Petroglyph National Monument
Albequerque, NM

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There are some 16,000 individual petroglyphs at the appropriately named Petroglyph National Monument, lightly carved in black volcanic rock. It may be the highest concentration of petroglyphs anywhere in the US. Many of the carvings are over 1,000 years old, but there are many more that are recent. Native Peoples (Hopi & Zuni) have lived in this area for hundreds of years, and this site was a sort of graffitti place for them. Only a few of the images have been dated, so it is hard to know how old a particular image really is.

The Monument is right in the middle of developments in Albequerque New Mexico, so it is really easy to get to. This also means that it is open to vandals and thiefs, which are slowly ruining the park.

It was a rainy day when we stopped at Petroghyph National Monument. If you've ever seen petroglyphs before (or dino tracks), you know that there's not much to see when it is all wet! We only got to see a small number of the glyphs before the rain was too heavy and we couldn't see them anymore. Here are a few of the pictures we could get.
Pictures (Click to enlarge)

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Several "Kachina" like images are carved here. These resemble Hopi kachinas, and the etching is still bright, so it makes us think that these are very recent images.

cover

A Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest
by Alex Patterson (Compiler)

This is a cool picture of a mask. What sort of story can you make from this image?

This is a very cute bunny that we saw on the trail. Taking pictures of animals is tricky, but we've learned that if you just be quite and move very slowly, they will hold still for you.
Links

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Resources

Check these out from your local library, or buy them here. When you buy books here, you get the same great Amazon.com price, and help keep these pages going.

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Learn More! Find books about Petroglyphs at Amazon.com