The Piney Creek Site is a prehistoric

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...

site located on the north side of Piney Creek in

Piney Creek Ravine State Natural Area Piney Creek Ravine State Natural Area is an Illinois state park on in Jackson and Randolph Counties, Illinois, United States. One cliff face in the ravine contains several Native American petroglyphs, along with modern graffiti, which was ...

Randolph County Randolph County is the name of eight counties in the United States: *Randolph County, Alabama *Randolph County, Arkansas *Randolph County, Georgia *Randolph County, Illinois *Randolph County, Indiana *Randolph County, Missouri *Randolph County, Nort ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The site consists of a

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

outcropping with over 150 petroglyph and pictograph designs, the most at a single known site in Illinois. The designs are divided into four distinct groups; three of these are on the center and ends of the rock shelter's wall, while the fourth is on a joint block of sandstone within the shelter. Most of the designs were created during the

Late Woodland In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeologi ...

and Mississippian periods, which spanned from 450 to 1550 A.D.; a number of the figures were added after 1550. A tall spear-holding anthropomorph in the western group is the largest individual petroglyph in Illinois. In addition to anthropomorphs, other common designs at the site include zoomorphs, quadrupeds which probably represent deer, and symbols; the quadrupeds and anthropomorphs are frequently depicted in motion. The rock shelter was likely used as a religious site by prehistoric inhabitants, and several of the designs appear to have mystical or spiritual significance; for instance, the winged anthropomorphs likely represent

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

s.Wagner, Mark J. ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Piney Creek Site''.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, 2000-05-15. The site was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on May 31, 2001.

References

Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Geography of Randolph County, Illinois Petroglyphs in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Randolph County, Illinois {{RandolphCountyIL-geo-stub