Nevadans for Cultural Preservation

Alicia Jensen, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Archaeologist, has been working in the BLM Carson City District Office (CCDO), Sierra Front Field Office (SFFO) since 2014. She will present a brief history of the CCDO with an emphasis on culturally important areas of the SFFO. She will discuss some of the oldest and well-preserved local archaeological sites, Indigenous peoples' lifeways throughout time, significant petroglyph landscapes, the importance of the Pine Nut Mountains, the first Euro-Americans to explore and immigrate to the region, segments of the California National Historic Trail (CA NHT) within the district, the history of the Virginia City National Historic Landmark, and more.

Image from Chilcoot Ridge in Lassen County, CA, looking down on the valley where there is a segment of CA NHT trail.

J. H. N. Loubser PhD, RPA Archaeologist/Rock Art Specialist at Stratum Unlimited LLC

Using examples from the White River Narrows, Lincoln County, Nevada, the main aim of the talk is to show that the recording of rock imagery goes beyond individual images and considers the relationship between the images and the rock surfaces too. From a conservation point of view the observation and recording of the rock surface at various scales of inclusion help assess the physical condition of the rock and the imagery it supports. From an archaeological perspective, the overlap between images and the rock surface and between different images can reveal interesting information on image placement and image sequences. Whereas condition assessments help inform site conservation and management recommendations, creating thumbnails for each individual motif helps with repeatable comparison within and between sites. Trends in repeated overlap sequences between pairs of motifs over a wide area may help create a regional syntax and/or chronology of imagery.