ROCK ART OF EL MORRO, NEW MEXICO:

 

El Morro, Cibola County, NM.

Photograph: Peter Faris, June 1993.

I have formerly posted some columns on historic inscriptions found at Morro Rock, in Cibola County, New Mexico. This interesting site has a permanent water tank at its base, a huge premium in this arid landscape, and the ruins of an ancestral Puebloan village on its summit. Long known for the large number of historic inscriptions carved into the rock face which record many episodes from the history of New Mexico and the southwest, it is less well known for Native American ancestral Puebloan rock art left carved into its surface by early inhabitants. Much of this ancestral Puebloan rock art has been defaced and overcarved by later inscriptions which are now considered to be historic. Those inscriptions record much of the history of the Spanish and American periods in the American southwest by providing a ledger of who was passing by Morro Rock, and often why they were there, and they provide an interesting historic resource in their own right. But, in this posting, I intend to look at the prehistoric rock art that can still be seen at Morro Rock.

 

 

Atsinna pueblo, El Morro, Cibola County, NM.

Photograph: Peter Faris, June 1993.

"Atsinna Pueblo, the largest of the pueblos atop El Morro, dates from about 1275. Its builders made use of what they had around them: flat sedimentary rock easily cut up as slabs they could pile one on top of another and cement with clay and pebbles. The pueblo was about 200 by 300 feet, and it housed between 1,000 and 1,500 people. Multiple stories of interconnected rooms - 875 have been counted -- surrounded an open courtyard. Corn and other crops were grown in irrigated fields, down on the plain; the surplus was stored in well-sealed rooms in the pueblo against times of need. The grinding bins and fire pits remain today. Cisterns on top of the mesa collected rainwater. The pool at its base was often used too, as hand-and-toe steps on the cliff face attest. An alternate trail for the residents may have followed the one that is still in use." (http://www.nps.gov/elmo/learn/historyculture/atsinna.htm)

 

 

Petroglyphs, El Morro, Cibola County, NM.

Photograph: Peter Faris, June 1993.

 The subjects that can be seen in the remaining rock art around the base of Morro Rock seem to be fairly common ancestral Pueblo themes. Human figures, animals, hand and foot prints, concentric circles, etc.
 

 

Petroglyphs, El Morro, Cibola County, NM.

Photograph: Peter Faris, June 1993.
 

Note the lovely row of bighorn sheep crossing the middle of this panel. Deeply carved and of excellent preservation, they are familiar to many as one of the most photographed petroglyph groups at El Morro.

Petroglyphs, El Morro, Cibola County, NM.

Photograph: Peter Faris, June 1993.

And above is my favorite, a roadrunner. Note the topknot projecting from the back of his head. This is a very common animal in this environment in the desert southwest.

 

Petroglyphs, El Morro, Cibola County, NM.
 

Spread-legged human  figures that are so familiar in ancestral Puebloan rock art. The dates for occupation of Asinna on top of Morro Rock fall in the late Pueblo III to early Pueblo IV periods, and Shaafsma puts the style of rock art at El Morro as "Plateau Anasazi mixed with Rio Grande Style." (Schaafsma 1992:25)

Given the historic importance of the Spanish and American inscriptions, it is perhaps understandable that the rock art of El Morro is not better known, but it is a shame. It fully deserves as much attention as other rock art sites. Stop in if you are ever in that part of New Mexico, it is well worth a visit. 

REFERENCES:

http://www.nps.gov/elmo/learn/historyculture/atsinna.htm

Schaafsma,Polly

1992      Rock Art in New Mexico, Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe.