Butcher's Cave?

When I first spotted this striking rock shelter, I thought, *Now here's a cave with some rock art inside for sure!* I scrambled up, looked closely everywhere, but saw not a single sign of pre-historic occupation. Sometime later, I mentioned this site to Backcountry Ranger Gary Garrett, and found out I missed a couple of clues! He told me that when the cave was first *discovered* back in the twenties, there was something like FIFTY bighorn sheep skulls or horns inside, and that one was still there. The Anthropologists concluded that the cave had been used for butchering.

Somewhat baffled by Gary's statement that one horn was still there (how could I have missed that?) I returned to the site for a closer look around. Well, the horn was still there, but so eroded from time that it looked more like a old piece of wood, which is what I had taken it for when I first visited the shelter.

A year of so later, I was trying a shortcut down from a higher elevation plateau (NOT recommended in this case) and came across another , much smaller rock shelter, also with a long eroded bighorn horn inside.

Were the caves used for butchering as the Anthropologists assume? Or was there some other, perhaps ceremonial, meaning?

Also of interest, at this site, which is along a north-south running canyon deep into the area between the Wonderland of Rocks and the north slopes of Queen Mountain, was the amazing variety of cacti right near the mouth of this cave. I think I identified every single cactus type I know -- of except the lower altitude dwelling beavertail and ocotillo cacti -- all within a few yards. This included the tiny and rare Fishhook Cactus, with its tiny needle-thin thorns that protrude out and then hook back, closely resembling tiny fishhooks.