Alphabetical Index
| Location: | 10km south of Billings. I-90 exit #452 Lockwood, 10km south on Coburn Road. |
| Open: | 15-APR to Memorial Day daily 10-19. Memorial Day to Labor Day daily 8-20. Labor Day to 15-OCT daily 10-19. [2004] |
| Fee: | Adults USD 5. [2004] |
| Classification: | |
| Light: | not necessary |
| Dimension: | |
| Guided tours: | |
| Bibliography: | |
| Address: | Pictograph Cave State Park, 2300 Lake Elmo Drive, Billings, MT 59105, Tel: +1-406-247-2940. |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/07/01 20:31:13 $ |
| early 1900s | popular stopping place along the stage route between Billings and the town of Coburn. | |
| 1937 | site attracted national interest when amateur archaeologists discovered deposits of prehistoric artifacts. | |
| 1937 | site acquired by the Montana Highway Commission. | |
| 1937 | excavation by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), directed by H. Melville Sayre from the Montana School of Mines. | |
| 1939 | sandstone museum built below the caves. | |
| 1940 | the archaeologist William Mulloy replaces Sayre as project director. | |
| 1941 | archaeological excavation ended due to World War II. | |
| post war | site vandalized. | |
| early 1960s | the Billings Archaeological Society started a movement to protect and promote the cave. | |
| 1963 | Billings mayor Willard Fraser signed an agreement with the state to manage and develop the site. | |
| 1964 | designated a National Historic Landmark. | |
| 1969 | renamed Pictograph Caves State Historic Site. | |
| 1991 | declared a State Park. | |
| AUG-2008 | construction of a new Visitor Center and new paths. |
Pictograph Cave is a complex of three overhanging rocks, rock shelters used by the native inhabitants to draw pictures. This caves are called Pictograph Cave, Middle Cave and Ghost Cave. The location was used by prehistoric hunters over centuries, more than 30,000 artifacts have been found so far. Only one cave is accessible to the public, the others are closed to protect them.
The pictographs are 106 rock paintings, red, white, and, occasionally, yellow figures painted across earlier paintings in black. Typical are pictures of coup sticks, warriors in full regalia, turtles, bears, and bison. They were first documented by H. Melville Sayre in 1937 during an excavation. The same excavation revealed stone and bone tools, projectile points, a carved amulet, pottery shards, and burned bone. The oldest remains were from the Middle Prehistoric (3000 BC to 500 AD). The upper layers show occupations by nomadic buffalo hunters armed with bows and arrows during the Late Prehistoric (500 AD to 1800 AD).
This cave is not a show cave, it is not interesting from the speleologic view, but it is an important archaeologic site. The cave is one of numerous fluviatile caves formed by the erosion of a long gone river.
| Main Index | USA | Montana |
| Last updated Terms of Use, © Jochen Duckeck. |
|
Clickable Maps Alphabetical Index |
|
Contact showcaves.com: |
|
General Information |