Prehistoric Native American Rock Art

Utah, Nevada, New Mexico                         Nov. 2016-Jan. 2017

Native Americans of prehistoric times left us many fascinating mysteries.  I’m especially intrigued by the rock art they created from about 5,000 BC to perhaps 1600 AD.   The puzzle is interpreting the symbols.  Although some of the rock art contains clues, no one really understands the original meaning of the drawings.  Even modern native Americans, many who consider the rock art sites sacred, are unsure of the symbols meaning.

There are two forms of rock art.  Petroglyphs are images pecked or scratched onto the rock.  Often on dark rock, the scratches expose the lighter rock underneath.  Pictographs are images painted or drawn on the rock using pigment.

Dating rock art is  difficult.  Most is dated by the surrounding relics.  We also know that rock art including bow and arrows has to have been created after about 500 AD. and art picturing horses had to have been created after 1540 when the Spaniards introduced horses to the area.  Another clue to age is the relative brightness of the image.  The pigment images slowly fade; the scratched or pecked images darken.  Recent visitors sometimes have not shown respect for the images – sometimes the vandalism can be identified because it is lighter than the original images.

Moab, Utah: The Potash Road Panels

The Moab region has many sites that provide visitors easy access to rock art.  The sites are well documented.  The Moab Visitors’ Center and many road signs provide specific locations and some interpretative material.  There are many high quality photographs of this rock art on the Internet.  My only purpose in this blog to interest you in exploring further on your own – perhaps even visiting some of the sites.

As you can see in the photograph below, much of the rock art is high up on the rock walls.  In this case, the artists probably were able to stand on the ground when they created these images; centuries of erosion plus modern road construction lowered the current ground level.

Binoculars, or telephoto camera lenses, can help visitors appreciate the images. Here is a detailed view of the above panel.

In the panels above and below, Anasazi artists have created recognizable images of big horn sheep and human-like figures that might represent gods intermingled with abstract elements.

The next three photographs are of one large panel.    Humans (?) with shields are the most obvious elements of the left side of the panel.

The center elements support many interpretations.  Sympathetic magic, supernatural beings, territorial claims, paths, boundaries, record keeping?  I haven’t a clue!

Below, the image of a hand is the only such image I saw.  Notice that it is significantly lighter than any of the nearby images.  Perhaps this is an example of vandalism?

The image elements below are some of the most famous examples of rock art in the area.  A telephoto lens is required to capture an image for close study …

The central animal – a huge bear? – is surrounded by an archer at its head, another archer on its back, and a third archer below its front feet.  Can this be the story of a celebrated hunting adventure?

Moab, Utah: The Courthouse Wash Rock Art

I’m including one image from this famous panel, primarily because it was a difficult, but short, hike for me.  The site was heavily vandalized over 30 years ago and is now very difficult to photograph without excellent light and photo techniques.  The site includes both petroglyphs and pictographs, many overlapping on the same panel.  Some of the elements are very old Archaic figures, others – as in this photograph – are the long, tapered figures of the Barrier Canyon style.

Honey Bee Canyon, Oro Valley, Arizona

Casey took me on a hike to see these examples.  There is a nearby  Hohokam Indian settlement dated 850 to 1000 AD.  These Indians created trading centers throughout central and southern Arizona and built the original canal system around Phoenix for crop irrigation!

The panels show typical abstract symbols of speculative meaning …

plus the wonderful owl above.

Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, New Mexico

The Bureau of Land Management supervises an area containing over 21,000 petroglyphs created by the Jornada Mogollon Native Americans.  Again, these examples of rock art are extremely well documented with beautiful photographs – I can only hope to interest you to study the history of our incredible country!

Simple graphic symbols – but why was this drawn on this specific rock?  What led the artist to step over some many other rocks to reach this one?

Again, why on this specific rock?  What does it mean?

Need I repeat my questions?

As a realtor might say, “Location, location, location!”

This is a fairly common motif – but 23 dots?  In other sites, similar drawings may have 20, or 21, or 22 dots.  Park documents suggest that in Mesoamerica, the circle and dot elements may be related to Quetzalcoati – a featherd serpant diety and that perhaps the number of dots represent corn or a population count.

Note the integration of the drawing and the rock features.

A mask – the round face and almond eyes are typical.

And a final photograph – you tell me!

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