This artifact is a piece of stone with a depiction of what seems to be mountain goats on it. It is a gray, medium sized stone. The goats are etched into the stone, possibly by another stone. There are two big goats on top, followed by six smaller goats beneath them. This artifact is known as a petroglyph. A petroglyph is an image created by removing a part of a rock’s surface to create rock art. It is a type of engraving on rock or stone. This petroglyph was said to have been made somewhere between 600 and 1300 A.D. This style of art is very common in the area in which it was found. Over 100,000 rock elements were found in a relatively small area in California, in the Inyo County. The artist was most like describing a goat hunting ritual. This was one way in which Native Americans expressed and documented all that they did, even the more mundane things like hunting.

This artifact tells its audience that although very limited, the Native Americans did have some way in which they expressed and recorded that which was going on around them. Hunting was a fundamental part of their life to give them the sustainability they needed to live. We learn from this that art was a main part of the culture. This was the way they expressed themselves and told about their day to day life. This was one rock found that could have been part of a whole collection of rocks which may have made up an entire story. Their culture included art, and this piece of art portrays a key activity that they took part in. Their art form shows the way they would use different tools and materials they had around them in nature to create their piece of work.

This piece broadens the narrative of American history, by showing that the Native Americans had a whole life before the Europeans came. They had their own pieces of artwork and made them based on what they were doing. The goats were one of their sources of food. It further proves to the audience that they were people, just living their lives like us.