“The deserts of the American Southwest abound with ancient literature.” Petroglyphs — images or symbols chipped into the rock — are found throughout the area, left by its prehistoric inhabitants. Their meanings are obscure, the subject of much speculation and little proof.
Even when an image seems clear, its meaning isn’t as easy. Does a glyph that looks like a deer mean this is a good hunting area, frequented by deer? Does it record a specific hunt? Perhaps it honored a deer-related god? Or was it just the idle chippings of a bored and artistic traveler — ancient graffiti?
In most cases we’ll probably never know, but one group of petroglyphs may have yielded up its secrets. A couple of amateur Arizona archaeologist say these “water glyphs” were used by the ancient Anasazi used to find scarce water sources in the desert.
The markers seem to act something like a map of motel locations. Just as a modern traveler could look at such a map and decide where he would be assured lodging for the night, one of the Anasazi well-versed in reading these symbols would have known where he could next stop for water and shelter.”
Bob Ford and Dixon Spendlove have identified and studied more than 270 examples of these symbols, across more than 2,000 square miles, throughout the ancient Anasazi homeland. Each glyph is at one water source, and points to another, enabling you to hop from water to water across the desert.
Just take a quick walk in the desert today, and imagine heading off on a lengthy trek across the forbidding (and potentially deadly) desert. You’ll wish you had a reliable water map.
A thousand years ago, they did.
Wilderness Utah: Water trails of the Anasazi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our desert hiking trips in Arizona and New Mexico come supplied with plenty of water, but you’ll quickly get an idea of how hard it must have been for earlier travelers without all our conveniences. It’s spectacular country, but not easy for the unprepared!
8 responses so far ↓
1 Erin // Jul 17, 2008 at 7:17 pm
It is so amazing to think that these things exist and we have no knowledge of them. I am from the midwest and I often go out on searches for things hoping I will make some kind of grand discovery on this scale. It really floors you to think of the sophistication they had so many years ago.
2 Brian Marcum // Jul 17, 2008 at 7:51 pm
That’s pretty cool. It’s hard to imagine something like that being left there that long without modern man destroying it.
3 Violet // Jul 17, 2008 at 10:26 pm
History is amazing and so is what people leave behind. I love ancient culture. Things like this make history interesting.
4 Dwayne // Jul 17, 2008 at 10:32 pm
It’s amazing to think that previous cultures where advanced enough to think of doing things like this to help themselves and others out.
5 Deanna Keahey // Jul 20, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Erin - isn’t that amazing? You can see why they would develop something like this — it was critical to survival when traveling in the desert. It’s smart, and sophisticated, and until recently we had no idea that it existed!
6 Deanna Keahey // Jul 20, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Brian - I agree with you completely, though it’s a sad commentary, isn’t it? Why do we destroy so much?
7 Jan // Jul 20, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I like this article. It is informative and these images or markings are really interesting. I would love to know more about the ancient markings found around the world.
8 Antonya // Jul 20, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Wonderful reporting, ancient anasazi motel maps is a huge sign of the past and give us tools that show our past and what the people before us live. Hopefully, people in America can see this and preserve our lands much better.
Leave a Comment