March 2, 2010 – Painted Rock Petroglyph Site

Our journey today took us to Painted Rock Petroglyph Site.  Here is some information from the internet:

“The Painted Rock Petroglyph Site is located on the eastern edge of the Painted Rock Mountains and about 18 miles west by northwest of Gila Bend, Arizona.  This area is mostly flat and sandy with May -Oct daytime temperatures in the 100's. The annual rainfall here is only about six inches and the nearest irrigational water is the Gila River. In prehistoric times the Gila flowed west out of the Mountains of western New Mexico, made a big dogleg turn at the town of Gila Bend and continued west to empty into the Colorado River. The Hohokam people once lived and farmed here. Ruins of their late Pioneer Period (AD 350-AD 550) and Early Colonial Period (AD 550-AD 700) villages are found to the north and west, and ruins of their Sedentary - Classic Period (AD 900-AD 1400) villages are found to the south and east.

Over 40 petroglyph sites have been recorded in this area, however; most of these sites are small with only a few dozen petroglyphs. The Painted Rock Site is the largest known site with about 800 images. The petroglyphs are pecked onto weathered basalt boulders overlaying a granite outcrop. The outcrop is in the form of an east to west orientated oval about 400' long, and about 20' tall with two small knob tops . Most of the petroglyphs are concentrated on the boulders along the eastern edge, but the petroglyphs face in all directions from that edge.

Although considered a Hohokam rock art site, Painted Rock is on the extreme western edge of the Hohokam cultural area.  As you travel east from Painted Rock the petroglyphs take on more typical Hohokam characteristics, and as you travel further west, the petroglyphs take on more Patayan characteristics. Found here and in nearby areas of the Gila River are petroglyphs of Archaic origin.  Painted Rock also bears the inscriptions of Historic passers-by. Juan Bautista de Anza passed near here in the 1700's, followed in the 1800's by the Mormon Battalion, the Butterfield Overland Mail, and countless numbers of pioneers. In the 1900's George Patton used this area as headquarters for WWII tank training.”

 

This is a view of the site from the parking lot:

We took the trail around the area.  There were a number of information boards on the petroglyphs and the area:

 

As we walked around the trail and saw the drawings, we wondered about all the peoples who passed this way and made their mark on these boulders.  This place was very spiritual.

Here are a number of the petroglyphs – notice the different shapes and figures:

  

 

Fascinating and we do not know why they were made nor what they mean!!

There is also a very nice campground there and we may stay there sometime in the future.

And the desert continues to become green.  There were areas we passed today that looked like lawns…

 

Back home, we just did some things around the motor home.  Andy put in a new water pump and I did some more washing and cleaning.

Tomorrow we head to Organ Pipe National Monument so stay tuned.