Notes on the Coso Petroglyphs, the Etiological Mythology of the Western Shoshone, and the Interpretation of Rock Art

Abstract

Although the Grant hypothesis is provocative, the absence of any remains indicative of intensive sheep hunting in the excavations of the Rose Spring, Stahl and other sites in the region has been problematical. An examination of the etiological mythology of the Numic speakers of the western Great Basin, however, provides insight into the symbolic significance of the bighorn sheep to the historic aboriginal inhabitants of this area. This suggests that while the hypothesized, formal sheep-hunting cult may be an oversimplification of the prehistoric situation, there was an ideological and mythological preoccupation with hunting specifically the bighorn sheep, and this animal served as a symbolic referent to male sexual and hunting success.

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