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Hello, my name is Claire Dean, and I am here to take you on an amazing field trip to Pictograph Cave. I'm an archeologist and an archeological conservator. An archeologist is a person who likes to find and study things made by ancient people and then figure out how those people lived long ago. An archeological conservator is a person who looks after the things that the archeologists find.

We are going to explore three caves where ancient people lived thousands of years ago. These ancient people left some of their belongings in the caves. They also painted strange pictures on the cave walls. We might ask ourselves: Why did these people live here? What do their paintings mean? We know a few things, but it's still a mystery to us.

Our field trip will take us up a narrow winding path to the three caves. As we walk, try to imagine what it would be like to live in a cave without electricity or running water. Try to imagine what you would paint on the cave walls. Maybe you will be the one who solves the mystery.

What is Pictograph Cave State Park?
Pictograph Cave State Park is a place where there are three large caves carved by wind and water in the towering sandstone cliffs. Thousands of years ago, people came to live in the caves while they hunted. These people didn't live here all of the time, but they left behind pictures that they painted on the walls and some of their belongings.
Montana and the Northern Great Plains Region are known for extensive landscapes and scenic beauty. It is a beautiful place, but survival long ago was difficult here. Hot, dry summers and cold, windy and sometimes snowy winters threatened the very lives of the first people who lived here.
Shelter, water and food were abundant. Even though this area was not continuously inhabited like many prehistoric sites in the southwestern United States, it was used as a temporary camp for thousands of years. The cave provided shelter from the summer sun, the rains of spring and fall, and the winds and snows of winter. A spring flowed in a coulee near the caves, and game was plentiful in the surrounding plains. Travelers and hunters probably relied on this site as a place to rest, repair tools and weapons and to cook and dry meat.
Pictograph Cave State Park is located seven miles south of Billings, Montana in the majestic sandstone cliffs that are characteristic of this area. Visitors can walk paved paths to see the three ancient caves, called Pictograph Cave, Middle Cave and Ghost Cave, once the living quarters of prehistoric hunters. In Pictograph Cave, they see the ancient paintings that these people created, telling the stories of their time. Visitors also learn about the people who lived here as well as about the plants, animals and geological formations of the 23-acre park. The park is accessible April 15 through October 15. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

What makes this park special?
People who lived near the caves always knew that there were curious pictures painted on the walls of the caves. They called this place Indian Cave or Inscription Cave. It was not until about 60 years ago that they discovered the many items that the ancient people had left behind. These items are called artifacts, and they tell us how the ancient people lived so long ago.
Although a popular place for residents of Billings, Montana to visit in the early 1900s, it was not until more than a third of a century later that the archeological significance of the site was discovered. Early in 1937, a group of local visitors discovered arrow points, bones and other artifacts in the cave.
Later that same year, an archeological excavation project was organized under the New Deal program know as the (WPA) Works Progress Administration. In 1937 and 1938, about 15 to 20 workers under the supervision of Melvin Sayre and Oscar T. Lewis uncovered more than 30,000 artifacts from Pictograph Cave and Ghost Cave. These artifacts included arrow points, the bones of all large mammals known to this region, pieces of baskets and footwear, and sherds of pottery. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

Who lived here long after the ancient people left?
Native Americans and settlers made the area around the caves their home many years after the ancient people left. Look out into the valley from high up near the caves and imagine the stagecoaches and trains that crossed the land where the ancient people once hunted.
Native Americans hunted and gathered food in the area when they lived here. Later, settlers claimed the land for farms and ranches. They built schools, roads and railroads. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

Why is Bitter Creek bitter?
Watch the sunlight sparkle on Bitter Creek as it flows in the valley below the caves. It's bitter because it contains minerals that give it an unpleasant taste. Animals don't seem to mind the taste. They drink the water anyway. Sometimes, Bitter Creek becomes much larger and swifter when the snow melts in the mountains in the spring or when it rains very hard.
The intermittent stream below the caves in the valley provides water for wild animals just as it has for thousands of years. The water tastes bitter due to the high levels of natural minerals and alkali, so it is not ideal for humans. At the mouth of Bitter Creek is one of the best Yellowstone River fords. During spring runoff and occasional heavy rains, this peaceful stream can be a raging torrent for short periods of time.
"One very vivid recollection was a cloudburst in about 1914 when Bitter Creek resembled the Yellowstone River. I think all of our hogs were drowned. A field of recently cut hay lodged against a hay rake left in the field and the rake was never found. It probably wound up in the Yellowstone (or maybe the Missouri). Who knows? Nearly all of the young turkeys and chickens were washed out from under their mothers who sought to hover them." Recollection of Kenneth Valentine. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

What animals live in the area of the caves?
See the fuzzy little creatures that peak out from behind the jumbled rocks? Those are marmots. The caves were a good place for ancient hunters to live because there were many kinds of animals. They hunted the animals for food, made warm clothing from soft animal fur and shaped tools from the bones.
During the time that the ancient hunters lived here there were lizards, snakes, rabbits, gophers, deer, foxes and buffalo. The most visible among the rodents are marmots and cottontail rabbits, which are numerous in most years and seem quite tame. The Yellow-bellied Marmot is smaller and has more orange and reddish tones in his coat than his cousin, the Hoary Marmot. The Yellow-bellied Marmot lives in rocky areas at lower elevations throughout Montana. Marmots are true hibernators and are only active from spring until September. Marmots do not store food; they put on large amounts of fat by early fall. Also called Rockchucks, they feed on various grasses. Native Americans used the marmots for food and the soft fur for clothing.
Other mammals that are seen less frequently in the area include chipmunks, porcupines, raccoons and skunks. Pocket gophers are abundant and make their presence known by the dirt mounds and tunnels visitors see on the ground. Larger mammals also occupy the area, including mule deer, fox and coyote. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

How did the caves form?
Look above each of the three caves, and you will see a V-shaped notch in the sandstone. These notches direct water into cracks that lead far down into the cliff. The water seeps through the wall and softens the sandstone. The stone crumbles just like the wet beach sand you might use to build a sand castle with. This is how the caves form.
The three caves are carved from Eagle Sandstone, and it is what is called an un-cemented or poorly cemented sandstone. This means that it does not contain large quantities of calcite, the cement that holds sand together. Instead, it is simply sand that has been compacted over time. Eagle Sandstone erodes very easily. The three caves formed in this poorly cemented sandstone through the process of weathering by wind, water and temperature around large boulders.
Above each of the three caves, there is a large V-shaped drainage. The dark stains spilling over the lip of each V-shaped notch are due to the minerals washed into each drainage during rainstorms or as snow melts. Caves in the Southwest are often formed by water running over the lip of a similar notch. However, Pictograph, Middle and Ghost Caves were carved by water percolating through the rock, not falling over the face of the rock.
Moisture seeped under the overhang, through cracks or through rock layers to gradually erode the sandstone at the rear of each cave. The sandstone softened up almost like wet beach sand. As it got wet, it fell apart. This process is particularly evident in Middle Cave. Erosion is an ongoing process. In Pictograph Cave, rock slabs have fallen from the roof in the past, and visitors are not allowed to enter because the cave is still forming. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.; From: Ken Oravsky Tour Content

How old are the caves?
The cliffs formed about 136 million years ago. At that time, this area was part of a giant ocean. The ocean deposited sand just like on any beach you might see today. When the ocean went away, it left the sand that hardened into sandstone. Water and wind began to carve the caves from the stone.
The geological evolution of the cliffs began approximately 136 million years ago. During what is called the Upper Cretaceous period, an arm of the ocean extended across this region. Continued shifting of the continent resulted in a recession of the shorelines as ocean currents and tides formed beaches along the raised areas. These shoreline areas were deposits of sand and ocean mud. Through geologic time and the effects of extensive erosion, the resulting 250- to 300-foot deposits of sandstone made this unique geological formation know as the "rims." Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

  What is the colorful orange substance growing on the rocks around the caves?
See the colorful plant growing on the rocks around the caves? It's called lichen. Although they are not really plants themselves, lichens need the same things that plants need to grow - like sunshine, oxygen and water - just less of them. That's why we find lichen on surfaces and in difficult climates where other plants might not survive.
The colorful plant-like organism growing on the rocks around the caves is called lichen. Lichens are a partnership between a type of fungus and green algae. Because of this relationship, lichens are able to live in the harshest environments on earth. Lichens are often the first life form to begin on newly exposed surfaces, allowing for the succession of other plant species. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

What reptiles live in the area of the caves?
If you look very closely, you can see a tiny lizard perched on the rocks. He is almost the same color as the rocks which is why it is difficult to see him. A variety of lizards and snakes live in the area around the caves. So, watch your step!
Some of the of reptiles, rodents and mammals that the ancient hunters encountered still inhabit the area around the caves. Among the reptiles is the Sage Lizard, which often suns itself on the boulders. Other reptiles include the Prairie Rattlesnake, Bull Snakes, Rubber Boas and Blue Racers. The last two snakes are small, very quick and rarely seen. An occasional toad may also surprise visitors as they walk the trail. . Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

Why is it hard to see some of the pictographs today?
Moisture from the ground comes through the rock, and as the water evaporates it leaves a layer of minerals behind on the rocks surface. This layer of minerals covers the pictographs and as more layers form on the surface, weÕre not able to see the original images as clearly. Sadly, a pond built many years ago by ranchers on the cliffs above the cave caused even more water to flow. The pond is gone now. New methods are being explored to find a way to remove the mineral deposits without damaging the pictographs underneath.
The caves at Pictograph Cave State Park are still forming. The work of water percolating down from the surface of the sandstone is natural. However; a stock pond built by the ranchers who own the land surrounding the park seems to have accelerated the cave forming process in Pictograph Cave. The ranchers built the pond in the 1960s by creating a simple earthen dam in the V-shaped notch to trap water. Certainly, they were not aware at the time of the damage it would cause to Pictograph Cave. Since then, the park and the ranch owners have worked to eliminate the pond. From: An interview with J. Claire Dean ; From: Ken Oravsky Tour Content

Why is some rock falling off the walls?
Before the excavation of the caves in 1937, the moisture that came through the walls was absorbed by the soil that was in the cave. The soil not only soaked up the moisture but acted as a structural support for the caves. Today there is nothing but the rock to soak up that moisture and that causes the stone to weaken and fall off. Today, archeological conservators are looking for ways to prevent further erosion of the cave walls.
Prior to the excavation of the caves in 1937 the moisture that came through the walls was absorbed by the soil that was in the caves. The soil not only soaked up the moisture but acted as structural support to the caves. Today there is nothing but the rock to soak up that moisture, causing the stone to weaken and fall off. Today archeological conservators are looking for ways to prevent further erosion of the cave walls.
Another method to save the cave may be to bring in gravel to raise the cave's floor up to its original line. Scientists believe this will slow down the erosion significantly, allowing moisture to travel through and evaporate out of the fill area rather than out of the surface of the rock. It will also help to support the already damaged cave walls. From: An interview with J. Claire Dean ; From: Ken Oravsky Tour Content

What birds build their nests on the walls of the caves?
See the little mud jugs high on the walls of the cave? These are nests made by cliff swallows. Many birds live in the area of the caves and birds were important to the Native American people. Nervous birds alerted them to danger. Bird feathers were used as decoration and feathers made arrows fly straight.
Numerous bird species either live in or migrate through the Pictograph Cave State Park area. Bird watchers frequently visit the site because of the variety of birds found here. Native Americans used migrating birds to tell the changing of the seasons. Nervous birds also alerted the inhabitants when intruders were entering the area. Native Americans used bird feathers to control the flight of their arrows as well as for decoration. They captured birds of prey to show status within the tribe; birds also represented spiritual values. From: Ken Oravsky Tour Content

Why do birds like Middle Cave more than humans do?
Middle Cave is the second cave on our field trip, and it is the smallest. It is so small that the ancient people never stayed here. Birds, on the other hand, like the cave because there is water seeping into it. They come here for their morning drink.
Middle Cave shows no evidence of ever being inhabited by humans. Archeologists believe this is due to the shallowness of the cave. There is water seeping from the north wall of the cave that is partially responsible for forming and enlarging the cave. In the early part of the day, many birds come to the water seepage for their morning drink. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

Why do people call the park active?
Things are always happening in the area of the caves. Water seeps through the rocks. Sand drops off the cave walls. Rocks fall off the sandstone cliffs. Fires start and burn the trees. These are all natural things, but they also mean that the park is not the same from one year to the next. That's why people call it active.
Erosion plays an important role in the formation of the caves and the landscape of the rims. These caves exist as a result of erosion factors, such as wind, rain, snowmelt, freezing, humidity and temperature. A closer look at the sandstone walls shows how weathering causes small layers of rock to disintegrate and fall, exposing additional layers of sandstone to erosion. This on-going process is a major factor in the formation of the caves. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

How do we know dinosaurs lived in the area of the caves?
A long time ago when the area of the caves was a nice sandy beach, dinosaurs and other ancient creatures lived here. Scientists know this because they have found bones, eggs and shells that have turned to stone. They call these stone remains fossils. Look high on the wall of Middle Cave, and you can see an ancient shell that has turned to rock and is trapped in the sandstone.
No human has ever seen a living dinosaur. Yet, we know that dinosaurs existed because we have found their bones, eggs and footprints. People who study dinosaurs are called paleontologists (PAIL-e-on-tol-o-jists). Paleontologists also study other living things from the past, including all of the other plants and animals that once lived on the earth.
One of the main things that paleontologists study is fossils. Fossils are formed when a living thing dies, and some part of it lies on the ground and is covered over by sand or mud. Over a long period of time (millions of years!), minerals such as calcium in the sand or mud settle into the cells of whatever part of the animal or plant that is left behind. These minerals eventually harden into rock, so we are left with a rock that is the exact size and shape of the original living thing! Most of the big dinosaur bones that you see in museums are actually fossils of the original bones.
We know of one nice fossil shell in the ceiling of Middle Cave. This shell belonged to some type of clam that lived here about 100 to 200 million years ago when a shallow ocean flooded this whole area. The shell probably wound up in the ceiling when the sand covering it turned to sandstone over millions of years and slowly turned it into a fossil. When the sandstone caves started to form, they eroded from the bottom up, exposing the fossil shell. As cave formation continues, this fossil will eventually fall down, but we may then see new fossils exposed.
There were many types of dinosaurs that lived near water, such as Icthyosaurus (ik-thee-uh-SOR-us) and Plesiosaurus (plees-ee-uh-SOR-us). Dinosaur fossils have been found in the South Hills, just a few miles west of Pictograph Cave State Park, and the fossils of Tricerotops (try-SER-o-tops) and Maiasaurus (MY-uh-SOR-us) have been found about 100 miles east of here. Though we have not found any dinosaur fossils in the park yet, we can be pretty sure that these great creatures walked and swam here in the past. As the cliffs continue to erode, we may just find a dinosaur bone sticking out at us one day!
From: Ken Oravsky Tour Content

Why were trees important to Native Americans?
The park has many different kinds of trees. Native American people found uses for almost every part of the trees in this area. They burned the wood in cooking fires, carved branches out for bowls, extracted sugar from the inner bark, used the pitch as glue, made the seeds into bread and dug out stumps for boats. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

What is a concretion?
See the large boulders sticking out of the smooth cliffs and in the walls of Ghost Cave? These boulders are called concretions. They formed when ancient plants and fish died and turned into a mineral deposit. The sand hardened around these deposits, and that's why the boulders are trapped in the sandstone.
The large boulders that look as if they have been suspended in the cliffs and cave walls are called concretions. Concretion is the geologist's term for boulder. The concretions formed millions of years ago. As small ocean shellfish and plants died, they left a mineral compound in the sand. The sand gradually hardened around the different chemical compositions. A horizontal layer of concretions in the cliffs makes it clear when the basic living species were most abundant. Concretions range in size from small objects of a few inches in diameter to odd-shaped boulders with the diameter of many feet. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

How did Native Americans use the plants they found around the caves?
Native American people used many parts of the plants from around the caves. You might guess that they ate the fruit of the chokecherry, but did you know that they used its bark to make tea? In this way, they were able to live off the land surrounding the area of the caves.
The Native American people used plants in ways unfamiliar to us. For example, they made dye from juniper berries and used its seeds as aspirin. They used the yucca's sap as soap and its leaves to make needles. They ate wildflower roots, dried berries and used small branches to make arrows.Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

What does it mean to excavate?
Do you see the big pile of dirt in front of Ghost Cave? Workers had to dig the dirt out of the caves to find the many thousands of objects that the ancient hunters had left there. Some of the artifacts that people found in the caves were just under the surface, but others were buried deep in the floor. This digging is called excavation. Among the items they found were sleeping mats, bracelets, tools and animal bones.
The cave site became one of the most significant archeological excavations ever undertaken in Montana. All of Ghost Cave and a portion of Pictograph Cave were excavated from 1937-1941 by the Works Project Administration (WPA). Excavations of the caves revealed 30,000 significant objects from the sifted deposits. Among the finds were preserved human bones, sleeping mats, a variety of worked stone points, stone tools, bracelets and worked shell. Workers uncovered artifacts in a series of horizontal layers which revealed separated levels of pre-historic cultures. The archeological excavation was interrupted due to World War II and was terminated in 1941. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.
Workers had to dig out and sift through a huge volume of fill to retrieve the 30,000 artifacts. There are dotted lines high on the walls of both Ghost Cave and Pictograph Cave. Workers painted the lines there in 1937 to indicate the floor level before they started to dig. The Highway Department offered to survey the site for the WPA. Their survey allowed the workers to excavate very cleanly in grids of either one square foot or one yard units. This was one of the first times workers at an excavation really accurately documented everything. From: Ken Oravsky Tour Content

Why didn't they dig up everything?
The workers dug down until they hit rock in Ghost Cave, but they didn't dig all of the dirt out of Pictograph Cave. They wanted to leave some artifacts still buried because people in the future might be able to tell more about the artifacts with their modern methods. If the workers had removed all of the items, there would have been nothing left.
There is a theory in archeology that suggests that excavators should never dig out everything there is at a particular site. Some archeologists believe that because technology is only getting better it is best to wait for new methods to gain more information from the same artifacts. For example, items such as horse hair or human hair which may have escaped the archeologist's screen and ended up in the tailings pile in the 1930s could reveal a lot today with DNA analysis.
During the original excavation at the cave site, workers dug down to bedrock in Ghost Cave; however, they did not dig down to bedrock in Pictograph Cave. There may still be undisturbed artifacts or plant and animal material in the cave naturally preserved by the arid environment. When the park chooses to excavate some time in the future, there will likely be more modern methods of analysis available to them. From: Ken Oravsky Tour Content

Where are all of the artifacts today?
Isn't finding clues the fun part of solving a mystery? That's what the workers were doing as they dug in the caves. They uncovered clothing and tools and other belongings that were clues to how the ancient people lived.
The 30,000 artifacts that workers dug out of the caves ended up in many places. Some were sent to laboratories so scientists could look at them. Others were placed in museums. A number of artifacts ended up in private collections. Supporters built a museum at the cave site in the early '40s. In the later '40s, vandals burned the museum and stole many of the artifacts.
Today, Pictograph Cave State Park has only about 40 of the artifacts in its possession. The Montana State Historical Society has about 40, and the University of Montana at Missoula, Montana Archives has a few thousand of them. Someday, the park hopes to have a campaign, similar to one initiated by Petrified Forest National Monument in Arizona, asking people to return items that they know are from the caves. From: Ken Oravsky Tour Content

Why was digging in Pictograph Cave important to all scientists?
As the scientists carefully dug up the artifacts in Pictograph Cave, they made an important discovery. They found that ancient people used the caves during four different time periods. They knew this because each group had left belongings that were eventually covered up by falling dirt and rocks. Scientists from other states could compare the artifacts that they uncovered on their sites to those from Pictograph Cave. Similar artifacts were the same age. This discovery was so important that the United States Government made Pictograph Cave a National Historic Landmark.
When artifacts are uncovered, their location relative to each other usually provides more information about a site than do actual shapes of artifacts themselves. Pictograph Cave proved no exception. Workers excavated the caves using a grid system of sections that were exactly 10 feet square. All material removed was sifted, and all artifacts carefully recorded and stored. This painstaking procedure showed researchers that the artifacts were deposited in four distinct layers, representing four distinct prehistoric time periods.
By comparing the shapes of Pictograph Cave artifacts found at sites in nearby states and provinces, archeologists were finally able to determine the relative ages of many sites throughout the Northern Great Plains Region. Pictograph Cave continued to serve as an archeological benchmark for another 30 years until the Carbon 14 dating process came into accepted use in the 1960s. It was for this significant contribution to our understanding of the prehistory of a large geographic area that Pictograph Cave was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1964. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

What other dwellings did workers find?
Workers also uncovered the remains of a lodge near the caves. The Native American people who lived in the caves built lodges from wood and skins. There may have been too many people to stay in the caves. They built the lodges so that everyone would have a place to live.
In 1937, archeological excavations also uncovered an Indian Lodge. The remains of wooden upright posts indicated that people had built a 14-foot by 19-foot lodge. It was probably used to house a large band of native inhabitants. Small bands may have resided in the caves while other resided outside, allowing the caves to be used by clan leaders and for ceremonies. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.

What is vandalism?
Now that we've visited the caves, you can see why they're so special. But not everyone treats them that way. At times, the caves and the park have been vandalized. Vandalism means a person purposely damages places or things that don't belong to them. You saw where people carved or scratched their names on the cave walls? This is called graffiti, and it is a type of vandalism. Others set fire to a small museum that used to stand near the caves and stole the artifacts that were there. This is also vandalism.
People have always known about the pictographs in the caves. Unfortunately, not all people have taken care to enjoy the ancient paintings and leave them undisturbed, and the caves have seen a lot of vandalism. Ghost Cave is scarred by very old graffiti etched high on the walls, some from July 1934 before the cave was excavated. Others spray painted graffiti has been carefully removed so that the paintings are not ruined forever. Bullet pock marks are visible in the caves. The museum, built in the 1940s, was burned and artifacts were stolen. In more recent acts of vandalism, people have spray painted graffiti over the ancient paintings. Although the park experiences less frequent vandalism today because of gates and fences, it still suffers deliberately destructive acts at times. From: An interview with J. Claire Dean

Why are pictographs not considered graffiti?
When a person draws or writes on a wall, a building, or other structure that doesnÕt belong to them, or when they do it without permission from the owner, we usually call this graffiti. When we think of graffiti in relationship to petroglyphs and pictographs, most of us feel that graffiti shows disrespect for the original artists and owners of the site.
Graffiti is destructive when a person draws or writes on a wall, a building, or other structure that does not belong to them or when they do it without permission from the owner. When we think of graffiti in relationship to rock art - most of us feel that ÒgraffitiÓ shows disrespect for the original artists and owners of the site.
The evidence suggests that rock art was probably created as a community or ceremonial activity. Based on the evidence, it is believed that some rock art can be interpreted as part of a sacred or spiritual expression of a tribe or community. Other rock art may record personal glimpses into the daily life of the artists, recording on stone their own story. "Went hunting with friends, killed two deer."
The evidence suggests that the rock art and the rock artists of some tribes were closely tied to the spiritual activities of the community. The community gave certain artists permission to paint on the rocks; to leave a historical inscription, a record of significant events. From: An interview with J. Claire Dean

What can we do to save the caves?
We can all do something to save the caves. By coming on this field trip, you've learned how much fun it can be to explore a real-life mystery like the caves. The next time you visit another special place, like a park, a museum or a landmark, you'll know to take very good care of what you see there. There's a mystery to be solved there, too. We can all learn from adventurers like you and archeologists like me who want to protect the caves so that everyone can enjoy them.
When we visit the caves and the surrounding areas we must do it respectfully, we must leave them in good condition. Pick up any litter that may be on the ground. We must follow the instructions given out at the park. Following these instructions helps us to protect it. When we talk to family and friends we must let them know how important the park is and remind them to be careful when they go and visit these sites. One of the best ways to preserve the park is to let other people know how important the rock art is to all of us.