Monday, April 10, 2017

Another Amazing Unknown Pictograph Site - Joshua Tree National Park

I've never heard so much as a peep about this site. It is obscure to the point that it isn't even a secret.
It also contains some symbols that I've never seen anywhere else.

This is not in the same area as the pictos in this post. I just liked the photo and needed to work it in somewhere.

There are a lot of boulders that look similar to this one in the area. After sticking my head in several of them, bingo!

It was partially hollow. 

 The other side of the boulder.

 A new symbol to me. Something to do with females and fertility, me thinks. 

Two layers of pictographs. The first and third symbol are solid, while the second and fourth are totally hollow, including the vertical parts. All four of them are attached to a horizontal bar on top.  I wonder if this is related to the Red Diamond chains hanging from the horizontal bar in the next photo?

The four symbols in the previous photo, and the three diamond chains in this one, are representative of "female." So maybe both are part of a female puberty initiate ceremony. If you do follow this LINK, it will take to my post relating to that subject, and this photo. If you don't, no problem...


 This spot clearly had old pictos in it.

After DStretch



A third panel in the hollow boulder



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69 comments:

  1. The interpretation of the site as puberty initiate site seems a good one to a layperson. And some of the symbols look like they were taken from a microscopic sample of a related subject :-)
    I liked the photo of the dry stick in Joshua Tree National Park.

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  2. Another very informative post, Patrick!

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  3. Wow!!Extremyly nice to see those "helleristninger" as we call it in Norway!!Wow..amazing!!Here..we have to hide them because people are tagging them and do all kinds of shit..

    I love to be with you on your trip to the desert and the stone valley

    Very nice!!

    Anita

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  4. Sure likes like it relates to females. We saw something similiar up in the Bishop area a few years ago.

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  5. As always excellent pictures and educational too.

    Amazing that some of the boulders were actually hollow underneath, almost cave like, I enjoyed those pictures the most.

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  6. visualnorway - Thanks! Very interesting either way. I think I know what "related" subject you are referencing.

    Liz - Thanks Liz!

    Anita - I'm glad you enjoyed this Anita! fortunately, these "helleristninger" are pretty remote. I really wish that the penalties were much harsher for defacing these places.

    trav4adventures - I haven't been up to the Bishop sites for many years. I need to get up there. With a camera this time...

    Jimmy - Thanks Jimmy! Surprisingly, a lot of them are partially hollow.

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  7. Bet you were in 7th heaven finding that NEW spot in Joshua and finding new pictographs... The one describing the female/fertility is quite interesting... WOW.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  8. I am always amazed at the cool things you find Pat. Terrific photos!

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  9. Betsy Adams - I was in 7th heaven! Thanks Betsy!

    Brian - I am also amazed! I love these places.

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  10. I find these fascinating, just speculating on their meaning.

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  11. The pictographs are fascinating. You did a good job getting them to come across in the photos. I wonder how old they are?

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  12. William Kendall - I totally agree William.

    Karen Jones Gowen - Thanks Karen! Despite the fact that the pictos are in a very protected spot, they are still almost invisible to the naked eye. So, I'd say they have been there for centuries (several, at least).

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  13. are those aliens shooting from the sky in the first photo?

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  14. Another great find and wonderful photos.

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  15. DEZMOND - Yes it is! I believe those are death rays...

    sage - Thanks Jeff! I appreciate you saying that.

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  16. And once again, giving me the serious desert longings! Are you collating a collection of these pictographs and petroglyphs somewhere? Are we going to see a book someday? :)

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  17. ...it's nice to see that these drawings haven't been messed with.

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  18. VEG - Photos of these places does the same to me. I certainly am collating them, and may do something (someday). I've been working on a couple of "regular" books for a few years. I may never finish them though. Too much time involved. We shall see!

    Tom - I totally agree Tom! I'm always happy when that happens (or doesn't happen, I should say).

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  19. I think the way you fiddle about with your computer (very scientific expression y'know) emphasizing the colours and the contrasts to make these wonderful symbols clearer. Your results are like abstract art. Really interesting process. And you know exactly where to look to find these pictographs. So thrilling to find and interpret marks that have been hidden for centuries.

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  20. Thanks for your comment regarding the demise of our Country Market. I'm very sad to see it go, especially as the whole area will soon be covered with houses full of breeding couples.... horrible. Time to move. Yes, I'm very grumpy.

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  21. Wow - I would go crazy not being a 100% sure what the symbols mean! I comment you for your determination! What a find you posted. Have you ever thought of making short video's of your trips and putting them on YouTube? (You can do it with your friend Peter ... just sayin')

    Hey Patrick, you forgot to link one of these pics to ALL SEASONS - SEASONAL COLORS! Your photos have plenty of colors, lol. On the serious side the subjects are obtional...
    In case you forgot, the link is open (from Sunday) till Wednesday evening 7 pm. Hope to see you there!

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  22. Shammickite - Thanks so much, I'm really glad that you enjoy my posts. I love this stuff. "Fiddle" is pretty much correct! As to the comments, you are very welcome. I think people should be grumpy about what developers do, and want to do. "Houses full of breeding couples." That is SO FUNNY! An instant classic...

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  23. jeanettestgermain - It is a little frustrating to know so little about these things. I guess if we had spent less time trying to exterminate them, and more time actually trying to co-exist with them, we would most likely know a lot more. Thanks for the reminder, I have linked up.

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  24. GREAT photographs, Pat! I found the whole "symbolism" utterly fascinating!

    Thanks so much for sharing!

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  25. Pat, I am amazed about your devotion to look for interesting rocks and for pictographs. If some day I will find rocks in the mountains I will also look for pictographs because I have learned it from you. You are my teacher.

    Beautiful pictures and very interesting traveling story you told us.

    A warm hug.

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  26. I love hearing about places like this with such interesting bits of history on them. I suppose we'll never really know for what they were intended, but it's fun to guess.

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  27. These are treasures from the past that have to be preserved.

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  28. Hi Pat. So cool to find something like this after poking your head under a boulder!! Ever since you and I hiked together, seems I can no longer hike in a straight line, and I feel compelled to look under any and every boulder that might be an opening or cave. One of these days...

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  29. As I think you mentioned in a reply to another comment, what a tragedy that the people who created these pictographs are no longer around. Whatever these images meant, they portray a subtle and sophisticated culture that we could have learned a lot from, especially about living in harmony with the environment.

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  30. Hello, another great find. The hollow area under the boulders looks like a cave. I enjoyed seeing these pictographs and learning what they could symbolize. Awesome series of photos. Have a happy day!

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  31. Ron - Thanks Ron! I also find it fascinating.

    Kaya - Thanks for all the nice words, and for your support. I am definitely obsessed with this stuff. Thanks again Kaya.

    bettyl-NZ - You are right about us never really knowing what it all means. There are a couple of people (one in particular) who claim to be able to totally decipher it all.

    Rajesh - I totally agree with you. More of it should be made available for the public to see.

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  32. What a wonderful adventure to explore and photograph. Lots of info to ponder on and it makes the whole experience exciting. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving some nice comments.
    Bill from somewhereinireland.

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  33. Nora - Thanks Nora. DStretch is a vital tool for these places.

    Spare Parts and Pics - I know what you mean about not being able to hike in straight line. The only problem is that a 5 mile hike can quickly become 7 miles. A year or so ago, I stuck my head under a boulder to check it out. I heard the rattlesnake (that was already under there), just before I saw it. We were pretty much face to face. I don't think I've ever moved that fast in my life when I backed out of there.

    Dennis Hodgson - You are so right Dennis. These people had a perfectly fine existence before we mucked it up for them. They were so much more evolved than us. I wish our history books were more honest about what we did to them.

    Eileeninmd - Thanks Eileen! Some of these hollow rocks are easily large enough to stand in. You also have a happy day!

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  34. bill burke - There certainly is a lot to ponder on in these places. The comments were my pleasure. Thanks for the same...

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  35. You're amazing at finding these undiscovered treasure troves. All the pictographs - wow. Thanks for posting these for us.

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  36. Many thanks for the thumbnail you put on the linky list of ALL SEASONS, Patrick. Have a Happy Easter to you and yours!

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  37. at first I thought the tree was climbing the rock in the first image :)

    Love the little cave entrance.

    You asked if my header was a skateboard park? Yes it is!
    And thanks for the information that you too got an ad thrown at you. Not sure who does this :(

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  38. This was another wonderful find and a great hike Pat -- and as always I appreciate how you virtually enhance the marks ....

    I remembered the female puberty rite post from before but I went to the link anyway and enjoyed it again. But did you ever write about your grandmother as you said in that post that you would some day? That I don't remember.

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  39. Another great discovery here - I always love the scenery you show too. I've got to make it to that park one of these years.

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  40. Well I haven't a clue as to what they mean but it certainly is amazing they still remain so many years later.

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  41. Rawkingrobyn.blogspot.com - Thank you for the first part, and it's my pleasure for the second.

    jeannettestgermain - No problema! Have a nice weekend yourself.

    NatureFootstep - Sometimes it seems as if those things are growing out of the rocks! Thanks for answering my question.

    Sallie (FullTime-Life) - Thanks so much Sallie! I haven't done the post on my granny and thanks for the reminder. I really want to get that done. I'm just so far behind on posting.

    Al - Thanks Al! If you do ever make out here (to go to JT), let me know. I'll show you some things that the NPS claims aren't there.

    Ida - It really is amazing. It all depends on where they are. I know some places that have totally disappeared in the last several decades.

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  42. Pat.... are these hollow boulders naturally occurring, or have they been sculpted by the ancient people to use for their pictographs?

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  43. Another beautiful and awesome find. So many stories written on stone with voices from the past.

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  44. Shammickite - The boulders are shaped by erosion. Geologists say that they were made about 100 million years ago. They were deep underground for a long time, and their shapes changed. The shapes also changed because of erosion once they were on the surface.

    robin andrea - I hope everybody doesn't mind all these posts. I can't get enough of this stuff...

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  45. I love that. It is so obscure it isn't even a secret. Ha! It must be fun to discover unknown and undiscovered symbols. You have so much desert fun.

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  46. Sharon Wagner - I love that about also. I really do have a lot of fun (lots of hard work also). Thanks Sharon!

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  47. Fantastic work Pat.

    I especially love the first shot. Frame that one!

    That D-Stretch is a good tool isn't it.
    It seems to make sense about the fertility angle. You'd know with all you've seen. Gotta love the yoni lol.
    It's very cool though. The stories, the people. All lost to time.
    Beautiful that someone still cares. Let's home it remains that 'secret.'

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  48. Great set of pictures - could you send me the name of the software that enhances the images - I may try it on some of my own rock art images (I know you did some of mine ages ago)

    Funny how one of the rocks looks like a broad brimmed hat and a backpack!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  49. Great pictographs!

    The grayscale one looks like it depicts Mary Poppins and possibly a sister flying up to the sun while passing a satelite. :)

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  50. Anthony J. Langford - Thanks Anthony! It's too bad that so much is lost.

    Stewart M - Thank you Stewart! What you said about my had and backpack is funny. I'm going to send you an email.

    Vid Digger - Thanks so much! Oh yeah! You must have enlarged the photo to Ms. Poppins...

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  52. Lady Fi - Yes it was! It certainly made my day.

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  56. They are always fascinating to see, and I am jealous of your travel..I saw on FB you guys were in Santa Barbara for shellfish dinner :) I was there more than a year ago!

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  57. Icy BC - Thanks! They totally fascinate me. Santa Barbara is an amazing place. We are actually up in the mountains behind Santa Barbara. It was MORE than worth the drive down to eat at this place. We may even eat there again before we head home.

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  58. In the first photo, where did that dead tree branch come from? I haven't seen any trees at all in any of your photos of the desert.

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  59. Shammickite - If there is a permanent source of water available, trees will (and sometimes do) grow in certain parts of the desert. Especially at the higher elevations. This dead tree is at an altitude of over 4000 feet. There used to be water in this area.

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  60. Wow - amazing and fascinating!

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  61. You are an intrepid explorer Pat, it's always fascinating to see your discoveries. I think you would be thrilled to see some of the similar kind of ancient paintings done by Aboriginals so long ago!

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  62. What an amazing place!

    I'm so glad that you make these posts because I'll probably never make to most of theses spots.

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  63. PerthDailyPhoto - Thanks so much Grace, I'm very glad you find them interesting. Oh yeah, I would be more than thrilled to see some of those in person. Right now, it's just a dream though.

    James - Amazing it is! I am happy to be of service sir...

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  64. What a great find! It just shows that a little bit of digging can sometimes be worth it. :)

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  65. Baby Sister - One of my all time favorite finds!. No actual digging though. Thanks Amanda!

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  66. Hi Pat,

    Just curious on if the area I have linked to below is a good place to explore. I am heading out that way to see what I can find in such a remote area of JTNP.

    34.096472, -115.451472

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  67. Yes, there is much to see in that area.

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