Remnants of birch bark torches litter the relatively undisturbed margins of the floor of Tainter cave in southwestern Wisconsin. Many are burned to small fragments that were probably discarded. Several larger fragments, including a nearly complete torch, could have been used again. Birch bark is highly resinous and burns brightly. When the sturdy yet flexible bark is stripped from a tree, it can be rolled to form a tight, candle-like coil. Lighting the end of a well-made torch produces a reliable flame that can burn for a half hour or more. Presumably, the birch bark torches found in Tainter cave provided the source of light for the prehistoric artisans in the cave’s dark zone.  Images from Tainter cave can be found at: http://mvac.uwlax.edu/past-cultures/specific-sites/rock-art/#Tainter.

On the angled ceiling of Tainter cave, in southwestern Wisconsin, is a drawing of a unique animal. While all of the other drawings in the cave are made with relatively sharp lines, this animal was drawn with much wider lines that suggest finger application of pigments. The animal has an oblong body with four stumpy legs, a round head to the left, and two apparent long horns. It is not clear what animal this drawing is intended to represent, but the spread horns are reminiscent of early forms of bison, such as Bison occidentalis. If so, this distinctive glyph might represent Paleoindian or Early Archaic art that would date from at least 8,000 to 10,000 B.P.  More images from Tainter cave can be found at: http://mvac.uwlax.edu/past-cultures/specific-sites/rock-art/#Tainter.

Link to images of rock art at Tainter: http://mvac.uwlax.edu/past-cultures/specific-sites/rock-art/#Tainter

On the ceiling just inside the entrance to Tainter Cave is a drawing that appears to show a cradleboard. The figure has a circular head inside a rectangular box with horizontal lines across the body area and a smaller circle on the chest area. Cradleboards were often used by Native peoples to carry babies. They tended to cause flattening of the back of the skull, and burials from a 1500-year-old site in the same valley show evidence of that type of flattening. Tainter Cave is in southwestern Wisconsin.

Tainter cave in southwestern Wisconsin contains some unique panels of rock art that are composed of abstract motifs which have never been seen before, and whose meaning eludes us.  The geometric forms incorporate rectilinear and curved lines.  More images from Tainter cave can be found at: http://mvac.uwlax.edu/past-cultures/specific-sites/rock-art/#Tainter.