A Case of Mistaken Identity: Shield Bearing Warriors On the Northwestern Plains

Abstract

Archaeologists have debated the ethnic or tribal affiliation of the shield bearing warrior rock art motif since the 1950s. Much of the discussion has occurred independently of the development of anthropological ethnicity theory. This paper reviews the approaches employed by various scholars in assigning affiliations to these figures and examines the content of rock art through generally held anthropological views regarding the nature of ethnic identity. Shield bearing warriors are a distinctive rock art motif which depict an individual carrying or hiding behind a large circular shield which obscures the majority of their body. Often the head and feet are exposed and hands and weapons are occasionally depicted. In many cases the figures wear horned headdresses, probably representative of bison hunting. Another possibly related rock art motif include circular designs thought to represent shields but which do not show an individual. These designs are thought to be much more common in Wyoming rather than in Alberta or Montana. Occasionally, these shields are later retouched and a figure is depicted behind the shield to create a shield bearing warrior. Shield bearing warriors demonstrate a variety of techniques in their manufacture, including pecked, incised and painted forms. Occasionally, combinations of techniques are used. These figures are widely distributed throughout Western North American and extend from Alberta south into New Mexico and Texas and from western Nevada to central Kansas (Figure 1). Within this large distribution, several areas are known for comparatively high concentrations of shield figures, including the Fremont area of Eastern Utah, ventral Montana, and eastern and central Wyoming. While not the most common motif at these locations, there are also high concentrations of shield bearers along the Northern Rio Grande in New Mexico and along the Milk River in southern Alberta. With new advances in the dating of rock art (Francis, et. al. 1993) and the development of Plains chronological sequences, questions regarding the origin and diffusion of these figures may soon be resolved. However, discussions regarding the cultural affiliation of these figures will likely still remain. This question of affiliation is an important one, as it has far reaching ramifications about the way we as archaeologists view past societies. Much of the early discussion regarding these figures involved data from the Northern Plains and Great basin. H.M. Wormington (1955) was the first to acknowledge the similarity between shield figures found

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