PETROGLYPHS AT NEWSPAPER ROCK UTAH

Keywords: Petroglyphs, Newspaper Rock Utah, Canyonlands, Paleo-Indians, desert culture, hunters-gatherers, shaman culture, nomadic people, 4th-7th Texas social studies, Ute, Navajo, Anasazi, Puebloan, Fremont, Native Americans, First Nations.

ANCIENT MURAL NEWSPAPER

NEWSPAPER ROCK, UTAH

PETROGLYPHS

July 7-18

Two years after my last adventure in the high deserts of the Four Corners I was able to return and visit further west. Inspired by Edward Abbey, the original explorer of the Utah  canyons in the central deserts of the Great Basin, I visited the sites where he spent many years as a Park Ranger. His book "Desert Solitaire" is an account of his experience as custodian of what is now "Arches National Park", long before it was declared so. Moab was to be my base destination. 

The author after a 1.5 mile hike up the canyon walls to reach Delicate Arch.
Arches NP, 102 degrees F, at 8:30 am. 4,829 feet above sea level.

Although I spent considerable time hiking and climbing the many natural monuments of the area, this note is limited to one specific site: a giant petroglyph panel where for at least 2,000 years people have left a message. Close examination at different times of the day, as the light changes, shows many underlying shadows under the oxidation that has built up over the centuries. This could be an indication of the existence of older petroglyphs that have already been covered again. If this is the case, the age of Newspaper Rock could be older than today's estimates.

PETROGLYPHS

The shapes and figures of these petroglyphs are made by chipping away the natural oxidation crust that forms over the sandstone. A tool or a rock harder than the base rock, is used to "hammer" the figure by exposing the natural color of the stone under the crust. 

Newspaper Rock, UT, fragment. Notice man on horse must be post XVI century. Look for shapes/light shadows under the clear figures. These are older petroglyphs.

The pictures at Newspaper Rock were inscribed into the dark coating on the rock, called desert varnish. Desert varnish is a blackish manganese-iron deposit that gradually forms on exposed sandstone cliff faces owing to the action of rainfall and bacteria. The older figures are themselves becoming darker in color as new varnish slowly develops.

LOCATION

Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument is inside a recreational spot along the road designated as Indian Creek State Park. It  features a rock panel carved with one of the largest known collections of petroglyphs. It is located in San Juan County, Utah, along Utah State Route 211, 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Monticello and 53 miles (85 km) south of Moab.

It is along the relatively well-traveled access road into the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park, 12 miles (19 km) from US 191 and 30 miles (48 km) from the park boundary. The 200-square-foot (19 m2) rock is a part of the vertical Wingate sandstone cliffs that enclose the upper end of Indian Creek Canyon, and is covered by hundreds of petroglyphs—one of the largest, best preserved and easily accessed groups in the Southwest. The petroglyphs feature a mixture of human, animal, material and abstract forms.

Canyonlands NP.  Nothing is visible from the desert floor until one comes abruptly to the canyon rim. Impossible to hike down in most places, most ancient travelers would walk along the rim, looking for a way down, or just using the rim as a guide down river, generally in the southerly direction.

Although there are thousands of isolated petroglyphs in the vast expanse of these deserts, and a few large panels, this one is exceptional.  It is located a few miles from the rim of the south side of the Colorado River Canyon as it sculpts its way down to the Grand Canyon. In my opinion, and after a careful analysis of the geography, the reason for its location is the permanent spring found at Indian Creek.  It emerges from a rocky outcropping on a small side canyon.  Ancient travelers, trying to find a way across the large canyon, or just a stopover as they traveled south along the rim, would find the microclimate very attractive. The spot is not large enough for a permanent settlement as is does not have enough plant or wildlife to support it.  But, it is an oasis in the middle of the grueling ground of the desert. A perfect place to rest for a short while.

THE COLORADO RIVER

The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is one of the most famous natural wonders of the world. What is designated as such is really only a portion of the canyon carved by the ancient river from the high Rocky Mountains that drain to the west of the Continental Divide and flow all the way to the Sea of Cortez, in Mexico. Multiple streams flow from the snow melts of the high sierras and create the force of the mighty Colorado.

The high mountain stream near Vail, CO

Major tributaries are the Green River, the San Juan and the Gila which get enriched by the scarce rainstorms of the July-August monsoon. Much like the Nile in Egypt and the Rio Grande in Texas, these river basins have been the habitat of ancient cultures that flourished in the middle of the desert.  

The Colorado River carving its way as it enters Utah

The canyons carved by water erosion into the ancient seabeds grow in depth and width as the river flows south. Canyonlands is as wide as the Grand Canyon, but not yet as deep. These are views of the canyons that surround Newspaper Rock.

 

NEWSPAPER ROCK

In Navajo, the rock is called "Tse' Hone'" which translates to a rock that tells a story.

The oldest visible carvings at

Newspaper Rock were made

around 2,000 years ago. Underneath there may be older messages left by the archaic Paleo-Indians. It is in the routes of the nomadic Ute and early Navajo. It is the area of the earlier Fremont Culture and within the sphere of influence of the Anasazi.

The presence of horses in the panel is evidence of  the Spanish XVI-XVII century presence in the Southwest. The rider is using a bow and arrow in the hunt of elk. Signs of migration routes, stars, and different species of animals explain the human presence in the area.

Human footsteps are mixed with mountain lion or bear. Horse riders chase horned sheep, deer, elk, antelope and maybe buffalo. There are star signs, rivers, and shamans.

Modern graffiti  has invaded part of the ancient panel.
Visitors need to respect the value of our archaeological
sites and leave them undisturbed for the future

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The petroglyphs were carved by Native Americans during both the prehistoric and historic periods. There are over 650 rock art designs. The drawings on the rock are of different animals, human figures, and symbols. These carvings include pictures of deer, buffalo, and pronghorn antelope. Some glyphs depict riders on horses, while other images depict past events like in a newspaper. While precisely dating the rock carvings has been difficult, repatination of surface minerals reveals their relative ages. 

Indian Creek Canyon as it dis-engorges into the Colorado River basin at the Needles section of Canyonlands NP. The canyon walls are home to several small ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings, mainly granaries and single family units.