Our cultural exploration week in the back country proved to be an amazing experience. We felt like we were walking in the footsteps of Native Americans and also virtually travelled back to prehistoric times. We were told that the interpretations are just recommended meanings and symbols are descriptors. Panels are still being studied by teams of archaeologists.
Rock art is often found near or next to ruins. The art is sometimes coated with a desert type varnish made of iron and manganese. A pioneer scientist from ASU, Ronald I. Dorn, has created various technologies to determine the dates of these rock art sites.
We hiked nineteen miles in open meadows with twists and turns that eventually led to tall canyons walls covered with large anthropomorphic figures. Some resembled Shamans. There were amphitheaters and sheltered coves where the ancients created remote cliff dwellings for their families to live as they travelled across the rugged, windswept desert.
Petroglyphs tell stories of those who have come before us. These are some of the largest, most well preserved rock art panels containing pictographs and petroglyphs. Many panels contain mountain sheep, goats, figures, handprints, birds, and other abstract images appear.
Circles were revealed all along the way and represent the Sun. A circle that was filled in represents the Moon. Filled in dots are symbols of eyes. Shields and arrows are also depicted.
Often, directions were left, notes, and symbols left for those who have yet to travel these lands. A symbol of one figure atop another represents Generations of the same tribe. Figures standing next to one another are suggestive of individual who are in the same family. Fertility symbols also appear. Coyotes, dogs, and wolves are also shown in abundance.
To be continued....
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