Driving around Los Angeles, I can’t help but wonder what archaeologists of the distant future would make of the cryptic tags of today’s graffiti artists.
And I have always snickered inside at all the modern day scholars writing dissertations on the meaning of ancient petroglyphs which may in fact just be the scribblings of prehistoric taggers.
So, were the Jornada Mogollon trying to communicate with their intricate drawings near our site at Three Rivers Campground in New Mexico? Or were they just partying on peyote while scratching on the rocks?
And here’s another thing? If they were communicating, with whom? Perhaps it was the aliens from the spaceships they represent with all their concentric circle drawings. Tell me that goggle-eyed figure isn’t some bug-eyed space man! Some scholars argue it’s Tlaloc the Mexican Rain God? I’m sure …
Special thanks to Blues Mama Raven for her original flute composition that I pilfered for my petroglyph movie.
Jim,
I live in Nogal, NM. I’m a curator at the Hubbard Museum in Ruidoso Downs. We are developing an exhibit about the Anasazi, Mogollon, and Pueblo cultures in Southern New Mexico. I enjoyed your slide-show on Petroglyphs and Graffiti. Where did you take the photos of the prehistoric Mogollon pit house in New Mexico? I would like to photograph there.
Thanks.
David
Thanks for the comment! I remember the nature trail through the old pit house village being across the street from the Petroglyphs RV campground. Here’s another video and gallery with Anasazi and Mogollon pit house photos from El Morro national monument.
Graffiti and art are so closely linked
I totally agree. Jeremy and I went to Chaco, New Mexico during our second anniversary road trip. There are similar petroglyph on the walls among the rocks. http://j2davis.com/trips.php?section=55&pnum=34
The same thought went through our head. What if these are just drawings of kids who are bored? The guide book from the Chaco Historic park actually has a section informing us how to identify the “newer petroglyph” that were left by modern visitors, like us, who thought adding their own marks were funny.
It is hard to know the true meanings behind these drawings. But they sure are fun to look at~