Paint Rock in Central Texas serves as an outdoor gallery of rock art that depicts Native American heritage over centuries. The site features over 1,500 individual images on massive boulders, including unique depictions like a turtle struck by light at solar noon on the winter solstice.
A recent four-day excavation at Paint Rock gathered Coahuiltecan, Comanche, and Lipan Apache people along with researchers. Mary Motah Weahkee, a Comanche Nation member, emphasized the importance of visiting the site for connecting with history through prayers, rituals, and community involvement.
Scholars suggest that Native groups have occupied Paint Rock during the Late Archaic (600 B.C. – 200 A.D.) and Late Prehistoric (800 A.D. – 1700 A.D.) periods. The site has hosted up to 300 different tribes, including the Comanches, until settlers forced them out in 1865.
Excavations and community rituals at Paint Rock provide insights into ancestral ways for present-day descendants. Imagining the lives of their forebears, like Numunu Ruvalcava, offers a profound connection to their heritage and cultural practices.
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