The Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center is working

to preserve rock art in the Lower Pecos River Region of southwest

Texas. Trek leader Katie Wilson (wearing a bandanna) discusses the
rock art at Halo Shelter with a tour group.

On the
Rocks
Archaeologist-led treks
in Val Verde County unveil
ancient Indigenous art
threatened by time
BY PAM LeBLANC
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ERICH SCHLEGEL

28 | AAA EXPLORER JAN/FEB/MAR 2024 JAN/FEB/MAR 2024 AAA EXPLORER | 29

 “Getting firsthand experience with
rock art is really important. . . . that
makes you want to advocate for it.”
—Katie Wilson, archaeologist and trek leader

I
Right: At Halo Shelter,
Pecos River–style rock art
’m scooting stretches for about 50 feet
across a limestone wall.
backward down a Below: Images of humans,
animals, and abstract
steep slope into designs are featured in this
style of rock art.
a rocky, cactus-
studded canyon,
one hand clutching
a rope to help keep
me steady.

If You Go
As I pick my way along, one step at a time,
someone from above calls out a few words
of encouragement. Beneath me awaits one
of the more than 300 known rock art sites The Shumla Archaeological Research
scattered throughout Val Verde County in the & Education Center offers full-day ($120)
Lower Pecos River Region of southwest Texas. and half-day ($60) treks to rock art sites
I rest a moment, then keep moving. In another in Val Verde County in spring and fall.
minute I hit flat ground. Now I’m ready for the Participants must be at least 8 years old,
relatively fit due to the strenuous nature
big reveal.
of some of the trips, and able to walk on
Each spring and fall in this rugged cor-
uneven terrain. For a schedule of treks
ner of the state, the Shumla Archaeological (which are limited to 25 people), go to
Research & Education Center offers guided shumla.org.
treks to rock shelters where Indigenous peo- You can also learn more about the rock
ple painted murals thousands of years ago. art by visiting Shumla’s headquarters in
For the center, it’s an opportunity to educate Comstock. Staffers will show you the digital
images that have been made, and you can
the public about this ancient art form and to
observe work in the plasma oxidation lab.
raise money for researching and protecting it.
Shumla also welcomes visitors at its Texas
For the public, it’s a chance to learn directly Sacred places Writer Pam LeBlanc
State University office in San Marcos. It
inches her way down
from archaeologists who are working in the Our full-day trip begins early in the morning doesn’t have a lab, but you can see digital
into a canyon to view the
field and studying the paintings before time at Shumla’s headquarters in the tiny town of rock art at Halo Shelter. images there and discuss the art with
erases them. Comstock, 32 miles west of Del Rio. From Inset: Seeing the murals archaeologists and student volunteers.
“Getting firsthand experience with rock art there, 20 adults (and a few preteens) pile requires riding through Both offices are open 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday
hardscrabble country in through Thursday, but you should arrange
is really important,” says archaeologist and into high-clearance vehicles for the hour-
high-clearance vehicles. a visit by calling (432) 292-4848 or emailing
trek leader Katie Wilson, who’s also Shumla’s long drive to Halo Shelter, located on a pri-
info@shumla.org.
outreach coordinator. “You can see it for vate ranch.
yourself, and that makes you want to advo- After we navigate our way down the slope
cate for it.” (about a 10-minute challenge for each of us),

30 | AAA EXPLORER JAN/FEB/MAR 2024 JAN/FEB/MAR 2024 AAA EXPLORER | 31

 Researchers believe the art may
Wilson asks that we be quiet, noting that rock depict the belief system or origin
stories of the people who painted it.
shelters were sacred places for the artists.
We make our way around a corner in silence,
ignoring the brush plants snagging our skin,
then get our first glimpse of the art.
It’s gorgeous. in this region on land that’s now split
The black, red, yellow, and white paint- between Mexico and Texas.
ings at Halo Shelter stretch for about 50 feet “To me, it’s very emotional,” Wilson
along a gray limestone wall at the back of an says. “When you go to a rock shelter,
overhang. At the center of the paintings is what you’re looking at is the worldview
a humanlike figure in a mustard-yellow gar- of the people who made the art.”
ment, with what appears to be a halo over its
head. Farther down, a cat with its hair stand- Layers of History
ing on end as if it has been spooked looks like Most of Shumla’s full-day treks visit 2
it’s breathing fire. The squiggly lines coming rock art locations, but ours hits just
from its mouth are known as “speech breath,” one so we can enjoy a dip in the nearby
Wilson tells us, and indicate sound. Devils River, which cuts through this
A row of red deer, outlined in black, march ranch. In another hour I’m floating zen-
across one section of the wall. In another like in an almost neon-colored ribbon of
spot, small human figures hold the legs of a turquoise that splices the desert’s dull
deer as if butchering it. Undulating lines, del- gray-green.
icate designs, and bursts of color complete Relaxing in the cool water, our group
the elaborate painting. chats about what we’ve just seen. We
This particular shelter holds one of the all agree the art is more than colors
region’s finest examples of Pecos River–style as much accretion—an organic and min- Above: A halo seems splashed on a wall.
rock art, a painting style characterized by eral buildup that accumulates on rocks over to float above the head “There are layers and layers of his-
of a humanlike figure.
large multicolored images of humans, ani- time, making rock paintings difficult to see. tory here,” says architect Jessie Temple
Right: Trekkers
mals, and abstract designs. Some design ele- Besides accretion, other factors—includ- contemplate the of Austin, who signed up for the trek
ments are repeated in other rock art in the ing flooding, vandalism, sun exposure, animal Indigenous art during murals even after they’ve vanished. because she wanted to understand
region, and researchers believe the art may activity, and natural weathering—are also tak- the lunch break. There’s no way to know exactly when how other people inhabited the land on
depict the belief system or origin stories of ing a toll on the region’s rock art. That’s why, in the art might be lost, but a flash flood at which she lives. “I didn’t expect to feel
the people who painted it. “It’s like a visual 2017, Shumla launched the Alexandria Project, any time could destroy some panels— this moved by it. But seeing it in person
book that’s used to teach and pass on sto- in which archaeologists spent 4 years docu- thus the urgency. makes it less of a book and more of a
ries,” Wilson says. menting 235 rock art sites via thousands of “They’re old, but still visible now,” movie.”
The artists used paint made with crushed high-resolution digital images. Those images Wilson says. “If we want to be able to Artist Emma Schmidt, who paints
minerals, plant sap, and animal fat (likely bone will allow future generations to study the see these sites in the future, we need contemporary murals in Austin, teared
marrow), and scientists can tell the order in to digitally preserve them.” up when she first glimpsed the ancient

Other ROck Tours

which they painted it on the wall—black first, We gaze at the Halo art for a while, artwork.
then red, followed by yellow and white. then pull out picnic lunches we’ve “You sense the singular specialness
brought with us. I plop onto the ground of the place, and to see something that
Looming Threats At Seminole Canyon State Park in Comstock, rangers lead 11/2-hour tours ($8) and lean against a slab of rock. As I eat was painted that long ago is so fasci-
Radiocarbon dating has shown that the rock to Fate Bell Shelter year-round, Wednesday through Sunday. Buy tickets at stuffed grape leaves, I try to imagine the nating,” Schmidt says. “Painted works
art in Val Verde County was produced 1,500 texasstateparks.reserveamerica.com. The park also offers challenging daylong people who painted this mural. Did they have been such an important commu-
to 5,400 years ago, says Karen Steelman, the hikes to Presa Canyon ($30) from October through March. Buy tickets at laugh and tell jokes as they worked? nication form for so long. Now I want to
friendsofscsp.org.
science director who runs Shumla’s plasma How long did it take? Did they stop for see all the sites.”
The Witte Museum in San Antonio organizes 11/2-hour guided tours ($15 for
oxidation laboratory, where flecks of paint far a lunch break like we’re doing?
members; $25 for nonmembers) to the White Shaman Mural every Saturday from
smaller than a fingernail are tested. The rock
art at Halo Shelter looks more vibrant than
other murals because it isn’t covered by
September through May. It also offers tours to other sites in the Lower Pecos
region on select dates. For information or to buy tickets, call (210) 357-1910 or
visit wittemuseum.org.
Archaeologists don’t know exactly
who painted the murals, but it was likely
groups of hunter-gatherers who lived
PAM LeBLANC is an Austin-based free-
lance writer.
!
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY AND ALWAYS USE A DESIGNATED DRIVER

32 | AAA EXPLORER JAN/FEB/MAR 2024 AAA.COM AAA.COM JAN/FEB/MAR 2024 AAA EXPLORER | 33