Rare Ancient Indian Drawings Found

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) â€” An amateur archaeologist searching in a cave for ancient Indian art found charcoal drawings that date back more than 1,000 years. <br><br>The drawings on the cave walls depict

Monday, November 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) â€” An amateur archaeologist searching in a cave for ancient Indian art found charcoal drawings that date back more than 1,000 years.

The drawings on the cave walls depict bow hunters taking aim at game, pregnant does and thunderbirds.

``When I saw the drawings, I was blown away. I thought this is too much â€” they must be fake,'' said the discoverer, Dan Arnold. ``My first impression was they were drawn by stoned hippies, because there's a lot of abstract art.''

Arnold made the discovery in 1998 but kept the find secret until officials could map the cave, photograph the art and construct an iron gate to prevent thieves or vandals from getting in. Authorities are not revealing the site, which is somewhere in southeastern Wisconsin.

Ernie Boszhardt, an archaeologist with the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center, said he was stunned by the drawings.

In addition to more than 100 drawings and carvings, Boszhardt found remains of a moccasin and birch bark torches possibly used by the artists, who are believed to be ancestors of today's Ho-Chunk Indian tribe.

The discovery doubles the known number of ancient Indian cave paintings and carvings in Wisconsin.

Authorities determined through carbon dating that the paintings were made around 900 A.D. It is the first time Wisconsin cave art has been conclusively dated, and archaeologists may now be able to determine the age of other drawings by comparing them with the cave art.

State archaeologist Robert Birmingham said he believes the cave was used for rituals.

``They're not simply drawings left behind on the wall to sort of class up the place,'' Birmingham said.

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On the Web:

Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center: http://perth.uwlax.edu/mvac/