Well, in
San Juan Country, a 200 square foot Newspaper rock surface is covered by
hundreds of ancient Indian Petroglyphs, the rock art chiseled and pecked into
stone. Newspaper Rock is situated right next to Utah Route 211 about 45
kilometers northwest of Monticello and 85 km south of Moab. It’s difficult to
know the exact date of petroglyphs, because they have been pecked into the
rock’s outer layer of natural varnish, rather than painted o. However, the
historical data is approximately 2,000 years old of human doings in the area,
just like a newspaper. Though they’re distinctive of several sites throughout
the United States and these petroglyphs are one of the largest, safely
preserved and effortlessly accessed groups in the Southwest.
These
petroglyphs feature showing a mixture of animals, human, different material and
abstract forms are representing the Fremont, Anasazi, Navajo and Anglo
cultures. These petroglyphs can be easily found on the vertical Wingate
sandstone cliffs on the upper end of Indian Creek Canyon. The images are
embossed on Newspaper Rock have been adorned into the dark coating on the rock,
can be called desert varnish, actually a blackish manganese-iron deposit that
progressively forms on exposed sandstone cliff faces owing to the action of
rainfall and bacteria. Therefore, the ancient artists use to etch more than 650
figures and patterns on the rock by pecking the coated rock surface using
sharpened tools to eliminate the desert varnish and expose the lighter rock
beneath. The older figures are themselves becoming darker in color as new
varnish gradually develops. Hence, the first carvings were made about 2,000
years ago by the “Anasazi” peoples who were best recognized for their stone and
earth dwellings rather than their art.
The Fremont
people, who were contemporaries of the Anasazi, also contributed to the
Newspaper Rock. They’ve etched bulky human frames with trapezoidal torsos, as
well as some of the bighorn sheep, and perhaps several of the handprint and
footprint shapes. Later, the Utes and Navajo people added figures portraying
hunters on horseback, and images of warrior shields and wheels. In the recent
times the carvings were made in the early 20th century, by the first modern day
explorers of this region who left their mark with initials and names carved all
around the margins of these ancient, ineffable images.
These days, the
Newspaper Rock is now protected by a fence that keeps tourists 10 feet away
from the rock surface to avoid vandalism. The
monument has free entry, however no best facilities apart from a carpark lot,
sometimes with Indian jewelry sellers in attendance. Nevertheless the setting
is peaceful and satisfied sheltered, as the canyon at this point is quite
narrow, overgrown by bushes and tall cottonwood trees, with the clear waters of
the creek flowing close to the road, and sheer reddish cliffs rising 250 feet
above. There is a good picnic area on
the far side of the road.