The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
GREENLEAF TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- The Sanilac Petroglyphs have drawn generations
of visitors to a wooded area in rural Michigan, but the rare American Indian
carvings are in danger of being lost forever unless something is done to
preserve them.
The petroglyphs, the only known such carvings in Michigan and some of only a
few in the Great Lakes region, were created anywhere from 400 to 1,000 years
ago when Indians carved figures into a 25-by-40 square-foot piece of soft
sandstone.
Farmers discovered them just before the turn of the 20th century, after
massive fires of 1871 and 1881 cleared much of the heavy forests in
Michigan's Thumb area and burned away topsoil. Since then, the petroglyphs
have suffered the wear and tear of harsh winters and the hundreds of
visitors, who at times even carved their own initials in the stone.
Although the specific meaning of the swirls, lines, handprints, flying birds
and bow-wielding men depicted in the carvings remains the subject of debate,
experts say the petroglyphs, and their location, were significant to the
Indians that traveled to the spot.
"These are very important figures religiously and mythologically. It's not
just random scratching or doodling. There was a purpose to going there,"
said John Halsey, the state's archaeologist.
Halsey explained that no one knows which Indian tribe created the
petroglyphs or exactly when they did it, because a number of tribes moved
through the area during that time, and artifacts that could be carbon-dated
haven't been found near the work.
"What I think it is, is a place where shamans or hunters went on vision
quests and recorded what they saw," Halsey said. "A lot of (the carvings)
aren't particularly representational of animals. There are some bird tracks,
and some appear to be the great underwater panther, thunderbirds, things
common to a great many native people across the Midwest."
Now, after decades of seeing the carvings slowly disappear, local and state
officials, along with one of Michigan's most prominent Indian tribes, are
forming a joint steering committee to find new ways to preserve the
petroglyphs for future generations.
"It connects us back to the earth," said Bonnie Ekdahl, director of the
Saginaw Chippewa tribe's Ziibiwing Center in Mount Pleasant. "It connects us
back to the ancestors. We're descended from those people. I mean where did
we come from? We've always been here."
The petroglyphs are located about 100 miles north of Detroit.
Petroglyphs aren't uncommon in North America, but many are concentrated in
the Southwest, where there is an abundance of the exposed rock that is rare
in Michigan, Halsey said.
Other Great Lakes petroglyphs are less susceptible to environmental damage
because they were carved in much harder materials. For example, the Jeffers
Petroglyphs in Minnesota, which were carved in quartzite bedrock, are
thought to be thousands of years older than the Sanilac Petroglyphs.
In addition to the effects of nature, the petroglyphs have been hurt by
state budget cuts. Two years ago, Michigan officials cut the funding needed
to keep the site open to the public, but a grant saved the area from being
shuttered in 2004 and 2005. State officials are looking for funding to keep
them open beyond this year.
Phillip Kwiatkowski, director of the Michigan Historical Museum System, said
that preserving the stone, which is the only Indian site included in the
state museum system, is a concern for state officials. He said the museum
has been in discussions with the administrators of other petroglyphs in
hopes of finding ways to preserve the carvings.
But others like Halsey are not as optimistic.
"It's not going to disappear in 10 years, but do you know of anything that's
eternal?" Halsey asked. "What's the annual swing of temperature there? One
hundred degrees? The best way from a strictly archaeological standpoint is
to document them and to otherwise minimize contact with the rock. And that's
very difficult to do."