently collapsed from the shelter's ceiling long ago is a single etching, or petroglyph, that depicts a figure similar to an arched window divided into six sections. Because of its position just above the soil, an observer who monitors the site believes the petroglyph was etched before the slab separated and fell from the ceiling, exposing the area where pictographs were painted later.
Boatwright believes the pictographs to be 1,000 years old based on artifacts found nearby and the archaeological setting, but the earliest petroglyphs in Southern Nevada probably go back as far as 4,000 years.
"Nobody can date rock art, and we don't know what it means," he said.
Clark County has about 400 archaeological sites, of which 200 are on public lands managed by the BLM. About 560 volunteer stewards routinely monitor the sites four to 16 times each per year.
Records kept by site stewards show the rock shelter site off Lost Creek Trail was for the most part untarnished through the last week of October.
A hiker discovered fresh maroon spray-paint tags in the first week of November, but it took him about a week to report it in an e-mail to authorities, Boatwright said.
Chuck Williams, cultural resources chairman for Friends of Red Rock Canyon, said the mood among members since the damage was revealed has varied from anger to disappointment to a sense of loss.
"We have recorded this site in photos and drawings, but it doesn't replace the real thing," he said.
The Friends of Red Rock Canyon and the Conservation Lands Foundation are offering a $2,500 reward for information that leads to the conviction of the suspect or suspects.
Bureau of Land Management officials estimate the cost of restoring the site will be $10,000.
Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
I think the real solution is to jack up the admission prices at Red Rock some more. We don't even get to have access to our own land. You all voted to allow the government to control everything. I'm pretty sure I already paid the admission price to Red Rock and it's called TAXES. I don't blame the criminals for essentially telling these elitists to shove it.
why isnt anyone prosecuted for graffiti in general? ITS JUST STUPID, its not art its crap
why isn't anyone ever prosecuted for making a mess at red rock?
Goodman said it best, "Off with their thumbs!"
@Willy Ribs, yeah that lesson of repect worked so well. Lol. Keep dreaming. I live in reality. Where are you from? Also, you don't think the shaman native americans that did the first bit of rock art were not high on peyote when they did their master piece? Please, I see no difference here except the dates the artists lived.
If you want something protected..... then protect it. Don't assume it will be okay. Lesson learned.. NEXT
Locking them up after they are caught and proven guilty is fine and dandy,but a 100k fine? It would take ten of these idiots 100 years to make that much money.
It's ridiculous to say that the RJ should not have shown the graffiti. In order for them to be caught, we're going to need somebody to report them. In order to report them, people have to be able to look at the graffiti and say, "Hey, that looks like what X, Y and Z do!"
@David...The lesson to be learned from the Tragedy of the Commons is NOT that all property should be private. Rather, that shared property should be respected and that one person should not take unfair advantage of the sharing arrangement. Not surprising that you missed that point in light of your inability to distinguish between an artifact of historical and cultural importance and a drunken bit of trash. Perhaps you need to work on your own values before you seek to present "lessons" to others.
tl.lane: I pray for that headline. I'd also contribute to fund the posse that nails them.