A Classification System for Rock Features

Stephen Todd JankowskiUSDA Forest Service

Malheur National Forest

According to existing literature, rock features are…..?

Fire hearths or fire pitsHunting blinds

Game drives Rock walls

Trail markersResource area markers

Historic fencing cribs/rock jacksProperty boundary markers

CachesBurials

GeoglyphsHouse rings

Mining claimsFake people/stone boys/petroforms

Ceremonial-Ritual markersVisual topographic landmarks

Rock Features are ubiquitous & receive casual treatment

during site assessments / recordation

Created a basic framework of characteristics or attributes

Helpful to determine function

Secondary attributes (cracked rock, lithics, botanical remains, ) or association can further classify for a typology

White (1980)

White’s Data Form (Plan View)

Expansion of rock feature morphological attributes

Described 6-7 types of rock features

Mostly ceremonial types or those associated with ritual activities

Potential to determine ages from outer surfaces characteristics and associated artifacts

Chartkoff (1983)

Chartkoff (1983)

artko

Chartkoff (1983)

Demonstrates rock feature types with more examples after Chartkoff and

White. There are similarities.

Broken down into four generalized categories and then subcategorized

Also recorded their class size as a feature and total amount of stones creating the feature

Measured distances to trails, other sites, watershed, and distances to known lithic scatters, etc.

Searched for unknown patterns in order to further identify and classify features in order to categorize them.

Know your landform!

Winthrop (1995)

Winthrop et al (1995)

Winthrop et al (1995)

Winthrop et al 1995

Winthrop continued;

Green (1987)

Green continued;

Tomlin (2010) & Jankowski (2012) -measuring alignments to distant

landmarks

Never previously demonstrated except larger monuments ( such as Pyramids-Egypt/Maya, American Southwest, Stonehenge, et cet)

Walls, rock stacks, & Tsektekls (prayers seats) have alignments in Chartkoff’s research.

Ethnographic and Traditional knowledge of Living Indigenous peoples describe intentional alignments or placement of rocks as a practice that continues today (Klamath, Paiute, Yakima)

Independent conclusions of both Tomlin & Jankowski greater than expected

Central Washington University-REM Graduate Research

Plan View

Questions?

Photo by Author 2009