Today we took a trip up to the Pictograph Cave State Park in Billings. Unfortunately, were not able to go into the cave due to the fact that some large boulders had recently fallen down & they don't want anyone to get injured.
A pictograph is a painting on a stone surface & petroglyphs are carved on stone.
The Pictograph Cave and the areas around it were once the living quarters of prehistoric hunters and gatherers. This site provided many of the basic needs of early travelers through the Yellowstone River Valley.
Fresh water, reliable shelter, edible and medicinal plants were all located here and in great variety.
The Pictograph Cave area an early crossroads for some of the first people on the northern plains.
Although this area is near the Crow Indian Reservation, the earliest people who camped here may not have been related to the Crow.
However, these historic tribes, including the Blackfoot and Crow, may have used this site for ceremonial purposes.
We were told that the Crow Indians refuse to go into the cave because of the spirits. They believe that the spirits are the ones who made the pictographs on the walls inside the Cave.
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