Post on 17-May-2023
Van Hoek
105
American Indian Rock Art, Volume 33. Don D. Christensen and Peggy Whitehead, Editors. American Rock Art Research Association, 2007, pp. 105–116.
W
ithin the United States of America, some of the largest
concentrations of rock art are found in the Southwest.
The Colorado Plateau is home to thousands of prehis-
toric Indian rock art sites, comprising impressive pictographs
(rock paintings) and intriguing petroglyphs (images created by
removing a portion of the rock surface). Despite its visual simplic-
ity, one of the most enigmatic petroglyph manifestations is the
cupule—a small, anthropic (human-made), hemispherical depres-
sion pounded, pecked, or ground into the rock. Unfortunately,
cupules are often neglected in rock art studies, especially when
they are found combined with seemingly more interesting figura-
tive art. If indeed the survey of a rock art panel featuring both
cupules and figurative imagery completely shifts towards describing
and interpreting the figurative components, one ignores the fact
that it is necessary to include every anthropic mark on the panel
(even graffiti) in order to create as complete a picture as possible.
This negligence seems to occur in rock art studies of the Colorado
Plateau. If cupules are mentioned in these surveys, they usually
form an integral part of a figurative image, indicating for instance
the vulva of a female figure or the toes of a paw. Such cupules
Atypical Cupules at Two Rock Art Sites in
Southeastern Utah
Maarten van Hoek
Maarten van Hoek
Cupules are important rock art manifestations, yet often underestimated. A true cupule may be defined as
“a more or less cup-shaped, non-utilitarian and definitely anthropic mark of fixed maximum-minimum
dimensions that has been pecked, ground, or pounded into a natural rock surface.” Cupules having deviant
shapes and/or sizes are “atypical” cupules. This paper describes, and attempts to explain, anthropic
depressions occurring at two rock art sites in southeastern Utah that clearly are “atypical” cupules. These
atypical cupules are found together with smooth lancet-shaped depressions, both features probably more
expressing an intimate relation with the rock and/or the site than with the figurative imagery.
High School
Geography Teacher,
Oisterwijk, the Netherlands
Atypical Cupules at Two Rock Art Sites in Southeastern Utah
106
may be defined as “integrated,” “associated,”
or “related” cupules, in contrast to the “unre-
lated,” “isolated,” or “random” cupules on
which this paper focuses.
In southeastern Utah there are numerous
rock art sites that are ascribed to the Ancestral
Puebloans (Anasazi), a prehistoric Native
American people that inhabited the Colorado
Plateau from approximately A.D. 1 until 1300
(Cordell 1997). Their rock art includes anthro-
pomorphs and zoomorphs, as well as phyto-
morphs (plant-like) and geometrics. Although
several sites occasionally feature cupules of
probably Anasazi origin, they are rarely men-
tioned, let alone described, in rock art litera-
ture. That is unfortunate because in this way
these unusual traits remain unnoticed and
thus a more complete picture of Puebloan cul-
ture may escape us. Two rock art sites near
the town of Bluff in southeastern Utah, will
demonstrate this, as both sites prove to have a
very different type of cupule which is not
mentioned in most literature.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TWO SITES
Butler Wash
The first site is Butler Wash (see color
images at http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/
vhra/web/butler.html), located west of Bluff,
Utah. The site is well known for its imposing
row of large petroglyphs depicting heroic
anthropomorphs that are characterized by
drooping hands and feet and strange exten-
sions from the ears and heads. The site is also
known locally as Lower Butler Wash and as
Butler Wash-San Juan Confluence by Castle-
ton (1987:221), a more appropriate name, as
the site is not located in Butler Wash Canyon
itself, but a little east of the confluence of the
stream running south through Butler Wash
Canyon and the west-flowing San Juan River
(Figure 1). As access overland is very difficult,
the site can best be reached by a guided boat
trip from Sand Island near Bluff. For that
reason there is little vandalism at this site,
although some damage has already been re-
ported (Slifer 2000:123). The petroglyphs are
mainly found on an extensive, deeply
patinated part of an almost vertical sandstone
cliff face, the base of which is an elevation of
approximately 1,300 m above sea level. The
cliff itself is estimated to be about 70 m high.
The petroglyph panels face southeast and
overlook the San Juan River. They are a few
meters above the valley floor and are acces-
sible via a low but steep talus. The main
petroglyph area extends for at least 200 m,
with smaller panels nearby. Many of the indi-
vidual petroglyphs are in inaccessible posi-
tions several meters above the ground level.
Their current position may indicate the ero-
sion of the prehistoric floor or that the higher
images were made with the aid of ladders,
scaffolding, or ropes.
Confusingly, parts of the same site have
also been labeled as San Juan River-Sand
Island to Butler Wash, Site #3 by Castleton
(1987:216), and also include, based on his
illustrations, portions of at least two other
Figure 1. Butler Wash site, looking west from the
vertical sandstone cliff at Butler Wash-San Juan
Confluence. The cupules described in the text are out
of sight to the right. Photograph by Maarten van
Hoek, July 2005.
Van Hoek
107
sites, Upper Butler Wash and Moki Steps.
This misunderstanding may be explained by
the fact that there are two main sections with
petroglyphs of the same cliff face, only sepa-
rated by a large crack in the same rock wall.
The west section, Lower Butler Wash, fea-
tures the well known row of impressive
anthropomorphs of the Basketmaker Period.
The east section (listed as San Juan River-
Sand Island to Butler Wash, Site # 3) has sev-
eral similar anthropomorphs, but also many
other images like zoomorphs, phytomorphs
(probably corn plants and yuccas), and a few
historic Navajo petroglyphs. It is on this east
part that we find a number of anthropic de-
pressions that are not mentioned in the lim-
ited references to the site in the general litera-
ture (e.g. Castleton 1987; Cole 1990; Malotki
and Weaver 2002; Schaafsma 1980; Slifer
2000).
The Sand Dune Site
The second site is locally known as the
Sand Dune (see color images at http://mc2.
vicnet.net.au/home/vhra/web/sdsut.html).
Further location details will not be given here
as the site is too easily accessible and the local
and national authorities prefer not to reveal
the precise location to avoid further damage
to the site. It is only briefly described by
Castleton (1987:209). The site is formed by a
complex of vertical sandstone cliffs that over-
look a drainage to the west and southwest.
The rock wall faces southwest and is just
northeast of an enormous sand dune that in
places obstructs the view from some of the
rock art panels (Figure 2). The base of the cliff
is at about 1,625 m in elevation and its aver-
age height is estimated to be about 60 m. Sev-
eral petroglyphs are in a typically inaccessible
position and probably were made with the
aid of ladders, scaffolding, or ropes or their
position is the result of dune erosion of the
former ground level.
The petroglyph area at the Sand Dune site
stretches about 500 meters and includes at
least ten different and well separated (groups
of) rock art panels. One large section (labeled
Panel 4 by the author) features many faint
petroglyphs, mainly of the Basketmaker
Period, including several anthropomorphs in
the San Juan Anthropomorphic style similar
to the examples at Butler Wash. More impor-
tantly, the panel is dominated by a large num-
ber of anthropic depressions that are not men-
tioned in Castleton (1987:209). Besides Panel
4, at least five other panels feature anthropic
depressions. The major panel at the southeast
end of the complex, Panel 1, faces south and is
densely packed with figurative images. It has
a group of 12 very superficial paired depres-
sions, a horizontal row of possibly up to 14
typical cupules very close to ground level,
and a closely packed cluster of at least 35
small anthropic depressions capped by a
groove. Panel 3 comprises a group of small
panels directly east of Panel 4 and has at least
six more atypical depressions and some fine
figurative petroglyphs. Panel 10, further west,
has possibly seven atypical cupules as well as
very faint figurative art.
Figure 2. Sand Dune site near Bluff, looking
northwest towards the sandstone cliffs. Panel 4 with
the majority of the cupules is just to the left of the
large whitish buttress in the center. Photograph by
Maarten van Hoek, July 2005.
Atypical Cupules at Two Rock Art Sites in Southeastern Utah
108
DEFINING CUPULES
In general, cupules are considered an
element of rock art, but there are exceptions.
Therefore, it is necessary to clearly define the
term “cupule” and simultaneously to limit
the subject matter, as not every human-made
depression in a rock surface should be re-
garded as rock art. In the discussion about
cupules from Jinmium in northern Austra-
lia, Taçon et al. (1997:943) offer useful infor-
mation to identify a cupule. A true cupule
can be defined as a cup-shaped non-utilitarian
and definitely cultural mark that has been
pecked or pounded into a rock surface. Most
true cupules typically are circular, cup-
shaped depressions that usually vary from 3
to 7 cm in diameter (Christensen 2005:74–75).
These are labeled as true cupules in this sur-
vey or, alternatively, as typical, standard, or
normal cupules. However, cupules that
have irregular shapes and unusual sizes
may be labeled as atypical cupules.
Cupules are not to be confused with
grinding hollows (bedrock mortars) that are
often much larger and deeper and may
range from 8 cm to over 30 cm in diameter.
Grinding hollows are abrasion-formed or al-
tered natural depressions that are used for
processing food, pigment, or other material.
The meaning of cupules is often completely
obscure but it is almost certain that the pro-
cessing, use, or presence of cupules probably
are deeply ritually charged. Another impor-
tant distinction is that cupules may appear on
horizontal, steeply sloping and on vertical sur-
faces, whereas mortars almost exclusively are
found on rock surfaces that are horizontal or
nearly so.
Both Butler Wash and the Sand Dune site
typically have cupules on vertical cliff faces, so
a function such as grinding hollows, or any
other utilitarian use, can definitely be ruled
out. Moreover, at both sites the atypical cupules
clearly show rather crude peck marks, which
indicates that they have not been used for
grinding.
THE BUTLER WASH CUPULES
When I noticed the atypical Butler Wash
cupules, my first reaction was that they
looked like prehistoric hand and foothold
steps as they are rather large and form a row
(Figure 3). Hand and footholds are indenta-
tions carved into the rock in order to facilitate
climbing a rock incline for whatever reason.
Just before reaching Butler Wash by raft we
noticed an excellent example of a series of
steps leading up to a rock art panel. Although
these Butler Wash cupules are positioned in a
row, they are at such a height that it is impos-
sible to reach them. Moreover, there are only
seven cupules in a row, far too few and far
too close together to have served as steps. It is
also implausible that the depressions were
meant to receive wooden beams for the build-
ing of a structure against the rock wall.
Figure 3. Row of atypical cupules and other
petroglyphs on a vertical sandstone cliff at Butler
Wash. Estimated width of the cupules is about 10 cm.
Photograph by Maarten van Hoek, July 2005.
Van Hoek
109
Also important is the way the seven Butler
Wash atypical cupules have been executed.
They are not circular and not symmetrical like
most typical cupules. They are elongated in
appearance and have an asymmetrical depth-
profile. In six cases the steepest slope and the
deepest point of the cupule is at the extreme
lower part, which probably would make them
suitable to use as steps to climb the rock. The
lowermost cupule, however, has the steep
slope and the deepest point at the extreme
upper part, rendering it impossible to use
as a step.
A few meters west of the row of seven
cupules are at least five more cupules. Three
typical cupules form a short vertical row, the
two upper examples are connected by a
pecked groove (Figure 4). This row is at a
lower level and is obscured by vegetation.
Just to the west of this row is an isolated
atypical cupule, and a short distance further
west and higher up is a standard cupule next
to a stylized “flute player” image. Still further
west are at least 29 possibly anthropic circu-
lar depressions; all apparently randomly dis-
tributed, except for a number of depressions
that are found in short rows. Eight of the de-
pressions could be true cupules. One of these
latter cupules forms the center of a tight spiral
petroglyph. It is not clear if the spiral was
executed around an existing cupule or not.
THE SAND DUNE CUPULES
The day before our visit to Butler Wash,
Vaughn Hadenfeldt of Bluff, knowing our
interest in cupules, informed us of a large
cupule panel. This knowledge, combined
with the experiences at Butler Wash, became
the main reason for our visit to this second
site. To our surprise, many of the anthropic
depressions turned out to be identical to the
Butler Wash atypical cupules. However, there
were some major differences.
First, there is the number of cupules. But-
ler Wash features 12 atypical cupules,
whereas the Sand Dune site has more than
125 such cupules. The majority are concen-
trated on Panel 4, which has more than 110
examples. The “horizontal” axis on which the
petroglyphs are found on Panel 4 descends
about 20 degrees to the west. Several of the
atypical cupules at the center of Panel 4 are
found on a lower area of the vertical cliff that
apparently once was covered with talus de-
bris. The surface has a less patinated appear-
ance (Figure 5). It is possible that the talus
debris, especially at the eastern part of Panel
4, covers other cupules.
Second, there is the distribution of the cu-
pules across the panel. At Butler Wash linear
rows predominated, but at the Sand Dune site
most of the atypical cupules were distributed
randomly across the rock surface of the panel.
Although the atypical cupules are similar in
size and shape to the Butler Wash cupules,
some are less deep and more superficially
Figure 4. Cupules and other petroglyphs on a vertical
sandstone cliff at Butler Wash. Estimated width of
the cupules is about 7 cm. Photograph by Maarten
van Hoek, July 2005.
Atypical Cupules at Two Rock Art Sites in Southeastern Utah
110
executed, especially the larger examples (Fig-
ure 6), which often show deep peck marks.
Although many atypical cupules on Panel 4
clearly show peck marks, it is striking to see
that several examples do not show any (Fig-
ure 5). It seems that they have been abraded;
possibly at a later stage. The atypical cupules
at Sand Dune, like the ones at Butler Wash,
are definitely anthropic and non-utilitarian.
ASSOCIATED FEATURES—BUTLER
WASH
The Butler Wash cupules are found to-
gether with geometric designs, zoomorphs,
phytomorphs, and San Juan style anthropo-
morphs. Some of the zoomorphs have clearly
been repecked. There is a great deal of super-
imposition on the panel, pointing to intermit-
tent use of the site from prehistoric times up
to more recent times. In the direct neighbor-
hood of the row of the seven atypical cupules
are San Juan anthropomorphs. One anthro-
pomorph is clearly superimposed by a large
“snake” petroglyph that is less patinated.
There is a large spiral with a serpentine exten-
sion to one of the cupules and a straight line
from the serpentine groove running upslope,
connecting two atypical cupules and another
geometric figure. In almost every instance
the cupules have the same degree of patina-
tion as the surrounding natural rock surface
and most of the petroglyphs. Therefore, it
cannot be determined if any of the seven
atypical cupules superimpose the petro-
glyphs. Neither can it be established if there
is a direct association between a cupule and
any of the other petroglyphs except for the
cupule that forms the center of a large spi-
ral, further west.
The four cupules near the base of the cliff
are found together with geometric designs.
Some are clearly repecked zoomorphs and
some small anthropomorphs. Near the
“dumbbell” shaped cupules is a curved line
of more recent crude pecking, judging by the
low degree of patination.
Figure 5. Atypical cupules and other petroglyphs on a
vertical sandstone cliff, Panel 4, Sand Dune site. The
three cupules at the bottom (and some more examples
lower down) are found on a more recently exposed
part of the cliff. The right-hand cupule measures
approximately 9 cm in width. The largest cupule
measures approximately 11 by 18 cm. Photograph by
Duke Hayduk, November 2005.
Figure 6. Atypical cupules and other petroglyphs on a
vertical sandstone cliff, Panel 4, Sand Dune site. The
largest cupule measures approximately 20 by 30 cm.
Photograph by Duke Hayduk, October 2005.
Van Hoek
111
One of the isolated cupules is surrounded
by a simple San Juan anthropomorph, a styl-
ized “flute player,” and several zoomorphs,
some carefully re-pecked. Farther west are
many interesting figurative petroglyphs, but
also 29 anthropic depressions, some of which
possibly are true cupules. Characteristic for
both sections of the panel at Butler Wash, and
many other rock art panels in the southeast
of Utah, are the many, mainly horizontal
rows of very small cupules or dots that often
seem to superimpose older petroglyphs.
Rows of small cupules often prove to be later
additions to existing rock art panels (Van
Hoek 2000b:107).
Conspicuous at Butler Wash are two
groups of long, often lancet-shaped depres-
sions of varying depth that are definitely
anthropic (Figure 7). In general these depres-
sions are vertically executed although other
orientations occur. They are often placed very
close together although isolated examples
also exist. Such short grooves are extremely
smooth. Peck marks cannot be seen, except in
the few instances where later petroglyphs
have been superimposed on such depres-
sions. These probably were made by a con-
stant rubbing on the rock surface with an
object. One logical explanation would be that
these depressions are utilitarian marks, cre-
ated by sharpening stone tools. In this survey,
I will label such depressions polissoir (tool-
sharpening hollows) without claiming that
they are utilitarian per se. Between two of
these polissoir at Butler Wash is a finely in-
cised, geometric pattern of short straight lines
(see Figure 7), possibly made with one of the
objects “sharpened” at this spot.
ASSOCIATED FEATURES—SAND
DUNE SITE
The atypical cupules at the Sand Dune
site are found together with anthropomorphs,
zoomorphs, phytomorphs and geometric de-
signs (Figure 8), but in general, most of the
figurative art is faint. However, Panel 4 is not
only exceptional for its concentration of atypi-
cal cupules, but also for its large number of
polissoir. Unlike Butler Wash, where those
lancet-shaped depressions are found in two
Figure 7. Polissoir and some incised patterns on a
vertical sandstone cliff at Butler Wash. Photograph
by Maarten van Hoek, July 2005.
Figure 8. Atypical cupules and other petroglyphs at a
vertical sandstone cliff, Panel 4, Sand Dune site. The
atypical cupule in the lower left-hand corner mea-
sures approximately 10 by 10 cm. Photograph by
Duke Hayduk, November 2005.
Atypical Cupules at Two Rock Art Sites in Southeastern Utah
112
major concentrations outside the petroglyph
areas, the polissoir at Panel 4 are found
“randomly,” though mainly in vertical
groups, among cupules and other petroglyphs.
Although not so deep as the examples at But-
ler Wash, they are easily recognized. Some are
more than 10 cm wide. Near one of the atypi-
cal cupules are two small geometric figures
consisting of straight incised lines forming
star-like figures (Figure 9). Again, the cupules
and polissoir have the same degree of pati-
nation as the surrounding natural rock sur-
face and the figurative petroglyphs. It is hard
to determine whether the cupules or polissoir
superimpose those petroglyphs based on cur-
sory inspection. Some of the polissoir at this
site show peck marks, but it is doubtful that
these were caused by executing the polissoir.
Those peck marks almost certainly are later
features and often are part of figurative im-
ages or geometric designs that most likely are
not even specifically related to the polissoir.
However, at Panel 3 one of the atypical cu-
pules seems to be superimposed upon a
phytomorph. It cannot be established if there
is a direct association between the cupules
and any of the other petroglyphs. In most
cases any relationship seems to be lacking
completely.
There is another association of the Panel 4
cupules that may be significant. A short dis-
tance west of Panel 4 is a large cliff area that
features a dark colored, vertical patination
stain caused by runoff water of a waterfall
that pours down from the cliff during the wet
season. The large concentration of atypical
cupules may be explained by the location of
the panel close to that temporary waterfall.
CONCLUSIONS
Since they are found at vertical cliff faces
and clearly show large peck marks, it is cer-
tain that the atypical cupules at both Butler
Wash and the Sand Dune site are anthropic
and non-utilitarian. Importantly, because of
their size and shape, these depressions clearly
differ from the standard cupule (Burton and
Farrell 1989; Christensen 2005). Still, their ex-
ecution must have been important, although
it can only be guessed at what their function
and/or meaning has been. Yet, other rock art
scenes may offer a clue, especially when
anthropic depressions are found at specific
spots with figurative images. For instance, a
rock art site in southeastern Utah features five
anthropic depressions placed on a zoomor-
phic figure’s head, heart area and extremities,
thus possibly acquiring power from the ani-
mal image (Malotki and Weaver 2002:72).
However, the “random” and obviously unre-
lated positions of the Butler Wash and Sand
Dune site atypical cupules indicate that other
rationales must have been the incentive for
these cupules.
The presence of a large number of polissoir
might give a clue, especially at Panel 4 of the
Figure 9. Atypical cupules and other petroglyphs at a
vertical sandstone cliff, Panel 4, Sand Dune site. The
longest (horizontal) line at the upper star-like figure
measures approximately 10 cm. Photograph by Duke
Hayduk, November 2005.
Van Hoek
113
Sand Dune site, which has a large number of
such abraded depressions. On the other hand,
at the major panel at the site, where petro-
glyphs are particularly dense, these polissoir
are lacking. It appears the polissoir were not
used to sharpen tools when petroglyphs were
on the same panel, although this can never be
ruled out. If this were the case, more major
rock art panels would feature polissoir, or
there would have been more polissoir at Butler
Wash for example.
Interestingly, many other major rock art
panels on the Colorado Plateau (and beyond)
typically seem to lack these alleged polissoir.
I noticed only one normal cupule and one
simple polissoir close together on one of the
vertical faces of the Potash Road rock art com-
plex near Moab, Utah, but this site was not fully
inspected on this occasion. Yet, more rock art
panels may be associated with polissoir, but this
is rarely mentioned in the literature or
shown in illustrations. For example, I have
seen many photographs of the “Five Faces”
pictograph panel in the Needles District,
Utah, but only a few books show the row of
polissoir in front of the panel (Malotki and
Weaver 2002:Plate 83; Slifer 2000:Figure 125).
It is therefore proposed that the Butler
Wash and Sand Dune polissoir were not used
to sharpen tools to manufacture the figura-
tive and geometric imagery at these sites. It
is more likely that this specific rock surface
was regarded to be charged with a special
power and that rubbing an object (which may
have been a tool like a knife) released part of
that power. This power was then absorbed by
either the object or the person(s) who used the
object. There are no ethnographic records to
confirm this.
Therefore, even though the reason to ex-
ecute cupules and polissoir at specific panels
at Butler Wash and Sand Dune will remain
obscure, it is possible that the execution had
more to do with the site or the rock itself than
with the petroglyphs. This seems to be con-
firmed by rituals among the Zuni Indians,
who still live in western New Mexico
(Stevenson 1904:294; Plate 12).
Zuni women and men wishing to have a
female child visit a shrine called ‘Mother
Rock’ where pregnant women remove
grains of sandstone for an offering to be
left at the site. An illustration of Mother
Rock shows a surface that is densely pock-
marked with abstract imagery, including
small pits, larger holes or niches, and
grooves. Vulvalike symbols have been
formed by using pits and incised lines
[Cole 1990:41].
On the north coast of Rapa Nui (Easter
Island) is a low eminence of irregular lava
called ‘Ava ‘o Kiri. On this outcrop are three
petroglyph panels with six large petroglyphs:
a fish-within-fish; a tail-of-fish (not an unfin-
ished fish); and a fine tuna associated with
two fishhooks. They are executed in outline.
There are also some scattered cupules, as well
as a few faint and indeterminate markings.
Importantly, at the foot of the knoll and out of
sight of the fish petroglyphs is a horizontal
outcrop. It is covered with more than 30
polissoir, in this case they are flat and oblong
abraded depressions and some anthropic
cupules. (For a photo see: http://mc2.vicnet.
net.au/home/vhra/web/rapanorth.html.)
The execution of a small number of figurative
images on top of the eminence does not jus-
tify the presence of so many polissoir. There-
fore, I suggest that the lower outcrop was
specially selected by the islanders to sharpen
their tools because of the importance of the
place. This may also be acknowledged by the
execution of a special sequence of fish engrav-
ings (Van Hoek 2000a:14–16). Perhaps it was
thought that supernatural potency (called
mana in the Polynesian culture) could be de-
rived from the rock by sharpening their tools
and by executing cupules at this specific spot.
Atypical Cupules at Two Rock Art Sites in Southeastern Utah
114
The islanders possibly thought that, in gen-
eral, touching this spot in a specific way
would imbue their tools and themselves with
supernatural potency. Could this idea also
explain the execution of cupules at Butler
Wash and Sand Dune? Might the non-visual
explain many of the cupules and polissoir at
these two sites and elsewhere in the South-
west?
Ouzman (2001:245) postulated a similar
idea. He describes some animal engravings
from southern Africa that were carefully and
repeatedly rubbed with the fingers or pieces
of hide at specific spots. Importantly, Ouzman
argues that “rubbing them [those spots] allowed
people to access the potency they embodied”
(Ouzman 2001:247). The manufacturing of
cupules does not actually represent instances
of rubbing, though tool sharpening activities
do. The execution of cupules may still have
had the same purpose. “Such cutting and ham-
mering of the rock also functioned more generally
as a means of piercing the rock so that potency
could flow from the Spirit World into the Ordi-
nary World” (Ouzman 2001:248) and into the
person or even the group that manufactured
those openings. This idea would explain the
random placement of such cupules on the
rock. If the purpose of those rituals were to
release potency from the Spirit World, it
would not really matter where those cupules
were placed. The execution of those cupules
could fulfill the desire to possess pieces of such
potent places (Ouzman 2001:248). When rock
art panels prove to have been flaked cultur-
ally, this could point to the desire to possess a
part of a potent site (Ouzman 2001:250). But
the execution of cupules hardly ever produces
flakes suitable enough to take away. There-
fore, to overcome this problem, another
method might have been invented. The manu-
facturing of cupules often produces a fine
stone powder that can easily be swallowed by
a person without causing harm. It is known
that animals, like elephants and giraffes, and
even groups of people occasionally consume
certain types of clay during severe shortages
of food. Consuming stone powder from cu-
pule rocks for several reasons has also been
reported from other areas. It is suggested that
the willfully executed holes at the aforemen-
tioned zoomorph in southeastern Utah may
have been motivated by the idea of utilizing
the power inherent in the animal fragments
to obtain favorable outcomes for hunting or
ritual related activities similar to those de-
picted on the rock art panel. In fact, rock flour
from the petroglyphs may actually have been
ingested by the ritual participants. This act is
referred to as geophagy, the “consumption
of earth” (Malotki and Weaver 2002:72). Also
in Europe, cupule-powder is said to have
been used as or in medicine (Evers 1996:83;
Schwegler 1992:29; see also Callahan 2000 for
a full report). In this respect it is worth men-
tioning that Ouzman (2001:251) tentatively
suggests that the ingestion of rock powder
might also have been a possible way for se-
lected people in southern Africa to inhere the
potency of a rock or rock art site.
Thus the execution of cupules and polissoir
at certain panels at Butler Wash and the Sand
Dune site may have been intended to create
visible passages to the Spirit World and possi-
bly simultaneously to produce a powder that
could be ingested, or flakes that could be
taken, in order to absorb metaphorically and
literally the potency of the place. Also the
execution itself may have had ritual signifi-
cance.
It may therefore be argued that the major-
ity of the cupules and polissoir at Butler Wash
and the Sand Dune site that are found to-
gether with figurative petroglyphs probably
express a more intimate relation with the rock
and/or the place where they are found than
with the figurative imagery itself. Such place-
related cupules and polissoir may represent a
means of contacting and accessing the Spiri-
tual World hidden “behind” the rock surface.
Van Hoek
115
An additional reason to produce cupules and
polissoir might have been the desire to acquire,
or even ingest, powder or pieces of those sa-
cred places or as mnemonic devices.
Acknowledgments. I am most grateful to
Duke and Sarah Hayduk of Bluff, Utah, for
their great hospitality and for the help Duke
offered by going out into the field and taking
a large number of extra photographs of the
Sand Dune site for me. I am also indebted to
Vaughn Hadenfeldt of Bluff, for informing me
about the cupules at those sites. Carol
Georgopoulos was helpful with general infor-
mation about Utah rock art during the prepa-
ration of this paper. I am also grateful to my
wife, Elles, for her invaluable assistance dur-
ing all the surveys in Utah. Last but not least,
I was very pleased that Mavis Greer was so
kind to present this paper at the ARARA Con-
ference at Bluff, Utah in 2006.
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