Cupules, Joshua Tree National Park

Cupules seen in foreground, dam from cattle days in rear.

Cupules are not always listed as a rock art form, and indeed, they patterns they form seems to almost always be random, except that they are clustered together. It's postulated by Anthropologists that such sites as this one were created by individuals, as part of an initiation ritual, such as the reaching of womanhood, each grinding in their own cupule.

. a closer view of these same cupules

. . More JTNP cupules

more about cupules under my archeoastronomy section, when I get around to creating it.

For an on-line (pdf format) article about cupules worldwide, see Cupules, The Oldest Form of Rock Art