ABSTRACT

This paper examines the spatial distribution of rock art sites in the eastern Arkansas Ozarks in order to identify the types of environments that were preferred by those who made the art. With few exceptions, Ozark rock art tends to appear inside of bluff shelters. Statistical hypothesis testing is therefore used to compare the spatial distribution of rock art sites with that of bluff shelters lacking any rock art, thus revealing which types of settings were specifically preferred for creating rock art. Results indicate that rock art site locations were carefully selected based on desired characteristics, which generally include southern- to southeastern-facing aspects, distance from streams and rivers, and occasionally large viewsheds. These patterns are consistent with ethnohistorical accounts of the Caddo and Osage and suggest that cosmology played an important role in selecting locations for rock art creation.

摘要

本文研究了阿肯色州东部奥扎克地区岩石艺术遗址的空间分布，以确定艺术创作者喜欢的环境类型。除了少数例外，欧扎克岩石艺术往往出现在悬崖避难所内。因此，统计假设检验用于比较岩石艺术遗址的空间分布与缺乏任何岩石艺术的悬崖避难所的空间分布，从而揭示哪些类型的设置特别适合创作岩石艺术。结果表明，岩石艺术遗址的位置是根据所需的特征精心选择的，这些特征通常包括朝南到东南的方向、与溪流和河流的距离，以及偶尔的大视域。