There are dozens of important and much-visited petroglyph sites throughout the American West, so it takes a lot for one of those sites to stand out. That’s what makes the White Mountain Petroglyphs one of the most unique, hands down.
Located 28 miles north of Rock Springs, Wyoming, the White Mountain Petroglyph Site features an extensive series of images from indigenous people covering a vast stretch of history. Its images, stretched across a 300-foot sandstone cliff face, depict warriors, wildlife and battles.
The site's most intriguing feature is a soft sandstone pillar in front of the main face. Several handprints have been deeply elongated and embedded on all sides of the pillar, a petroglyph that archaeologists have yet to understand.
“They’re really unusual,” said Craig Bromley, a retired archaeologist for the Bureau of Land Management. “White Mountain is already an interesting site, but nobody knows exactly what those hand marks are, and there’s nothing we can compare them to.”
Inscribed Art
Archaeologists believe the White Mountain petroglyphs range in age from 200 to around 2,000 years old. The inscribed images chronicle the region's history before and after indigenous tribes made contact with Europeans.
“There’s probably over 100 different panels out there,” Bromley said. “Lots of animals like bison, deer, and elk, and quite a few historical images like people on horses, warriors with swords, and possibly a few depictions of guns.”
Archaeologist Mavis Greer said the site is sacred to the Shoshone, Arapaho and Ute tribes today, but it was probably sacred to any tribes that lived or passed through the Great Plains.
“There are parts of it that are definitely associated with rituals and ceremonies, other parts of it that are associated with stories,” she said. “We know that some panels were placed after the 1700s because they show different cultural groups fighting each other. These were done to commemorate somebody’s victory in a battle.”
One of the most significant images is a large elk over 5 feet long — large for an inscribed animal petroglyph. Greer said it’s one of the earliest figures at White Mountain, possibly dating back to 2,000 years ago.
However, nothing at White Mountain attracts as much attention as the “handprints” on the sandstone pillar. Handprints are common images on rock art panels worldwide, but the impressions at White Mountain are distinct from any other petroglyph site.
“Hands were typically made in the pictographic style, either by hand-stamping or blowing paint around hands to get a negative stencil,” Greer said. “The petroglyphs are just outlines. They were dug very deeply into soft sandstone.”
The handprints cover every side of the pillar, which is entirely separate from the rest of the sandstone cliff. They range in size and depth but have a clear groove for each digit of the human hand.
Every petroglyph site is different, but their images can be studied and collectively analyzed to discover trends and similarities. The handprints at White Mountain have no known analogies, which adds to their mystery.
“I wouldn’t say they’re unique, but they’re certainly noteworthy,” Greer said.
Birthing Site
Rock art experts William Elder and Jim Stewart have a theory about the White Mountain handprints. They believe the handprints and other petroglyphs in the area are evidence of an indigenous birthing site.
“I’ve done immense research, and all my arrows point to a birthing site,” Elder told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s always a ‘probable’ because we weren’t there to witness what happened. There’s a high probability it isn’t a birthing site, but there’s evidence that it could have been.”
Elder cited birthing and fertility customs in many cultures that are consistent with the handprints at White Mountain. One site that could be analogous is the Kukaniloko Birthstones on the island of O'ahu in Hawaii.
“They have slanted volcanic rocks with hand grooves on the side,” he said.
Elder noted that the handprints across the entire surface of the sandstone pillar are at the height of an average-sized woman. This could be consistent with archaeological studies that found upright birthing positions — kneeling, squatting and standing — were the traditional methods of childbirth for most of human history.
“Europeans are the ones that came over here with the idea of laying down to give birth,” Elder said. “That’s harder on a woman’s body, which is why women around the world stood up when giving birth.”
Elder recalled a time when he was at White Mountain, answering questions for a woman visiting the site. He asked her to approach the sandstone pillar and place herself in these birthing positions.
“She could put her hand in the grooves and squat comfortably,” he said. “The handprints are at different heights, but a majority of them are at an average height of an average-sized woman.”
Jim Stewart holds an archaeological scale bar up to a series of hand impressions at the White Mountain Petroglyph Site, 28 miles north of Rock Springs. (Courtesy Jim Stewart) 
Jim Stewart holds an archaeological scale bar up to a series of hand impressions at the White Mountain Petroglyph Site, 28 miles north of Rock Springs. (Courtesy Jim Stewart) 
Craig Bromley and William Elder examining the petroglyphs at the White Mountain Petroglyph Site near Rock Springs. Elder believes this was a birthing and fertility site for indigenous people, but Bromley said he needs more evidence before he and other archeologists are convinced. (Courtesy Jim Stewart) 
Jim Stewart holds an archaeological scale bar up to a series of hand impressions at the White Mountain Petroglyph Site, 28 miles north of Rock Springs. (Courtesy Jim Stewart)
Baby Feet
Other unique petroglyphs at White Mountain could lend credence to Elder and Stewart’s theory. There are several petroglyphs of tiny feet across the panels, which have been associated with childbirth and fertility.
“There’s a bunch of baby feet near a small cave at the site,” Stewart said. “Bill’s theory, which I agree with, is that that’s more evidence this was a birthing site.”
Elder said there’s a series of little feet incised into the sandstone, adjacent to a concentric circle and an image of a woman who appears to be giving birth. The images are consistent with other fertility sites identified in Wyoming and elsewhere.
“There’s always a hole on the female image, and at some birthing sites, the image looks like it has a head coming out of the bottom,” he said. “There’s numerous sites in Wyoming that have that image.”
Bromley said the foot petroglyphs, given their size and abundance at White Mountain, “makes you wonder” about the significance of the site, even if it isn’t a birthing site.
“The fact that there are so many baby feet there makes you wonder why it was important for this particular site to have all these baby feet,” he said. “It’s interesting, no doubt.”
Evidence And Explanations
Elder and Stewart are confident that White Mountain could be a birthing site. Other archaeologists are skeptical.
“I don’t think there’s evidence to associate White Mountain with fertility,” Greer said. “There are fertility symbols on the wall, which isn’t the same material as the pillar. The site was very powerful for many different reasons, but I don’t think the theories of birthing and fertility rituals have a lot of evidence.”
Greer believes the handprints could result from indigenous people visiting White Mountain and taking “the power” of the site with them.
“There are many documented sources that say people went to sites of power and took part of the sand to obtain that power for themselves,” she said. “That, to me, is a more likely explanation for those deeply gouged handprints.”
Bromley said he could see the case for White Mountain as a birthing site but also agreed that he’d need more evidence to be persuaded. He suggested another theory, with precedent in ancient cultures, to explain the handprints.
“One of the theories that made sense to me is that particular tribes would gather sand grains from scratching on the rock and gather the grains to go into their medicine pouch,” he said. “They’d be collecting pieces from a sacred site. However, this is all speculation. Nobody knows.”
What Remains
Elder believes there’s a way to test his theory of White Mountain as a birthing site. The answer could still be preserved in the sand and dirt at the bottom of the pillar.
“If it was a birthing site, then there could be a minute amount of blood and placenta in the sand at the base,” he said. “If we could collect samples and test that rock for traces of DNA, that would be one way to prove it.”
The White Mountain Petroglyph Site is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which has denied requests to collect samples by excavating sediment from the site. Elder is hopeful that future technology could permit DNA testing without the need for any destructive sampling.
“In the future, we might be able to do it,” he said. “Because of how many handprints there are around the sandstone and how deep they go around the pillar, there’s got to be minute traces of DNA in the bedrock below. That would clinch it for us and everybody else.”
Stewart hopes the BLM will allow for sample collecting in the future.
“They ought to allow it because it’s a reasonable theory,” he said. “You’ll find people who disagree, but we have to take all the background information we have and make a reasonable guess. That’s ethno-archaeology — looking at stuff in the present and trying to go backward.”
Bromley said the BLM and the various tribes that consider White Mountain a sacred site would need to approve such testing. If conducted, it could provide archaeological evidence to prove the theory.
“As a scientist, that’s the stuff I would be looking for as proof,” he said. “It could be a birthing site, but there just isn’t enough evidence to conclude one way or another.”
The deep handprint impressions at the White Mountain Petroglyph Site near Rock Springs, Wyoming. (Bruce Montagne via Alamy) 
Craig Bromley examines the hand impressions on the sandstone pillar at the White Mountain Petroglyph Site. The deep grooves, resulting from the scratching of human hands over hundreds or thousands of years, are unlike any other petroglyphs in Wyoming. (Courtesy Jim Stewart) 
Craig Bromley examines the hand impressions on the sandstone pillar at the White Mountain Petroglyph Site. The deep grooves, resulting from the scratching of human hands over hundreds or thousands of years, are unlike any other petroglyphs in Wyoming. (Courtesy Jim Stewart) 
The petroglyphs at the White Mountain Petroglyph Site near Rock Springs where handprints are embedded into the rock. (Courtesy Jim Stewart)
Window Into The Past
Elder has been undeterred in investigating White Mountain as a birthing site. Researching and explaining the handprints is difficult because there is nothing quite like them anywhere else.
“When there are numerous sites depicting elk or shield-bearing warriors, we can’t disclaim what those images are and what they represent,” he said. “We know what went down at Castle Gardens because that was a common place to go, but we can’t say the same for White Mountain.”
Ultimately, there isn’t a verdict on the significance of the White Mountain handprints. Archaeologists might argue over what they are and aren’t, but they would all agree that they merit more scientific research and analysis.
“We’re looking for a window into the past because we weren’t there,” Elder said. “We can assume and make hypotheses, but that doesn’t mean we’re right. I believe White Mountain is a birthing site, and there’s a high probability that there are many more birthing and fertility sites we haven’t identified yet.”
Thanks to social media, the handprints have become the most recognizable feature at the White Mountain Petroglyph Site. Greer and other archaeologists hope increased visibility will increase awareness and responsible visitation of the unique site.
“The handprints are certainly drawing people’s attention more than the other petroglyphs,” she said. “We don’t want people to touch the handprints because they still have a significance today that we don’t fully understand. It’s always been a powerful site.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
