Sunday, November 18, 2012

Tie Creek

Turtle Petroform at Tie Creek
"...You don't have to go to Tie Creek to see petroforms, however. It's the heart of the petroform site but better known to the public is Bannock Point, which is open to tourists. You can see as many or more petroforms at Bannock Point with one difference. The petroforms at Tie Creek have not been disturbed.
If you didn't know the background, it would be easy to have a Stephen Leacock moment at Bannock Point. A story by humourist Leacock might go something like this: Eons ago, some bored aboriginal teenagers spent an afternoon arranging a bunch of rocks into animal shapes as a prank. Serious scholars have been studying the shapes for hidden meanings ever since...Granted, it doesn't take much to make the outline of a turtle or snake out of rocks. But the act was not to create an art form. The concept of "art for its own sake" was alien to early aboriginal peoples, former provincial archaeologist Anthony Buchner wrote in Manitoba Archaeological Journal (Vol. 2, No. 1, 1992)...Turtles, snakes and human effigies are the most common type of petroform. It's a mystery why most other animals aren't represented. There are also geometric petroforms..."
It also says in this article: "One mystery is why there are none east of northwestern Ontario."
Turtle Petroform in Woodbury Ct (East of NW Ontario)

1 comment :

Norman said...

Nice to see that Jack Steinbring is noted as one who helped save the Tie Creek site. I've known him for a number of years and he's a terrific person.