Sacred Cave/Rock Art Vandalized Near Bend, OR

Vandalism Discovered at Arnold Cave Complex in Central Oregon-Reward Offered

April 21, 2011, during a visit to the Arnold cave complex, Forest Archaeologist Penni Borghi, Wildlife Specialist Julie York, local Grotto president Matt Skeels, and ASCO members Lisa Nicol and Susan Gray discovered extensive paint vandalism at Hidden Forest Cave.

Several different colors of spray paint graffiti covered a large stretch of the east face of the sink area, stopping just short of the drip line. Pictures do not do the damage justice (see video below)!

This cave is one of the most beautiful in the extensive lava tube systems in Central Oregon, and one of the most overused and badly treated. Past ASCO stewardship visits have reported evidence of vehicular traffic on the closed roads, illegal fire pits, damaged trees cut for firewood and shot up for whatever reason, large numbers of beer cans and bottles (many shattered against the rock faces), discarded clothing, and other types of graffiti.

If you are unsure about what activities are not permitted in the caves, you may read the Forest Service’s guidelines for cave access on their website. (http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/conditio ns/cave_access_deschutes.pdf)

If you have any information that could help the investigation into the vandalism at this site, please contact Eddy Cartaya, the Forest Service law enforcement officer handling the case, at the Bend-Fort Rock Office (541-383- 4796).

(Article above reprinted with permission from the ASCO May-June 2011 Midden. Thanks to Susan Gray, Editor of the Midden for sending us this info.)

VIDEO BELOW PROVIDED BY OREGON HIGH DESERT GROTTO

(caution...if you love rock art and/or caves this is a very disturbing video).

REWARD OFFERED/DONATE TO REWARD FUND

Oregon High Desert Grotto, a caving club based in Bend, OR, is offering a reward for information on the Hidden Forest Cave vandalism. They are also asking for donations to increase the reward fund. Click here for more info on the reward or to make a donation

Kennewick Man II Debate Continues

Two bits of recent news on the newly discovered Kennewick Man II bones...

From the Tri-City Herald, Sept. 15, 2009

Anthropologist to study jawbone found in river

The Army Corps of Engineers plans to hire an independent anthropologist to study a jawbone found in the Columbia River in August, said Corps spokesman Joseph Saxon.

The lower jawbone with two teeth was turned over to the Army Corps because it was found on the agency's land in an undisclosed location on the river. The 9,300-year-old bones of Kennewick Man also were found on the Columbia River...

Read the whole story at: Tri-City Herald: Sept. 15, 2009


From the Seattle Times, Sept. 15, 2009

Did U.S. Corps of Engineers learn nothing from Kennewick Man?

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers apparently didn't learn much from the experience of the Kennewick Man case, these guest columnists write. The initial Corps decision to turn a jawbone found on the shores of the Columbia over to tribes without establishing a definitive connection is misguided.

By Alan Schneider and Cleone Hawkinson

GOVERNMENT agencies are often slow learners. A case in point is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' process for protecting human skeletal remains found on Corps-managed federal land.

Recently a partial human jawbone and two teeth were recovered from the Columbia River not far from where the 9,400-year-old Kennewick Man skeleton was found in 1996. Based solely upon visual inspection of these remains, the Army Corps declared them to be Native American, which puts them on a fast track for transfer to local tribes...

Read the whole story at: Seattle Times: Sept. 15, 2009

Ancient Images: Deschutes River Rock Art Video

The view from this small Oregon rock shelter is gorgeous...coupled with its spiritual energy it must have inspired hundreds of generations of visitors as they sought its power.










Located above the fast flowing Deschutes River (a tributary of the Columbia) in central Oregon, the shallow cave is filled with rock art, mostly red or white pictographs.















Both vision quest and shamanistic images are found in the shelter.

Polished smooth by millennia of use, a large flat rock surface in the center of the shelter provides a perfect spot to sit or lay as you seek interaction with spirit helpers or mysterious forces.

You can share a little of this ancient experience in the video below. (Remember to turn on your sound, click the "full-screen" option for a larger view of the video. The photos in this post can also be enlarged by clicking on them).


(Please be aware that YouTube will show you several "recommended videos" at the bottom of the screen when Ancient Images is over. Some of these are interesting, others may be completely inappropriate. Sadly I have no influence or control over what YouTube chooses to promote at the end of my video. Viewer beware.).

Please remember to preserve and protect unique and irreplaceable cultural treasures like this small rock shelter. It is still sacred to the people who used it...and continue to use it even now.

This rock art has been here for hundreds, if not thousands, of years...with your help it can still be here thousands of years from now.

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