Quileute Petroglyph Discovered in Washington

FORKS, WASHINGTON—Last year, Erik Wasankari and his son Reid were on a fishing trip when they discovered a petroglyph on a 1,000-pound rock in the Calawah River. The carvings are thought to date to the early eighteenth century, and may depict figures from Quileute mythology. K’wati, a figure of good, transformed the Quileutes from wolves into people and killed the Red Lizard, who “was a very bad monster,” according to Quileute Tribal Councilman Justin “Rio” Jaime. Lee Stilson, a retired state archaeologist, and Eugene Jackson, a Quileute tribal member, think the rock could have served as a trail marker that moved downstream. “On the 1893 General Land Office map, they show a trail here,” Stilson told The Seattle Times. Stilson helped to authenticate the carving, which had been made with stone tools.