Cultural Resource and Geological Study Pertaining to Four Selected Petroglyph/Pictograph Sites on Nellis Air Force Range and Adjacent Overflight Lands, Lincoln and Nye Countries, Nevada

摘要

This study documents comparative results of four petroglyph and/or pictograph sites. two on Nellis Air Force Range (AFR), and two on adjacent Nellis AFR aircraft overflight lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. A fifth cultural resources site, situated east of Beatty, Nevada, was studied as a control site for the sonic boom aspect of the study. Work focused on determining aircraft sonic boom effects on rock formations containing petroglyphs/pictographs and contrasting the two differing land management strategies (restricted vs. unrestricted access) with respect to site preservation. Documentation of the four sites (primarily study sites) resulted in the recording of 106 petroglyph and/or pictograph panels containing 868 identifiable elements. Visual observation of geological physical properties at each study site revealed that all instances of rock panel degradation were consistent with natural weathering and chemical alteration processes and did not result from sonic booms. It was determined that all four study sites have suffered from various human-caused impacts, which are a direct result of the two land management strategies.