Rock paintings give residents a glimpse of the past

Despite that, he said the province’s rich history provides valuable insights into the human past.

Rock art, by the nature of what’s used to paint, makes it difficult to date, he said.

“There’s no real material that we…can get a calendar date from, unlike other archeological sites that have wood or bone in them that we can radiocarbon date, it’s not so with rock art.”

The exception is one site in northern Quebec, which its curator Tim Jones discovered dates back 2,100 years.

In Panas opinion the paintings or carvings left behind aren’t created by well-trained artists, but rather individuals with an important story to tell or information to share.

“Right now approximately in Saskatchewan there [are] about 30,000 known archeological sites. Rock art sites in northern Saskatchewan only comprise around 70 of these sites so they are incredibly [unique],” said Panas.

According to Panas any rock surface can be used a canvas to display rock art. Panas also stated there are two main forms these historical messages are portrayed with.

“The two forms that we see are pictographs, where it’s paintings…or petroglyphs where its images are actually carved into the rock,” he said, stating the graphics they find in northern Saskatchewan are most often pictographs.

Not only is it sometimes hard to decode the hidden meaning behind the art, Panas said it’s also hard to date.

Panas said many of the sites that are included in the museum’s exhibit are recognizable by residents of Prince Albert and surrounding areas who regularly canoe and camp.

“A lot of them are along the Churchill River System, we do see other ones along Reindeer Lake and then other lakes and rivers throughout northern Saskatchewan,” he said.

The Kiwetinohk exhibit, provided by the Saskatchewan Archeological Society has garnered so much attention Panas said they have extended the viewing from March 27 until April 9.

“I think when people think of archeology as well is they typically think of, you know, the pyramids of Egypt and Greece and everything else, and they don’t realize the extensive human history that we have here in the province,” he said, also noting the display aligns well with school curriculums.

– with files from paNOW’s Sarah Stone

kbruch@panow.com

On Twitter:@KaylaBruch1

by Kayla Bruch

Rock paintings give residents a glimpse of the past

What's Trending