Ancient Indian Libraries - October 30

The southwest abounds with wondrous petroglyphs created as early as 2,000 or more years ago by Fremont, Ancestral Puebloan and Hopi peoples which we have viewed in the last week. Their meanings are not clearly known, but are thought to provide detailed information about their lives, including maps, journeys, clan symbols, geography, spirituality, animals that were important to their lives, and economy.  They can be artistic expression as well. Petroglyphs are carved or pecked into the rock (pictograph are another form of rock art which are painted on rock surfaces). Many of the petroglyphs we saw at Capitol Reef National Park along a number of sheer rock walls were faint, but others were clearer.  We saw images of long horn sheep, people, perhaps families, dogs or dog-like animals, perhaps deer. At Taawaki, or Dawa Canyon on the Hopi reservation, a horseshoe shaped 200 foot high cliff considered sacred to the Hopi contains numerous petroglyphs, varying in size and style.  We viewed them with the help of a Hopi guide. The oldest might go back over 2,000 years; others are more recent (1200 AD). They include images that might be of the sun, a representation of the Hopi Bear Clan, various animals, hands, arms and so on.  All these ancient petroglyphs reinforce the reality of Indian presence in the Four Corners region long before any European presence.  While the Fremont people seem to have disappeared by 1300 AD, the Ancient Puebloans including the Hopi continue to reside in their ancestral homeland in the Four Corners.

Petroglyphs in Capitol Reef National Park

Hopi Petroglyphs in Dawa Canyon