ARPAST EXPLORES THE PETIT JEAN MOUNTAIN ROCK ART CAVES Larry and a few of his ARPAST team members recently hiked up Petit Jean Mountain in Morrilton, Arkansas and visited the Rock Art Caves, one of the largest bluff shelters found in the state of Arkansas. Rock House Cave, which can be accessed via the Rock House Cave Trail, was once home to Native Americans well over a thousand years ago. The bluff dwellers who called this shelter home were nomadic hunter-gatherers, hunting with spears since they had yet to invent the bow and arrow. The natives who used this area left behind evidence of their existence in the form of pictographs (paintings on stone) located on the back wall of the cave. The pictographs were created using minerals from the rocks in the area immediately surrounding the cave. The pictures in the cave tell a story of what was important to the Native Americans. Looking at the paintings today, one can only guess what they mean. It should be noted that Rock House Cave is an archaeological historical site, protected by state law.
