The Great Sandstone Library

The Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site is more than just a destination; it is a profound intersection of time, geology, and human spirit. While the towering sandstone bluffs and ancient petroglyphs provide the visual grandeur, the true heart of the site's educational mission is found within the Interpretive Museum. This facility does not simply display artifacts; it serves as a sophisticated walk through time, guiding visitors from the primal shadows of the Ice Age to the living, breathing cultures of the present-day Shoshone and Crow tribes.

The centerpiece of the site is a magnificent, 100-foot-high sandstone cliff that stretches for several hundred yards. This bluff acted as a natural windbreak and solar collector, absorbing the sun’s heat during the day and radiating it back at night, making it the premier "real estate" for prehistoric people seeking shelter from the brutal Wyoming winters.

The cliff face is covered in hundreds of petroglyphs (carved images) and pictographs (painted images). These are not merely "doodles"; they are sophisticated cultural markers.

  • The Shield-Bearing Warriors: Some of the most famous carvings depict human figures holding large, circular shields. These are characteristic of the "Middle Plains" style and are believed to represent various tribal affiliations or spiritual protections.
  • The Animal Records: Deeply incised images of elk, bighorn sheep, and deer populate the rock. Archaeologists believe these may have been related to "hunting magic" or were records of successful hunts in the valley below.

The Interpretive Museum: A Walk Through Time

The Medicine Lodge Interpretive Museum is designed to mirror the archaeological layers found beneath the soil. As visitors enter, they begin a chronological journey that spans over 10,000 years.

The Paleo-Indian Origins

The journey begins at the end of the Pleistocene epoch (Ice Age). The museum displays replicas of the Folsom and Clovis projectile points found during the 1970s excavations. These displays emphasize that the first visitors to Medicine Lodge were tracking mammoths and ancient bison, using the cliff’s overhang as a strategic lookout point.

The Stratigraphy Wall

One of the museum’s most striking features is a vertical representation of the 1973–1976 excavation pits. It shows how 26 feet of soil accumulation allowed archaeologists to distinguish between 60 different cultural levels. Visitors can see how the technology of the inhabitants evolved from crude stone scrapers to finely honed obsidian blades, and eventually to the introduction of pottery and metal trade goods.

First-Hand Oral Histories

The emotional and spiritual core of the museum is the Tribal Voices section. Moving beyond academic archaeology, this area features high-quality audio and video installations of first-hand oral histories from members of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Crow tribes.

  • The Spiritual Geography: In these recordings, tribal elders describe Medicine Lodge not as a "ruin," but as a living sanctuary. They share stories of the "Little People" who are said to inhabit the rock crevices and discuss the valley’s role as a traditional gathering place for medicinal plants.
  • The Continuity of Culture: These oral histories provide vital context for the rock art, explaining how certain symbols represent clan lineages or vision quests that are still central to tribal identity today. This section ensures that the "Medicine" in Medicine Lodge is understood as a profound connection to the land rather than just a historical footnote.

The 10,000-Year-Old Excavation

As researchers dug deeper into the earth at the base of the bluff in the 1970s, they found over 60 distinct cultural levels.

  • The Surface Layers: Contained remnants of the historic period, including metal trade goods and items from the Shoshone and Crow tribes.
  • The Middle Layers: Revealed the sophisticated stone tools of the "Plains Archaic" people.
  • The Deepest Layers: At the very bottom, fire pits were found that date back 10,000 years.

This discovery proved that humans have been standing in this exact spot, drinking from the same creek, and looking at the same cliffs since the retreat of the glaciers.

The Legend of the "Medicine" Lodge

The name "Medicine Lodge" is a translation of indigenous terms for the area. For many tribes, the valley was a place of power. The confluence of Medicine Lodge Creek and the surrounding springs made the flora in the valley particularly diverse. Indigenous healers traveled here to gather specific herbs and plants that didn't grow on the high plains.

The Outlaw Connection

The geography that made this a great campsite also made it a perfect hideout. During the late 19th century, the "Outlaw Trail" ran through the rugged canyons of the Big Horn foothills. Men like the Wilber Brothers and other regional renegades were known to shelter in the area. Stories from early settlers describe finding outlaw "caches" of supplies tucked into high crevices of the Medicine Lodge bluffs, hidden behind the same sagebrush that once masked the prehistoric inhabitants.

The Hyatt Family and the "Ranche"

The transition to a pioneer homestead began in the 1880s when S.W. Hyatt established a ranch here. The Hyatts built a sturdy log home and established one of the earliest orchards in the Big Horn Basin. Most significantly, the Hyatt family recognized the sanctity of the site. They became the informal "guardians" of the petroglyphs, protecting them from defacement for nearly a century until the State of Wyoming took over its management in 1973.

What to Experience Today

Medicine Lodge is a unique hybrid of a State Park and an Archaeological Site. It is designed for "quiet" discovery.

  • The Interpretive Trail: A flat, accessible path runs along the base of the cliff, allowing visitors to stand just inches away from the 2,000-year-old carvings.
  • Wildlife Viewing: Because of the permanent water, the site is a magnet for wild turkeys, mule deer, and over 150 species of birds.
  • The "Living" Creek: Medicine Lodge Creek is famous for its trout fishing, and the park offers camping spots that allow you to sleep under the same stars that the "shield-bearing warriors" watched ten centuries ago.
 
Bibliography
  • Frison, George C. Prehistoric Hunters of the High Plains. Academic Press, 1978.
  • Francis, Julie E., and Lawrence L. Loendorf. Ancient Visions: Petroglyphs and Pictographs of the Wind River and Bighorn Country. University of Utah Press, 2002.
  • Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails. Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site: Interpretive Plan. 2018.
  • Grey, Don. "The Medicine Lodge Creek Site." The Wyoming Archaeologist, 1971.
  • Woods, Lawrence M. Wyoming's Big Horn Basin to 1901. Arthur H. Clark Co., 1997.