{"id":418,"date":"2016-10-17T13:13:41","date_gmt":"2016-10-17T17:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/imagesdanslapierre.mcq.org\/nisula\/"},"modified":"2019-01-17T15:40:20","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T20:40:20","slug":"nisula","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/imagesdanslapierre.mcq.org\/en\/explore\/nisula\/","title":{"rendered":"Pepeshapissinikan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pepeshapissinikan, also referred to as Nisula, is an open-air site of rock paintings that date back more than 2000 years. The site is an integral part of ancestral traditions specific to Algonquian-speaking Indigenous cultural groups scattered across the Canadian Shield. In plain sight on a cliff along one of the lakes in the Upper North Shore region of the St. Lawrence River, Pepeshapissinikan is an important heritage site for the local Innu people.<\/p>\n

Environment & History<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In the Heart of the Boreal Forest<\/h4>\n

The Pepeshapissinikan site is located on a high cliff wall alongside a remote lake. Teeming with fish such as trout and pike, this lake is mainly surrounded by coniferous trees (balsam fir, spruce, juniper and Eastern white cedar), with a few species of deciduous trees like white birch. Sphagnum moss and lichen cover the surrounding ground. In the summer, small fruits such as blueberries abound. The boreal forest is home to many animal species, including the black bear, moose, beaver, fox, wolf, porcupine and hare.<\/p>\n

The climate is temperate with an average of 15\u00b0C. But from summer to winter, temperatures vary greatly by more or less 50\u00b0C. Precipitation can reach up to 1000 mm\/year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Place Name<\/h4>\n

Pepeshappiszsinikan<\/i>\u00a0is an Innu word that means \u201cthe rock formation with paintings.\u201d Its origin is an age-old word: Pep\u00e9chapissinagan. It was recorded as early as 1731 on the maps of Father Laure, a Jesuit missionary.<\/p>\n

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NISULA<\/dt>\n
This is the family name of the person who first discovered the Pepeshapissinikan archaeological site: Anne Nisula<\/dd>\n
PEPESHAPISSINIKAN<\/dt>\n
This word in the Innu language refers to a rock marked with paintings<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    The Innu, Nomadism and the Animal World<\/h4>\n

    The Innu obtained most of their traditional staple foods from hunting, fishing and gathering. They were constantly on the move, seeking resources where available within their territory. This nation was divided into several bands often associated with drainage basins. In turn, the bands were subdivided into hunting groups of several families often related by blood. The groups moved from one camp site to the next. During the summer, the Innu gathered on the coastline or the banks of the main lakes and waterways to harvest Nature’s bounties. These seasonal gatherings also provided opportunities to forge marital bonds. In the fall, the Innu left and moved inland. Hunting large game, such as caribou, was their main subsistence activity. The Innu\u2019s beliefs and rituals shaped every aspect of their day-to-day lives. Hunting, their main source of subsistence, conveyed the intimate relationship between humans and the animal world. Animals readily surrendered to the hunters, as long as they treated them with respect. Each animal species was under the protection and control of a higher power, a \u201cMaster of Animals.\u201d To communicate with these powerful entities, hunters could turn to various rituals such as shaking tents and sweat lodges, drum songs, and scapulomancy. Invisible powers visited hunters mostly in their dreams. In times of need, the Innu also called upon some powerful beings living on the land, such as the Memekueshu at Pepeshapissinikan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \u00a0A Ceremony for the Spirits of Pepeshapissinikan<\/span><\/div>
    The Innu venerate this sacred site. They practise incantation and purification rites at the site with drums and offerings (e.g., tobacco) to maintain a privileged connection with their ancestors and the spirits of the place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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      A Surprising Discovery<\/h4>\n

      The site was discovered accidentally in 1985 by Anne Nisula during a fishing expedition. She noted several paintings on the face of a tall rock formation that were oddly similar to those found in her native Finland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

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      The places mapped by the Father Laure<\/h4>\n

      Father Pierre-Michel Laure was the first to indicate the site\u2019s Innu name on the maps of the Domaine du roy that he drafted in the northeastern part of New France, between 1731 and 1733. Father Laure also added the French translation of the place name \u201cWe can see naturally painted figures in the rock\u201d on the maps.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      The Pepeshapissinikan Cliff<\/h2>\n

      Like many other sites across the Canadian Shield, Pepeshapissinikan is an open-air rock art site on the exposed face of a cliff beside a body of water. A monochromatic scene painted in red covers more than 14 m2 of the rock surface. Divided into four panels and created in several stages, the artwork illustrates various figures surrounded by several more or less complex linear motifs. The marbled texture and crevices of the rock clearly contribute to the overall imagery of the scene. The motifs and their meanings still elude us.<\/p>\n

      The Cliff is 42 Meters<\/span>42M<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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      Various Characters and Other Rock Art Paintings<\/h2>\n
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      Memekueshu<\/h4>\n

      This singular figure painted at the very centre of the rock art scene is likely a Memekueshu. Depicted with a long, asexual body with large feet and a triangular head, it appears to be walking towards a crevice to enter the rock where it dwells. According to Innu oral tradition, Memekueshu has a slender head to easily penetrate crevices in the rock. The triangular head of the Pepeshapissinikan figure may be considered as an archetype used to emphasize the narrowness of its head. According to Algonquian beliefs, Memekueshu sometimes mingles with humans to transmit medicinal knowledge to them. However, this creature also likes to play tricks on humans before fleeing in a stone canoe! Memekueshuat are often described as small hairy beings. Elders also say that some rock art was painted by Memekueshuat with their own blood<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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      Inverted Figure<\/h4>\n

      In this scene, an inverted anthropomorphic figure (head down) was depicted above the Memekueshu. This representation may be interpreted as a deceased person, a person diving in the water after an overly prolonged vision quest, a spirit entering the rock through a crevice or a medicine man (a healer, diviner and interceder between humans and spirits) penetrating the rock to receive Memekueshuat\u2019s medicines and teachings. An inverted figure may also represent the act of flying.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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      Figures with Horns<\/h4>\n

      The spiritual dimension of these images is highlighted by two figures with horns. In Algonquian beliefs, horns represent spiritual power. A figure with horns may be identified as a \u201cManitou,\u201d a great spirit. Algonquian peoples called upon these powerful entities for help. This figure may also be a medicine man. The figure with horns appears to hold in its left hand a cross-shaped object. Based on Algonquian imagery, it may represent a rattle, a drumstick or a medicine rite object. Figures with horns are featured on many rock art sites across the Canadian Shield, from Quebec to Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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      Medicine Man<\/h4>\n

      This figure is carrying an oblong object in its left hand. It may represent a medicine man holding a medicine bag. Medicine bags were made with otter, marten, muskrat or bird skin. They held plants, minerals, stones and animal parts like bones that were used to perform healing rites or ensure successful hunts. Medicine men may have received some of the objects from Manitous.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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      Tally Marks<\/h4>\n

      On the bottom right of Panel II is a series of parallel vertical lines. Sometimes painted oblique, they are frequently found in Quebec and Ontario rock art. They are believed to represent a tally system. The vertical lines may also represent a canoe crew. However, such is not the case at Pepeshapissinikan because there are no images of watercrafts (usually represented by a slightly curved horizontal line under vertical streaks).<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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      Zoomorphic Figure (snake)<\/h4>\n

      An undulating pattern shown on the lower left section of Panel II alludes to a snake. This motif appears at several rock art sites and is generally related with the Underworld. The most important being of this world is Mishipeshu, a powerful Manitou feared by all because of the waves and whirlpools that it causes on lakes. Mishipeshu and snakes are the enemies of Thunderbirds that rule the Upperworld.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      The Sacred Knowledge of the Innu<\/h2>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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      Technique and Conservation<\/h2>\n
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      Site Preservation and Protection<\/h4>\n

      This heritage site is constantly exposed to changing climatic conditions. Preventative conservation studies are carried out on a regular basis to better preserve it. Through careful and systematic observation of the rock, minor cleaning work can be carried out on the painted surfaces to remove lichen growth. These measures have been implemented to protect the site from any natural or human disturbance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      Scientific Studies<\/h2>\n
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      PICTOGRAPH PAINTING TECHNIQUE<\/h5>\n

      All the motifs were painted using hematite, a mineral substance rich in iron oxide that was crushed and mixed with water or any other binding substance (e.g., animal fat). The \u201cartists\u201d used their fingers, mainly their index, as the easiest tool to apply the paint.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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      SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENTATION<\/h5>\n

      The scientific study of the site is based on the documentation of the material, visual and acoustic features of the site, as well as on samples taken for laboratory analysis. The interpretation of the graphic content is based on a host of relevant archeological, anthropological, ethnohistorical and artistic data.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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      RADIOCARBON DATING<\/h5>\n

      Carbon-14 dating on two samples from Panel II helped to determine that Pepeshapissinikan could be between 2000 and 2200 years old.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      A Mysterious Underwater Slab of Rock…<\/h2>\n

      Long ago, a chunk of rock broke loose from the lower part of Panel III and sank with its paintings to the bottom of the lake. The 1.25-ton chunk now lies under 12 metres of water. In 1992, divers were unable to see any pictographs, because the rock rests on its painted surface. This slab of rock conceals a page in the history of the site that remains unknown. It may hide images never before seen that are likely to change our understanding of the Pepeshapissinikan site and even of rock art in Quebec.<\/p>\n

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      Photo: \u00a9Daniel Arsenault, Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec \u00e0 Montr\u00e9al<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Pepeshapissinikan, \u00e9galement nomm\u00e9 Nisula, est un site de peintures rupestres \u00e0 ciel ouvert vieux de plus de 2000 ans. Ce site s\u2019inscrit dans une tradition ancestrale propre aux groupes culturels de la famille linguistique algonquienne r\u00e9partis dans le Bouclier canadien. Visible sur une falaise d\u2019un lac en C\u00f4te-Nord du St-Laurent, il est un lieu patrimonial important pour les Innus de la r\u00e9gion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":431,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-nisula.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-418","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNisula-Pepeshapissinikan - Images on Stone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Site of rock paintings in the boreal forest, Canadian Shield rock art\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imagesdanslapierre.mcq.org\/explorer\/nisula\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pepeshapissinikan | Images on Stone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pepeshapissinikan, also referred to as Nisula, is an open-air site of rock paintings that date back more than 2000 years. 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