Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site
A long sandstone shelter, excavated deposits, and living Indigenous interpretation connect more than 10,000 years of human presence.
Artwork inspired by Hans Kleiber
Medicine Lodge is both a rock-art landscape and one of the Big Horn Basin’s most consequential archaeological sequences. Excavations beginning under Wyoming State Archaeologist George Frison cut through roughly 26 feet of sediment and identified more than 60 cultural layers spanning over 10,000 years. Hearths, storage pits, grinding stones, projectile points, pottery, and trade beads show changing technologies and lifeways—not one timeless occupation frozen beneath the bluff.
Outside, a roughly 750-foot sandstone face carries carved petroglyphs and painted pictographs above a sheltered creek meadow. Start with the excavation timeline, then walk the interpretive route so the art remains connected to stratigraphy, water, plant zones, and the people who continue to understand this as a living cultural place. Do not assign meanings from shape alone; use the site’s Indigenous voices and acknowledge when interpretation is intentionally limited.
The 2024 Medicine Lodge Cultural Experience adds present-day Eastern Shoshone and Apsáalooke perspectives to the older archaeology, explicitly resisting the idea that Native history ends in an excavation layer. The campground, fishing access, and green lawn can make the setting feel casual, but the record is irreplaceable: stay on established routes, leave flakes and artifacts exactly where found, and never touch, wet, chalk, trace, or enhance rock art for a photograph.
- Record
- 60+ cultural layers
- Features
- About 26 feet of deposits
- Allow
- 1½–2½ hours
Quick guide
- Anchor
- More than 10,000 years of human presence
- Second focus
- A 750-foot petroglyph-and-pictograph bluff ↔ The Medicine Lodge Cultural Experience’s living Tribal voices
How to read Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site on site
- Begin
- Begin with the cultural center’s timeline before approaching the bluff.
- Distinguish
- Separate painted pictographs, pecked petroglyphs, and natural staining.
- Respect
- Listen for present-day Eastern Shoshone and Apsáalooke voices in the interpretation.
- Protect
- Leave every object in place and never touch, wet, chalk, or trace the art.
Good to know
The cultural center and water systems are seasonal even when the grounds remain accessible, and campground activity can change the feel of the visit. Confirm building hours before driving from Worland, bring water outside summer service, and keep cameras, fingers, and found objects away from protected surfaces and deposits.
Notice these
- More than 10,000 years of human presence
- A 750-foot petroglyph-and-pictograph bluff
- The Medicine Lodge Cultural Experience’s living Tribal voices