Petroglyphs
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
Petroglyphs
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Capture/film
Description
Bandelier National Monument protects over 33,000 acres of rugged but beautiful canyon and mesa country as well as evidence of a human presence here going back over 11,000 years. Petroglyphs, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs, and standing masonry walls pay tribute to the early days of a culture that still survives in the surrounding communities.
By 1550, the Ancestral Pueblo people had moved from this area to pueblos along the Rio Grande. After over 400 years the land here could no longer support the people and a severe drought added to what were already becoming difficult times. Oral traditions tell us where the people went and who their descendents are. The people of Cochiti Pueblo, located just south and east along the Rio Grande, are the most direct descendents of the Ancestral Pueblo people who built homes in Frijoles Canyon. Likewise, San Ildefonso is most closely linked to Tsankawi.
Most people agree that the Ancestral Pueblo culture emerged from hunter and gatherer societies that had been living in the Four Corners area for thousands of years. The introduction of domesticated maize from the Valley of Mexico allowed a more sedentary lifestyle and the beginnings of more permanent architecture. At Bandelier archaeological evidence indicates hunter-gatherer occupation dating back into the Paleo-Indian period. A Clovis point found at Bandelier is the oldest artifact. The major Ancestral Pueblo People reoccupation of the area dates from A.D. 1150 to 1550, perhaps partly as a result of migration from the Four Corners area.
When the Spanish arrived in the southwest in the 16th century, they encountered numerous active villages which they called "Pueblos" meaning "town". Today the word Pueblo is also used as name for the group of people who are decendents of those who lived in these towns. The Pueblo people of the Rio Grande Valley trace their ancestry back to the Ancestral Pueblo culture. Present day pueblos of San Ildefonso and Cochiti identify ancestral ties to the sites at Bandelier and other locations. They track their relationships to Bandelier through oral traditions such as songs referring to sacred sites with the Pajarito (Spanish for little bird) plateau.
Bandelier is set within vast amounts of open space. North and west of the park rests the Valles Caldera National Preserve, an 89,000 acre nature preserve, which was created by the eruptions that formed the Pajarito Plateau followed by volcanic subsidence. On all sides of the park sits over one million acres of the Santa Fe National Forest, with the Dome Wilderness adjoining the Bandelier Wilderness western edge. A large portion of the northeastern boundary is shared with Los Alamos National Laboratory, which covers 26,500 acres of restricted, mostly open space. Bandelier's direct neighbors make the park's 34,000 acres feel much larger than it is.
This image was made using a 35mm camera and Ektachrome film during a visit to Bandelier and later digitized for uploading. No electrons were harmed during this process...
Image copyright 2013 Jon Burch Photography.
Uploaded
November 10th, 2013
Statistics
Viewed 211 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/06/2024 at 8:03 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Similar Images
Comments (3)
Recently Viewed
