Rocky Gap Handprint Pictographs - Red Rock Cyn NCA

Handprint pictographs are always a treat for me. I think it's because normal pictos and petros are made with tools. Handprint pictos are created from the actual placement of the hand on the surface. When compared to most other symbols, handprints seem very personal. In my mind's eye I can picture the person placing their hand on the rock. The "rock art" in this area are estimated to be about 1,000 years old. That is seven or eight centuries before the first white settlers started arriving.

You can barely see them with the naked eye.

With DStretch much more is revealed. Notice where the middle of the palm didn't make contact with the rock.

This one shows five handprints.

The rocky surface is a very large, or multiple Agave roasting pits. 

 A nice sized rock shelter

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Red Rock Wash Pictographs - Red Rock Canyon NCA

This pictograph site is in the same area as my last post. We like auto-touring, but love getting out of the jeep and exploring much more. This site isn't a secret, but we saw very few people while hiking around.

The view from where we parked the jeep.

 Straight ahead to our intended target. There is a waterfall at the end of the canyon on the left. I'll cover it in another post.

In the bottom center you can see some rock shelters used by the original inhabitants. 

 The first pictograph we saw here.

Same pictograph enhanced with DStretch. It would have been nice to see it before it started fading. 

 Hard to see anything on this wall.

 Not much better after enhancement, but there is a nice sunburst and a few other images.

Self portrait of the original owner?

A closer look at the rock shelters. 

Excuse me! Can you two get a room please? 

Rock Shelters. I'm not sure how much "barricading" these barricades actually do, but I don't blame them for trying to keep people out. 

It's hard to see in this view, but in the enhanced version below you can see...

 ...a red hand print!

I have no idea how old these pictos are. Several hundred to maybe a thousand years? They were done by either the Southern Paiute, or the Patayan who were here before them. 

We viewed another pictograph site and also one with both pictographs and petroglyphs. There are more in the area, but our time in the Las Vegas area was limited this trip. Next time. 

I hope everybody is okay with my low-key and sometimes humorous approach to these places. 


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Rocky Point Petroglyph Site - Gila River Area AZ

Rocky Point is another great site along the Gila River. Background info relating to this site, is pretty much the same as my recent post on the Painted Rock site. For thousands of years people have been using the areas around the Gila as an ancient "freeway." While doing so they left a great deal of evidence of their presence.  This site contains petroglyphs, pottery shards, rock alignments, ancient trails, etc. There is also some historic graffiti here.

This photo and the next are in the general area, but may or may not be near the actual site.

 Most certainly a very barren and unforgiving area. 

If you look just left of  center in this photo, you can see a horizontal line of rocks. 

This is the same line, only with the photo taken from above. If you saw it in person it is recognizable as a man made stone wall. Maybe it was defensive in nature, or maybe not...

 The bare line leading away from this is an ancient trail. There is also at least one going up the hill.

 Nature always finds a way.

No idea who left this, but has clearly been here a long time. 

A pretty large pottery shard. There were quite a few of them. (Yes, I replaced it exactly where I found it).

We are spending the next few weeks in Nevada, and Southern Utah, and have already seen some amazing things.