Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1488721
30 | SIGNATURE MONTANA Legend has it that a young crow boy was lost in the mountains. He was saved by a mysterious group of Lile People. Standing a mere 18 inches tall, these people had incredible strength. eir only request for repayment was to honor, cherish, and revere the mountains. While exploring the Pryor Mountains, you may encounter fasting beds and projectile points. But if you know where to look, there's a canyon in the sandstone deposits to the south where people that came long before us carved petroglyphs into the walls. TRIP DAY P R Y O R M O U N T A I N S MM-008_SigMtAd_3.375x4.305.indd 1 8/25/22 7:51 AM As the Pryors taper into the plains to the south, the limestone canyons give way to sandstone canyons. Most vantage points see nothing but flat land. However, a bird's eye view shows how centuries of rain and snow have carved into this layer, creating deep channels into the earth where animals and humans can hide, play, and mark their passing. It's one of these canyons, aptly named Petroglyph Canyon, where a portion of the canyon has been "pecked" with rock art. Here, ancient peoples marked their presence on the walls of the canyons by chipping away at the darkened sandstone patina. As a result, the lighter-colored rock below continues to shine through, even centuries later. But who were these people that carved symbolic images into the rock? Why did they carve them, and what can we learn about their presence in the Pryor Mountains many years before Montana was even a thought? Petroglyph Canyon contains hundreds of depictions of people and animals. e short answer is that we don't know. Nobody knows how old these petroglyphs actually are. We don't know which people group created them, and we can only speculate on their meaning and purpose. We do know that they have cultural significance. ey're not just ancient graffiti on the rocks. ey are symbolic for the people groups and may indicate where religious or traditional ceremonies occurred. ey can mark a significant event, indicate a boundary between tribes, or even represent a time of plenty or a time of want. What we know about Petroglyph Canyon, south of the mysterious Pryor Mountains, is that we should respect the artifacts. We should learn from them and understand that this area has provided a home and a way of life for thousands of years. Many of the human forms are carrying bows. S MT Scott Sery is a writer living in Billings with his wife and son. Whenever possible, he's out rock and ice climbing, caving, backpacking, hunting, fishing, and loving Montana.