Native American ‘Picture Cave’ to be auctioned in Missouri. It could fetch millions

Picture Cave — considered “the most important rock art site in North America” by at least one archaeologist — is expected to be sold for millions in a September auction.

The site for sale includes a two-cave system, known as Picture Cave, filled with Native American polychrome paintings. It is located in Warrenton, Missouri, west of St. Louis.

Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers is coordinating the Picture Cave auction, scheduled for September 14, according to their website. It is estimated to be worth $1 million to $3 million.

“The two cave system boasts massive panels of over 290 prehistoric glyphs making it the largest collection of indigenous people’s polychrome paintings in Missouri,” the Selkirk Auctioneers description says. “Considered to be one the most significant North American archeological sites, Picture Cave’s importance has been described by scholars as rivaling that of Cahokia and Chaco Canyon. The quantity and complexity of the wall images, like the renowned depiction of Red Horn, are unmatched compared to other prehistoric sites.”

In 2008, archaeologist Jim Duncan told the Columbia Missourian newspaper that the site was discovered about 20 years prior by two men exploring the cave. They found rock walls filled with paintings and sent hand-drawn reproductions to Duncan and archaeologist Carol Diaz-Granados, according to the Missourian.

While Duncan said he originally thought the drawings were fake, the newspaper reported that he and his wife, Diaz-Granados, investigated the drawings for years.

“We know it’s not simple graffiti, they’re trying to tell a story or an oral tradition,” Diaz-Granados told St. Louis Public Radio in January.

“It is beyond any doubt the most important rock art site in North America,” Duncan said, according to the Missourian.

The archaeologist duo believes the Native American rock paintings illustrate what may be the earliest representation of the Mississippian Period, according to the Missourian.

That period, AD 1100-1541, represents major changes in prehistoric life, including “the introduction of small projectile points, indicative of the use of the bow, and the use of new manufacturing techniques in ceramics,” according to the National Park Service.

The sale also includes 43 acres of undeveloped land in Warrenton. The land was mostly used by the landowner’s family for hunting since 1953, according to Selkirk Auctioneers. The cave itself is home to a rare indigenous colony of Indiana bats, Myotis sodalis. The Indiana bat is endangered, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

Pre-auction offers on Picture Cave are being accepted. For more information, visit Picture Cave - Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers.

This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Native American ‘Picture Cave’ to be auctioned in Missouri. It could fetch millions."