Highlights Archives
May is Archaeology Month
Help us celebrate Wisconsin's fascinating archaeological heritage! This month Wisconsin Historical Society archaeologists will present events at the Bell Coulee rock shelter in La Crosse, Kenosha Public Museum, Roche-a-Cri State Park near Adams-Friendship, and at Pope Farm Park in the town of Middleton. Please see our calendar of events for complete details on all Historic Preservation and Archaeology Month activities. We also have a series of displays highlighting public archaeology in the lobby and library of the Historical Society's headquarters building at 816 State Street in Madison.
 An archaeologist explores an ancient rock shelter This year's Wisconsin Archaeology Month poster and bookmark highlight rock art. The stunning central image of the poster (at right) is housed in our Visual Materials Collections. It captures avocational archaeologist Norb Bybee as he examines petroglyphs at a rock shelter in western Wisconsin. This unusual site is decorated with rare images of people, deer and fish. One human image at the site, reminiscent of Edvard Munch's famous painting "The Scream," (see the image below) was chosen to grace this year's bookmark.
Two types of rock art are found in Wisconsin — petroglyphs (carvings) and pictographs (paintings). Most sites are located in the southwestern part of the state, where rock outcrops are common. It is likely that most date to the period after A.D. 500, but some earlier sites may exist here and there. Only one rock art site — at Roche-a-Cri State Park — is currently accessible to the public. We will be leading a tour at this site at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. Park fees will apply.
 A human figure carved centuries ago Rock art sites are among the rarest and most fragile of Wisconsin's heritage resources. Many have been defaced by vandals, who gouge or spray-paint their initials over ancient carvings. Logging lets light fall onto rockfaces, fading paintings and letting destructive lichens and moss cover fragile carvings. Pollution weakens vulnerable rockfaces, causing entire panels to disintegrate. Currently all rock art in Wisconsin is protected by state law.
You can celebrate and help protect Wisconsin's irreplaceable archaeological resources by attending an Archaeology Month event or by exploring our Web site.
:: Posted May 18, 2007
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