Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

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Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

IUCN Category II - National Park

Rock carving, 2011

Rock carving, 2011

location Alberta (Canada)
surface 17.8 km²
WDPA ID 65079
Geographical location 49 ° 5 '  N , 111 ° 37'  W Coordinates: 49 ° 4 '55 "  N , 111 ° 37' 1"  W
mark
Location in Alberta
Setup date 1957
administration Alberta Parks

Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park is about 100 kilometers southeast of Lethbridge situated Provincial Park in the Canadian province of Alberta . It lies on both sides of the Milk River , covers an area of ​​17.8 km² and serves to protect one of the most extensive prairie regions within the Alberta park system and at the same time the Indian rock paintings and carvings. It was proposed for application by the provincial and federal government as a World Heritage Site , with UNESCO running the park under the name in the Blackfoot language , the Niitsítapi, as Áísínai'pi . This name means "it is recorded". Under the name ofÁísínai'pi National Historic Site of Canada was the park on 12 October 2004 on the National Historic Site of Canada explained. In 2019 the site was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO .

In the park there are more than 50 sites of so-called petroglyphs and thousands of individual works. They should go back well over a thousand years. The park is an IUCN Category II ( National Park ) protected area .

fauna and Flora

In the prairie area there are pronghorns ( Antilocapra americana ) as well as mule deer , northern pocket rats , skunks , raccoons , yellow-bellied marmots and bobcats .

There are also tiger salamanders , frog species such as Pseudacris maculata or the leopard frog , as well as Spea bombifrons , a species from the American paddock toad . In addition, there are species of snakes such as garter snakes , Pituophis catenifer sayi or the western rattlesnake .

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota , called 'cliff swallow' in North America

For avifauna of the park include the prairie falcon , the great horned owl , the short-eared owl , the kestrel that of swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota . Were entered pheasants and, as also in many parts of North America, the partridge .

A path between hoodoos

The park areas marked by flowing water (Coulee) offer biotopes for balsam poplar and pyramid poplar (known as 'cottonwood'), salix amygdaloides ('peachleaf willow') and Canadian black poplar ('plains cottonwood'). There are also Virginian bird cherry , juniper , alder-leaved rock pear ('saskatoon'), Salix exigua (a rare willow that is very drought-resistant) and two species of wild rose. They are also the northernmost habitats of opuntia ('prickly pear') and species of the genus Pediocactus .

A hoodoo

Emergence

There was an inland lake here 85 million years ago. Sandstone was created under high pressure from the sand of this era. Melting glacier water and other erosive forces, especially after the last ice age (Wisconsin glaciation) created today's landscape with its hoodoos, hills and cliffs.

history

The oldest archaeological finds go back around 3000 years. Certainly the Blackfoot created most of the petroglyphs and pictographs , but other ethnic groups such as the Shoshone , who also assumed the presence of spirits, also pervaded the area. Tipikkreis and medicine wheel also refer to longer-term use for spiritual purposes and corresponding stays. Many representations also serve narrative purposes.

From around 1730, European goods appeared in the region, such as metal goods and guns, but also horses. Until then, riders and warriors with shields appear on the rocks. However, dotted lines now indicated gunfire, lines indicated arrows fired. Instead the shields disappeared.

In 1887 a post of the North-West Mounted Police , the predecessor of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police , was established to curb whiskey smuggling. European settlers arrived in the area shortly before the First World War , and the police station was closed in 1918.

The park was founded in 1957 and has been an archaeological reserve since 1977 based on the data collected in 1973. Between 1973 and 1975, the burned down police station was also reconstructed. In 1981, part of the park became a Provincial Historic Resource , although parts of the area are now only allowed to be entered with a guide. This provided that the Kátoyissiksi or Sweetgrass Hills in Montana on the other side of the southern border are included. The new visitor center was opened on June 20, 2007.

After the park was added to Canada's tentative list in 2004 , the World Heritage Committee decided during its 43rd session in 2019 to declare the site a World Heritage Site.

Skirt art

The rock carvings mainly contain zoo and anthropomorphic works, weapons and tools along with clothing and distinctive and ceremonial objects, as well as geometric-abstract works. In 1977 700 human representations were known at 46 of the 58 sites. They include warriors carrying shields, V-shaped representations, rectangular bodies, x-shaped and stick-like figures, as well as highly abstract and unclassifiable forms. Often there are anthropomorphic representations in action scenes, such as battle scenes, horsemen, but rarely hunting scenes. Horses are often shown fully equipped, for example with saddles or travois , and teepees. About 250 horses were known at 41 sites, but only 12 bison were found. Moose or deer are rarely shown.

literature

  • James D. Keyser: The dragonfly shield at writing-on-stone , in: Whispering Wind 41 (2013) 10-13 ( online ).
  • Daniel Arsenault, Fergus Maclaren: Reinforcing the authenticity and spirit of place of indigenous peoples to promote cultural tourism at world heritage sites as a development approach: Learning from the Canadian experience. In: ICOMOS 17th General Assembly, November 27, 2011 / December 2, 2011, Paris 2012 ( online ).
  • Luc Bouchet-Bert: From Spiritual and Biographic to Boundary-Marking Deterrent Art: A Reinterpretation of Writing-on-Stone , in: Plains Anthropologist 44, 167 (1999) 27-46.
  • Michael A. Klassen: Icon and narrative in transition: contact-period rock-art at Writing-On-Stone, southern Alberta . In: C. Chippindale, P. Tacon (Eds.): The archeology of rock art . Cambridge University Press, London 1998, pp. 42-72.

Web links

Commons : Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Áísínai'pi .
  2. ↑ Áísínai'pi National Historic Site of Canada. In: Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved October 21, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Seven more cultural sites added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. UNESCO World Heritage Center, July 6, 2019, accessed July 6, 2019 .
  4. ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park (English)
  5. ↑ Luc Bouchet-Bert: From Spiritual and Biographic to Boundary-Marking Deterrent Art: A Reinterpretation of Writing-on-Stone , in: Plains Anthropologist 44, 167 (1999) 27-46, here: p. 27.