Petroglyphs at Puerco Pueblo, Arizona
N 34° 58.470 W 109° 47.606
12S E 610138 N 3870880
Second largest site of petroglyphs in Petrified Forest National Park.
Waymark Code: WM1436
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 01/07/2007
Views: 217
The most famous petroglyph site in this area (and perhaps in all of Arizona) is, of course,
Newspaper Rock. But here is another one, just one mile north. Les famous but no less exiting.
Puerco Pueblo, the largest of the many archeological sites in Petrified Forest National Park, has been inhabited by 60-75 people from about A.D. 1250 to A.D. 1380. And the inhabitants left a lot of evidence.
There are four large rocks covered with petroglyphs. Above are images taken from three of the smaller rocks (click on the pictures to get larger images). Below is a look at the largest rock.
Center piece of that rock is a picture of a bird. When looking at the picture we were arguing weather it is an egret, eating a frog or a stork, delivering a baby. Back home, we read at the National Park Website, that the bird is most likely an avocet and that "...it is not known whether the artist depicted a frog, or a person, in the bird's mouth."
Details of the main rock.
Click on the picture to get larger images.
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What we found most impressive was the variety of subjects, carved into stone. From something like smily faces over animals and plants up to something that looks like a decorative weaving pattern - anything that affected the life of these people was worth being carved.
Scientists are not sure about the meaning of the pictures. For us, they radiate a strong message to respect life in all its varieties! |
Visit Instructions:1. You may log as many different waymarks as you wish but you may only log each one once.
2. You must include a close up photo of the pictograph and your GPSr. The pictograph must be recognizable.
3. Tell a little bit about what you learned of the area.