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The All-American Man: Ancient Rock Art or a Modern Rock Star?
By Zach Downes, 11, ZiNj KiD, Salt Lake City, Utah
The All American Man is a pictograph located in Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah. It is a red, white, and blue shield-like figure holding a shield that looks like an American flag. The cool thing about the All American Man is the mystery surrounding it.
Canyonlands archaeologist, Nancy Coulam said that some archaeologists think the All American Man is a modern fake. Some have claimed to have either painted or touched up the pictograph. Also, since it has a strong resemblance to the American flag some people think that it would have had to have been painted after America was settled by Europeans.
The most important mystery is the blue coloring. Some think the blue coloring in the pictograph could not have been found in local plants or minerals, so it would have been impossible to make a blue dye. Nancy told me that she used radiocarbon dating to solve the mystery (check out Dating Ancient Rock Paintings for more info). She explained that radiocarbon dating is a way archaeologists can tell how long ago something died like a tree, plant, or animal.
Radiocarbon dating can also be used to date a pictograph if something in the paint was once alive, like animal blood or plant pigment. When the blue paint flaked off on its own (you can't just go in and take it off), Nancy sent a sample to a lab where they measured the carbon content.
The results showed that the All American Man was painted in 1295 A.D. This means it is not a modern rock star, but an ancient Anasazi pictograph |
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