Animal Bone and Bone Artifacts

Over 7,500 individual animal bones and tooth fragments were recovered from the interiors of the house structures at Crooks Canyon. Most of these bones are the discarded remains of food items. Mule deer, cottontails, and jackrabbits were favored game animals, although badgers, bobcats, coyotes, rodents, and other small animals were also eaten. Several fragments of domesticated cow and sheep bone were also found, attesting to the rising importance of introduced Euro-american animal foods.

Animal bone was also used to fashion a variety of tools and ornaments. Rabbit and bird bone, which are hollow, made wonderful beads and longer, polished tubes for use in necklaces and other adornments. Also common are bone awls, recognized by their sharp, highly polished tips used for piercing rawhide and weaving baskets.

Bone artifacts from the Modoc Plateau, including an awl and tube beads fashioned from rabbit bone.


Petroglyphs

At several locations, ancient artisans etched designs into the basalt rimrock overlooking Crooks Canyon Creek. These designs, or petroglyphs, are made by pecking the weathered surface of the basalt with a rock hammer, exposing underlying, lighter-colored material.

Most of the petroglyph panels documented in the canyon contain abstract design elements, such as meandering lines, circles, dots, and line sequences. Their meaning is difficult to interpret, although many archaeologists believe they may have been associated with the rituals and spirit world surrounding the hunting of large game. These types of petroglyphs are thought to be relatively old, dating to perhaps the Middle Archaic Period - that is, well before the nearby house structures were occupied.

A petroglyph panel located in Crooks Canyon.


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