Nearly all of the paintings were done in a blue-black pigment and most are badly eroded and faded. Photographic recording of the art work was done as the highest priority during the initial research. Most of the figures are difficult to identify with certainty and we developed a photographic enhancement procedure that used ultraviolet light and color infrared film to achieve enhancements.
Research has focused on the study and interpretation of the clearest of the resultant images. Another panel was sanded down prior to the paintings and this indicates that the five figures are part of a deliberate composition.
The images are revealed through the careful tracings of Mary Steinhauer
tracing ©1997 Mary Steinhauer This panel includes two large human figures, what appears to be a turtle, a large crested bird, and a smaller, elaborately decorated human form. The humans all have chain-like forelocks depending from a rayed circle on their foreheads, and one human and the big bird have forked eye devices. Another separate panel was done with considerable precision and depicts a crouching human holding the long stem of a pipe or flute. The smaller human is tattooed or painted with what has been identified as the "Akron Grid" motif. The overwhelming impression of details of the art style and motifs is Mississippian. The current consensus is that this panel represents a pictorialization of the Red Horn cycle. From left to right: a giant, a turtle, a red-haired giant Chieftainess, Storms-As-He-Walks (thunderbird), and Red Horn (He-Who-Wears-Human-Heads-As-Earrings).
tracing ©1997 Mary Steinhauer This panel includes a bison, a human with a bow, and what appears to be a wolf. The Pipe Smoker
Taken in ultraviolet light with infrared film. photo ©1997 James Valiga
Desecration
photo ©1994 Charles Bailey During the Winter of 1992, thieves entered the Gottschall Site and, using a masonry saw, attempted to remove the figure of Red Horn. They also marked out the red-haired giant chieftainess for subsequent removal. Their attempt failed, but the paintings have been severely damaged. The wisdom of opting to record the paintings photographically at the start of the research is emphasized in a clear and rather dramatic manner. This ought to be lesson for us all.The outraged people of Wisconsin subsequently passed legislation to move rock art "vandalism" from a misdemeanor to a felony. The State of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is preparing classroom materials for fourth graders that include the Gottschall paintings, the Red Horn legend, and the destructive effects of vandalizing our precious and common cultural heritage.
article ©1997 Robert Salzer
