Turtle Shelter rock art site in Callaway
County, Missouri
Michael Fuller, St. Louis Community
College
The pictographs at Turtle Shelter
(23CY554) were observed by Bill Ehlers (an
amateur archaeologist and MAS member) in
1985 and reported to the Archaeological
Survey of Missouri (ASM) in 1990. Carol
Diaz-Granados (1993:479, 561) included a
descriptive paragraph about the site and two
line drawings of the pictographs in her
dissertation. Her analysis of the site was
based upon the written report and
photographs that Ehlers had provided the
ASM. Dr. Diaz-Granados noted that one
prominent pictograph "resembles" a turtle,
but she preferred to identify the pictograph
as a "skin" based upon an unnamed
informant. David Ludig guided me to the
site and he refers to the site as Turtle
Shelter.
The pictographs at Turtle Shelter were
painted with a red pigment that resembles
the geological streak test of red ochre.
There were at least two episodes of painting
at the site. A cluster of moderately bright
zoomorphic images are situated in a panel
on the left (west) side of the site. In contrast,
several dozen highly faded pictographs are
situated to the right of the zoomorphic panel.
The illustrations in this article were taken
with a Nikon D200 camera and the plan of
the zoomorphic panel was produced by
tracing over a photographic print of the
panel.
Turtle Shelter is high on the south facing
bluff of the Missouri River in Calloway
County. There is no evidence of vandalism
to the pictographs though a few of the
images are “blurred” by rubbing. The
blurring may have occurred as a result of
Native American ritual activity after the
paintings had been completed.
Turtle Pictograph (Figure 1)
Many anthropologists would argue that
trying to see meanings in prehistoric
pictographs is a fruitless task because it is
impossible to understand the original
identity and motivations of the painter(s). It
is also complicated by the fact that the
modern scholar often does not have
reasonable ethnographic evidence to help
guide the interpretation. In the case of Turtle
Shelter it is possible to use the wealth of
ethnographic data concerning the Osage
nation and Omaha nation to reconstruct
possible meanings for the pictographs.
The largest pictograph at Turtle Shelter,
visible from the shore of the Missouri River,
is a pictograph that resembles a snapping
turtle (Osage, Ke Cin-dse Ga-tse). In fact,
Turtle Shelter, viewed from the bank of the
Missouri River resembles the entrance to a
supernatural-sized snapping turtle’s den.
Snapping turtle is a sacred spirit being to the
warrior clan within the Earth moiety (Osage,
Hon'ga) of the Osage tribe (La Flesche
1928: 92). [The term moiety is used by
anthropologists to define half of a social
group where membership is based upon
descent from two common male or female
ancestors (Jary and Jary 2006). The moiety
division of the Osage tribe is patrilineal
where descent is traced through the father's
ancestors.]
Osage elders, during the early 20th century,
explained to Francis La Flesche (1921:92)
that the seven segments of the tail of a
snapping turtle is symbolic of the seven
military honors open to an Osage warrior.
The elders also praised the snapping turtle
because its shell is armored, like a smart
warrior’s shield. The Omaha, a Plains tribe
close in cultural traditions to the Osage,
praise the turtle for its “long, well-protected
and fruitful life” (La Flesche 1930:531).
Totemic/spirit beings (Figure 2)
Over a dozen medium size (10 to 20 cm.
tall) pictographs are situated to the left of the
turtle pictograph. The pictographs are
totemic symbols linked with spirit beings
that control hunting success, seasons,
weather and fertility of corn. Sabo
(2005:125-126) notes that rock art dealing
with such issues should be expected once
populations shift from hunting and gathering
to food production with cultivated crops.
The center piece of the totemic panel is a
smeared pictograph that I interpret as the
stalk and drooping leaves (Figure 2A and
Figure 3) of a sacred corn plant (Osage, To’-
ho Ha’-ba). Admittedly, the corn pictograph
is not as distinctive as some of the
petroglyph representations of corn found in
the Southwest (Grant 1967: 121a). The long,
down turned leaves and ear-like projection
from the side of the pictograph are the
features that impressed me as corn when I
visited the site. Diaz-Granados and Duncan
(2000:158) note that representations corn are
rare in Missouri.
La Flesche (1928: 57 - 58) reported that
Osage tradition attributed red, blue, white
and speckled corn as the gift of the spirit
being named Buffalo Bull (Osage, Tho’-xe).
To the right of the corn pictograph is a
representation of a buffalo bull, two buffalo
cows and a buffalo calf (Figure 2B and
Figure 4). The two cows are smeared, but
recognizable. The pictograph of the Buffalo
Bull compares favorably with a sketch
published by Fletcher and La Flesche
(1911:Figure 109) of Buffalo Bull from the
moccasin of an Omaha Indian.
To the left of the corn pictograph are images
of two deer spirit beings (Figure 2C). Deer
(Osage, Ta'inika-shinga), like snapping
turtle, is a clan totem belonging the earth
moiety of the Osage (La Flesche 1921:9597). The Turtle Shelter pictograph panel
shows one deer actively stalked by a puma.
A second deer, already wounded by the
puma, has streams of blood from its belly
and mouth. The shower of blood from the
belly of the deer appears as a sheet of drops
that can be interpreted, symbolically, as the
heavy rain during the Spring and Summer in
the Missouri river valley. The lighter flow of
blood from the Spirit Deer’s mouth might
represent the softer showers that occur
during the Fall. Two deer are shown to
represent the male and female - the buck and
doe.
Puma (Osage, In-gthon’-ga) is a spirit being
totem of another of the earth clans of the
Osage; it is also associated with the sun (La
Flesche 1921:107 - 109). The artist(s) who
painted the walls of Turtle Shelter purposely
painted two over-lapping pumas (Figure 2D)
with round paws and a long tail. The name
for puma in Omaha literally translates as
“Long Tail.” It is unfortunate that the puma
pictograph is smeared, but close
examination at the pictograph reveals an
adult puma hunting with a mate or cub.
Fletcher and La Flesche (1911:512) reported
that the Omaha admired the puma because it
rose at sunrise to hunt. The spirit being
called Male Puma was a symbol of courage
for the Osage (La Flesche 1921: 194). Puma
(Puma concolor) are also called panther,
cougar, and mountain lion in English. One
of the tributaries in the Ozarks is named
Panther Creek because of an aggressive
puma that had terrorized the 19th century
Euro-American settlers of Webster County.
There is also a Panther Creek in Pettus
County, close to Callaway County.
One of the sacred Osage songs recited by
Saucy Calf to Francis La Flesche (1930:545)
sounds as if it narrates the puma portion of
the Turtle Shelter pictographic panel:
"And what shall the little ones make to be
their symbol of courage, as they travel the
path of life? It has been said, in this house.
The male puma that lies outstretched, they
said,
He who is their grandfather, a person of
great courage,
They shall make to be their symbol of
courage.
At break of day
My grandfather (the male puma) rushed
forth to attack.
The dark-horned deer that lies outstretched,
within the very bend of a river.
My grandfather brought the deer to the
ground, to lie outstretched in death.
He [male puma] uttered a cry of triumph,
then spake, saying:
When the little ones go forth to strike the
enemy, in this very manner they shall
triumph.
Their hands shall ever be upon the foe, as
they travel the path of life."
Another important spirit being in the panel
around the corn pictograph is Black Bear
(Figure 2E). Spirit bear is portrayed rubbing
against a “bear tree” to mark his territory.
The Osage elders told La Flesche that black
bear (Osage, Wa-ca’-be) symbolizes fire and
charcoal (La Flesche 1921: 104 - 105).
Black bear clan members had the authority
to initiate war movements. The spirit bear at
Turtle Shelter resembles the design of a bear
on the moccasin of an Omaha youth as
recorded by Fletcher and La Flesche (1911:
Figure 109). The arched back of the bear
pictograph is very similar to the bear
fetishes carved by Zuni artists in New
Mexico. To the Zuni, bears and pumas are
held in special esteem because it is believed
that the hearts of these carnivores have
magical powers that cause the limbs of their
prey to stiffen just at the moment of the
attack (Ashmolean museum exhibit 2010).
Another spirit being associated with the
earth moiety of the Osage is Great Elk
(Figure 2F). This Spirit Being was revered
by the Osage for its act of self-sacrifice to
make the earth habitable to the Osage (La
Flesche 1921: Plate 11b). Great Elk (Osage,
Opon Tonga) is probably the quadruped
with antlers in the upper right corner of the
totemic panel at Turtle Shelter.
Just because an animal is associated with a
spirit being does not mean it can not be
hunted. Hunts that would kill a totemic
animal would require rituals of song and
offerings to the spirit beings. It is interesting
that elk, bear and deer where all hunted in
early winter by the Osage. One
interpretation for the Turtle Shelter site is
that the pictographs relate to the 3rd great
hunt of each year – that occurred after the
corn harvest.
Open hand pictograph
One last pictograph at Turtle Shelter
deserves special mention; it is an open hand
Figure 2G) with finger pointing to an
“outlined” cavity in the bedrock. Swan
(2004: catalog image 94) explained hand
symbols on a pair of garters worn by an
Osage dancer as "severed hands of an
enemy." Another interpretation for the hand
symbol is that the open hand, as in the
photograph of Slow Bull taken by Edward
Curtis (1907), is a form of invocation to the
spirit beings. Human figures with open
hands are prominent feature in the
petroglyph panels at Holiday Rock Art site
(23MN01) and Mitchell Rock Art Site
(23RN01) where the motifs definitely do not
deal with warfare. Seeman (2004:Figure 8)
interprets the mica cutout hand from the
Middle Woodland Period in Ohio as a
gesture of communication "between the
human community and the world of spirits
beyond."
What was the overall function of the
zoomorphic pictographs at Turtle Shelter?
The panel of figures was a sacred song in
images that described the intertwined nature
of several spirit beings sacred to the Hon’ga
(earth) moiety of the Osage. The shelter may
have been perceived as the home of the
snapping turtle spirit being. Other spirit
beings associated with this site included
buffalo bull, puma, deer, black bear, and elk.
Not a totemic spirit being, but of great
importance to the Osage, was the symbolic
representation of sacred corn. The spirit
beings held sacred at Turtle Shelter were
important in both hunting and warfare. The
emphasis of this panel was on the
thankfulness for hunting success and not
warfare.
Some anthropologists see totemic
identifications in rock art panels as old
fashioned and undefendable. A totemic
interpretation of the pictographs at Turtle
Shelter would not have been possible
without the detailed ethnographic research
by La Fleshe. Anthropologists studying the
rock art sites of the Arande in Australia have
also found totemic explanations to be very
plausible (Adam 1960:249) when utilizing
ethnographic informants to aid in the
interpretation.
Dating and rock art themes
Diaz-Granados and Duncan (2000:Table 5.1
and Figure 5.11) proposed ten pictographic
styles for Missouri. Turtle Shelter does not
fall within the mapped range for any of these
styles, but it may best be classified in style
10 called the Paydown/Painted (West
Central) Quasi-Style.
The only securely dated pictograph site in
Missouri is Picture Cave. There, 10th and
11th centuries AMS radiocarbon dates
correspond nicely with the Southern Cult
motifs in the art work. The C-14 dates at
Picture Cave also correspond to the inferred
dates from the pottery sherds found on the
floor of the cave (Diaz-Granados and
Duncan 2000:213).
Turtle Shelter and Picture Cave are very,
very different in terms of style and motifs.
Turtle Shelter presents a benevolent and
wonderous worldview with totemic spirit
beings providing the blessing of animals and
corn. Picture Cave presents human figures
firing arrows, carrying maces, and a fanged
underwater spirit being (Diaz-Granados
2004: Figures 6, 15, 17, 20; Diaz-Granados
and Duncan 2000: Plates 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,
17; Figures 5.18, 5.48, and 6.6). Picture
Cave, White Rock Bluff, Rattlesnake Bluff,
(Diaz-Granados 2004: Figure 14; DiazGranados and Duncan 2000) and other sites
in Missouri portray the theme of warfare and
can be interpreted as an apocaltyptic
depiction of the religious and social turmoils
that afflicted some or all of the
Mississippian communities in Missouri. The
peaceful and tranquil nature of the
zoomorphic pictographs at Turtle Shelter
(23CY554), Paydown Deer (23MS69), and
Painted Rock (23OS05) represents a
worldview in the post-apocalyptic time after
the collapse of the Mississippian cultures.
The highly faded pictographs to the right of
the large, turtle pictograph may have
represented scenes of warfare and
apocalypse. As they faded, a new worldview
was painted to their left that narrated the
traditions of the clans belonging to the earth
moiety of the Osage Nation.
Acknowledgements
This article is an outgrowth of a paper
presented during 2010 at the annual meeting
of the Society for American Archaeology
that was held in St. Louis, MO. Many thanks
to J. Craig Williams for inviting me to
present my research at the SAA meeting.
Special thanks to David Ludig who guided
me to Turtle Shelter and waited while I
photographed and sketched the pictographs.
Warm thanks to my wife/colleague,
Neathery Fuller and daughter, Amira Fuller,
who have helped while I climbed bluffs
trying to relocate and photograph rock art
sites in Missouri.
Bibliography
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http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/Turtle.html
CAPTIONS FOR THE FIGURES…..
Figure 1. Digital photograph of the most
prominent pictograph that has been
proposed as a Turtle or an animal skin.
David Ludwig holds a meter stick above his
head to provide a scale for the pictograph.
Figure 2. Line drawing of the zoomorphic
panel at Turtle Shelter based upon a single
digital photograph taken at the site during
2010.
Figure 3. Digital photograph of the pumas
(upper right corner) stalking a deer (upper
left corner) while a wounded deer bleeds
(lower left corner). The pictograph beneath
the puma is the problematic image that
resembles at stalk of corn with down turned
leaves and an ear attacked to the left side of
the stalk. [NOTE: The images are harder to
see in a black and white photograph than in
a color photograph.]
Figure 4. Digital photograph of the buffalo
bull (upper right corner), buffalo cows and
calf. The bear rubbing against a tree is
visible in the lower left hand corner. The
photograph scale is 30 centimeters in length.
Figure 5. Michael Fuller points to the
buffalo bull pictograph. The elk pictographic
is visible directly above the buffalo
pictograph.