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Hickison Summit

Hickison Summit

Hickison Summit Overview

About one-mile northwest lies Hickison Summit (named after rancher John Hickison). Archaeological evidence indicates passes like this one were used by Native American hunters for funneling and ambushing bighorn sheep and deer herds. Native American petroglyphs (images carved into the rock surface) are interpreted along a short hiking trail.

Category

Native American

Marker Type

Marker in production.

Nevada Historical Marker Number

Hickison Summit is Nevada Historical Marker #137.

Click here to view the complete list of Nevada State Historical Markers.

County

Lander County, Nevada

GPS Coordinates

39.444361, -116.743148

Nevada Historical Marker Transcription

Proposed Text, Marker Text Plate in Production:

The summit is named after rancher John Hickison because the road to his ranch passed over the summit.  About one mile northwest lies Hickison Summit, a natural pass between two low buttes. Passes and canyons were common Native American hunting locations for funnelling and ambushing bighorn sheep and deer herds. Archaeological sites in the region reveal a dominance of bighorn bones and horn, reflecting the bighorn’s importance to Native Americans as food and raw material for tool production.  The bighorn lacked resistance to diseases introduced by domestic sheep in the nineteenth century, and this resulted in catastrophic bighorn population declines throughout the West.

Prehistoric Native American petroglyphs, images and designs are carved into rock surfaces, and are interpreted along a short hiking trail. Archaeologists hypothesize that the meanings for these designs include ceremonial, female puberty markers; ritual hunting magic symbols; and rock art or simply graffiti.

STATE HISTORICAL MARKER No. 137

STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE

AUSTIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

References Used

Hickison Summit