This is the land of the Cahuilla Native Americans, neighbors to both the Ipai and the Tipai Kumeyaay, the Luiseno, the Serrano and the Quechan groups. How long they have lived here is a matter of some controversy, but, according to Dick, more evidence is pointing to a habitation of about 10,000 years. Our host took us around to a few of the pictograph sites in the area. While some of it appears to be abstract, other elements appear to be renditions of either anthropomorphs or partially realistic creatures. Most of the elements we saw are black paint on dark rock in rock shelters and were a challenge to photograph. All the photographs below are enhanced by Dstretch with thanks to Jon Harman for the software.
For more reading on the Cahuilla Native Americans, I recommend:
Mukat's People: The Cahuilla Indians of Southern California by Lowell J. Bean
The Heart Is Fire: The World of the Cahuilla Indians of Southern California by Deborah Dozier
Click on photos to enlarge and all photographs are copyright by Don Liponi 2015. Please do not use without written permission from me.