Pictographs & Petroglyphs

 Somewhere in Joshua Tree National Park on a cloudy day. I won't share exact locations because we came across some Native American rock art as we explored the area. Let's go take a look!

A threatening sky, but no rain.

 

This fence was built a very long time ago, using whatever spare branches they could scrape together (slim pickings here in the desert). Amazing that all these years later the fence still stands. On the other side of the fence is the original Bill Keys property (160 acres) that he homesteaded in 1910 (the Desert Queen Ranch). It was likely Bill Keys himself built this fence.

 

Area closed. No trespassing. Caretaker on site (I doubt that!).

 

Guillotine rock (my name). A geological oddity. You do NOT want to do any rock climbing above that razor-sharp rock edge!

 

The first site we found had an interesting mix of pictographs and petroglyphs. The pictographs (red dye) were very faint, while the petroglyphs (rock etchings) were more visible.

 

Same photo as previous, but using dStretch to enhance the color. Most of it looks like a big red smudge, but there is definitely a pictograph to the right of the smudge (circle with a line through it). Above and to the right are petroglyphs, and more petroglyphs below.

An exciting find!

 

 

 

A nearly toppled-over Joshua tree. Look at all those juvenile Joshua trees growing out of the original trunk! Reminds me of all the kids hopping on Papa's back for a piggyback ride!

 

A beautiful little alcove!

 

Why does that Joshua tree in the foreground look so tall???

 

The going gets a lot rougher with some rock scrambling required. We're all wondering how much farther should we continue? We definitely don't want to be back in these rocks when the sun sets.

 

Onward! Our persistence pays off. We find a large rock overhang with a second rock art site. We were initially disappointed as none of us can see any rock art. The others start to leave but I call them back. There's a circular indentation in the rock with faded red marks inside.

Yes!! dStretch confirms the pictograph.

 

It's no wonder we nearly passed up this site. The pictographs are extremely faded (above). How many sites like this have we passed by on our many hikes?? Photos below enhanced with dStretch.

It's interesting that we come across a pictograph with a circle and a line through it, which is very similar to the first site we came across today. This circle with center line motif has a little head or banner at the top. We find another that's almost identical (photo below) except the center line stops at the bottom of the circle. What all this means is anyone's guess, but I've seen this same motif (with minor variations) at other sites throughout the park (one I can think of is about 75 miles from this site).

The end to an awesome day of exploring and discovery!!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

  

Addendum: Below is a photo I took in November of 2019 of a motif with circular shape and centerline bisecting it. This location is far removed (about 75 miles) from the hike above, yet the motif is very similar.