Boulder, Utah
(435) 691-1241
(307) 733-4261
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Boulder, Utah |
Jackson Hole, Wyoming | |||
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(435) 691-1241 |
(307) 733-4261 |
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About Earth Tours | Guides | Learn a little something along the way |  |
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TOURS Southern
Utah |
Rock
Art of the Anasazi and Fremont Peoples Half Day Hike "Our ancestors, the hisat'sinom, left their mark upon the land through their rock art, settlements, pottery shards, and sacred sites; they are buried in the canyons and plateaus of the Grand Staircase. Their spirit voices silently echo through the canyons, while the soft canyon breezes whisper to remind us of the sacredness of the land. Our spiritual core, as well as our ancestral ties, is in these very canyons which have been set aside a national monument." - Wilfred Numkena, Hopi, from Visions of the Grand Staircase-Escalante, 1997.  Petroglyphs chipped through desert varnish and blood-red pictograph
paintings on overhanging walls of the Escalante Canyons are the rock
artworks of the prehistoric Anasazi and Fremont people who inhabited the
area between 500-1250 A.D. Bighorn sheep, geometric designs, perhaps an
image of the setting sun, a panel of figures that look like weavers,
human-like figures that sometimes appear more like visions of space aliens
… What do they mean? If only we could find a Rosetta stone to decipher
them like Egyptian hieroglyphics. Perhaps, we will never do better than to
make up stories. Gazing up at rock structures nestled beneath overhangs at
the treetop level of cottonwoods, one wonders how these people scaled such
imposing cliffs. Flattened stones were used to grind corn or pinyon pine
nuts. Many routes into the canyon are ancient trails with footholds and
handholds chiseled into the sandstone faces by the ancient people. When
you chance upon flakes of chert scattered by prehistoric flintknappers who
knelt in the same places where you might rest today, you realize that the
landscapes haven't changed much in the last millennium. You look but you
don't touch these sacred remains. You take only pictures and vivid
memories, and leave only footprints. It is truly magical! |
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