Glen Canyon Style 4, Virgin Kayenta Style, Cave Valley Style and other Anasazi variations (400 A.D. to 1350 A.D.) Coconino County, Arizona
What struck me when I first saw this impressive large red sandstone was the petrographic chronology of Anasazi culture. Early Anasazi petroglyphs at the bottom of the large boulder from a hunter-gatherer society evolve into the highly crafted formal images of the Pueblo II-Pueblo III period at the top of the rock. Note how the beautifully crafted maze design and perfect concentric circles on the adjacent rock resemble Pueblo pottery. Two-headed snakes occurred rarely in nature. They must have been viewed as powerful figures.
The final petroglyphs on this panel date around 1300 AD. At this time the Anasazi people abandoned their small farms scattered across the Colorado Plateau and moved to villages and larger pueblos. New religious institutions replaced the older Anasazi traditions.
We think of ancient cultures in terms of specific geographic locations. In fact ancient people were constantly migrating. They followed wildlife, pursued or escaped their enemies, sought richer land or more water for their farms. An ancient road probably passed by this rock, running North and South along the Vermilion Cliffs, a route for traders traveling between northern Arizona and central Utah.
I think about the figures on this rock on peaceful October afternoon. Afternoon shadows grow longer and I position the camera twelve feet above ground. The rock is sixteen feet tall. Suddenly a rock slips and my engineering rod collapses. The camera falls into a gully below. Fearing the worse, I sit with my dog and drink a coke. Incredible luck! Not a scratch, the aperture on the Mamiya lens opens and closes smoothly. Amazed, I rush to photograph the last rays of sunlight on the rock.