Hickison Summit
Lander County, Lander County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Hickison Summit. About one mile northwest lies a natural pass between two low buttes, which prehistorically, the aborigines may have used as a site of ambushing migratory deer herds. Three petroglyph panels are located in the pass. Concerted cooperative efforts of several families were necessary for successful trapping, killing and processing the deer. Petroglyphs suggest magical or ritual connection with hunting activities. They were added seasonally by the group's religious leader or shaman, as omens to insure a successful hunt.
Erected by Austin Chamber Of Commerce
The Story
For untold generations before European contact, Great Basin peoples worked the pass near Hickison Summit, funneling migratory deer herds toward a natural ambush between low buttes. Success took the coordinated effort of several families to trap, kill, and process the animals. On the rock walls they left three panels of petroglyphs, images tied to the ritual and spiritual life of the hunt, pecked seasonally by a group's shaman as omens for a good season.
Why it matters
Sites like this preserve the deep human history of the Great Basin, where Indigenous hunters read the land and left a visual record of belief thousands of years before written history reached the region.
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Themes & tags
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