Gallery of the Ancients is known by several different names…The Gathering, Black Butte and others. Regardless of the name, it’s a very special and incredible location. It represents a site that was extremely important to the ancient Southern Paiutes. It’s thought to be a site where shamans would vision quest and gain help from spirit helpers. There are dozens of different styles of Pahranagat Man and Paharanagat Patterned Body Anthropomorphs (PBAs). The PBA is typically thought to be a transformed shaman. Some of these representations are over 5′ tall, which is also very rare. This location is not very well known and is still in pristine location, so if you come across it, please be respectful and do not share the location with others.
And, Pahranagat Man is thought to be a form of Water Babies in their human-like form. Water Babies are supernatural spirits and a Numic’s shaman spirit helper. They’re considered to be immensely powerful beings and dangerous to those that do not have the same power. Water Babies were feared by non-shamans and were to be avoided. Per Dr. Richard W. Stoffle:
“[Water Babies are] powerful spiritual beings that are associated with water and volcanic places. They live in flowing water of many kinds including rivers and artesian springs and frequently travel through natural and manmade hydrological systems. Water babies are considered to be female and are often described as around three feet high with long hair and shell-like skin. The tremendous power of water babies is complex, making them very special spiritual helpers for a shaman (Puha’gant), but also incredibly dangerous for those unable to control the power…their connection to water made them very valuable for rain making activities”
The sheer number of Pahranagat Men and PBAs is astounding. All of them are different. There are also pictographs in numerous hollowed out boulders and shelters (although most are too faded to tell what they were). While walking around and exploring, it’s common to come across large amounts of lithic scatter (the remains of chippings/flakes from making stone tools). Please don’t collect these, leave them as-is, for future explorers to enjoy.
Please click the images below:
