The Petroglyph National Monument
Stone Images
From The Pueblo Indians
Albuquerque, NM
April 27, 2003
One
of the fun things to do when in the Albuquerque area is to wander out toward the
west, and tour the Petroglyph National Monument, where there is a world of
prehistoric history just laying around to be observed. . Having driven out to
the the Ranger Station, we picked up a copy of the Boca Negra Canyon Trail Guide
and started out. Right away we found out that the Petroglyph National
Monument preserves one of the largest Petroglyph sites in North America.
The Monument was established in 1990, to protect and interpret petroglyphs and
archaeological sites on Albuquerque's West Mesa. It is managed jointly by several
organizations including Albuquerque, and the National Park Service. The
West Mesa escarpment is a 17-mile long ridge of basalt boulders, created by
volcanic eruptions that occurred about 130,000 years ago. The first two volcanic
events were extensive flows of fairly liquid
lava, which flowed down old arroyo courses that can now be seen as peninsulas on
the escarpment. Similarly, lava flowed around hills and higher ground to
create the natural embayment on the escarpment (an effect called "reverse
topography"). Subsequent eruptions of increasingly thicker lava covered
smaller areas and the last events created the volcanic cones themselves. Once we
got to the top of the Mesa point Trail we saw the now dormant volcanic cones. In
the millennia following the eruptions, the Rio Grande eroded the basalt caprock
of the escarpment. The flows ranged from just 5 feet thick in places to
over 50 feet thick in other places. The caprock
can be seen across from the Canyon trail. Huge pieces of the basalt
caprock were undermined by the mighty river's meandering and were left strewn
all along the escarpment face. Millions of these boulders have been left exposed
to the elements. This exposure caused what is called "desert
varnish" which is a pronounced oxidation of metals such as manganese and
iron within the basalt. This dark "desert varnish", or patina is
extremely thin and chipping or pecking exposes the lighter color of the rock underneath.
It is the secret to the high contrast images which are found on the rocks.
Although they last seemingly forever, it is not true. From the day they
were pecked out, the elements have started their inevitable tarnish, slowly, yet
ever so slowly, turning the once brilliant images back into the dark surface
from which they were created. Surveys suggest that there are at least
20,000 petroglyphs along the volcanic escarpment. Petroglyphs are
a valuable record of cultural expression and have deep spiritual significance to
modern Indian groups. Interest in such images run in two distinct areas.
The first is in attempting to find out just how old the drawings are, and the
other is in trying to identify the specific meaning of each image which includes
by its nature, the identity of the people who made them. In regards to the date
when the petroglyphs were carved, we learned that there are many ways of
determining when the drawing were created. While walking the trail, I
noticed that the prehistoric petroglyphs typically face south or southeast.
It is believed that many of the images were made during the winter when
these south facing boulders would have been warmer and clear of snow
accumulations. We also found out that most petroglyphs images in the park
have been dated by "relative dating" techniques. That is, they
are compared to stylistically similar, datable pottery designs and other dated
artifacts such as prehistoric Puebloan murals. These murals had colorful painted
stories on the plaster walls of kivas (subterranean ceremonial rooms).
Most of the petroglyphs in this area are believed to be of the "Rio Grande
style" which was from 1300 AD to 1680 AD. During that time, the Rio
Grande Valley was populated by the Pueblo Indians. That area extended to
the escarpments at the Petroglyph National Monument. Yet another method is to
use the very cause that allowed the images to be created and will someday
cover them up again. The amount of "desert varnish" that has
reappeared since the image was created can be estimated. As this
occurs at a predictable rate, a general idea of the date came be established. As
far as who made the drawings and what they mean, we learned that the
identification of the various petroglyphs is often based on contemporary
ethnographic interpretations. That is, they are based on interpretations by
today's Pueblo people. It is not known for certain what all the images
represent. Different Pueblos have differing opinions on meanings and any
one image may have complex or multiple meanings based on its context. Some
images have direct meaning to modern tribes while the meaning of others has been
lost over the centuries. Whatever their interpretation petroglyphs
preserve the beliefs of their makers and are part of our heritage and the
heritage of the Indian peoples who still live in the area. The walk was moderately
strenuous and about a half a mile in length. Along the way there were
plenty of opportunities to find the desert creatures that inhabit the area.
The best we did was some very interesting lizards and a few snake trails.
All in all, a great way to spend the afternoon wandering in the sun and fun of
central New Mexico.
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