ABSTRACT
Culturally modified trees (CMTs) is an overarching term for trees shaped by a variety of intentional human activities. CMTs can exhibit evidence of activities such as bark stripping, felling for logs, testing for soundness, and plank removal (Long 2005; Resources Inventory Committee 2001; Stryd and Feddema 1998). Arborglyphs (Figure 6.1) are a CMT subset that includes images or text—such as graffiti—carved into bark or, less commonly, painted on a tree’s bark or wood or etched into wood where bark has been removed (Mallea-Olaetxe 2010; Resources Inventory Committee 2001; Worrell 2009). Arborglyphs have been left on numerous species of trees and are widely distributed across different continents (Figure 6.2). This diversity extends beyond trees themselves; I have recorded similar graffiti carved into woody bushes or on the broad leaves or bodies of cactus, agave, or other succulents in places as diverse as the archaeology site of Ingapirca in the Ecuadoran Andes; along the Makapu’u Hiking Trail on Oahu, Hawaii; and in the Domain Park in downtown Auckland, New Zealand. Carved quaking aspen trees (Populous tremuloides) are especially prominent in the western United States, where their fine-textured, white-colored bark offers a clear canvas. Nineteenth-and twentieth-century aspen graffiti by Basque, Irish, and Hispanic sheepherders are abundant and well known in the region (Gulliford 2007; Mallea-Olaetxe 2000; Pederson 2003). In addition, there are many pre-Columbian CMTs across North America and around the globe, as arborglyphs are found deep into antiquity (Stryd and Feddema 1998; Worrell 2009). For example, the first-century BC Roman poet Virgil’s Bucolics, or herdsmen’s songs, recount a shepherd carving his name on a beech tree (Alpers 1979). On the other end of the spectrum, carving graffiti on trees continues today with marks left by indigenous peoples, immigrants, locals, travelers, tourists, pilgrims, outdoorsmen, lovers, and the lovelorn.
