Mesa Point Trail

Mesa Point Trail. Boca Negra Canyon. , Boca Negra Canyon , Mesa Point Trail , Petroglyphs represent a valuable record of cultural expression and human occupation in the Rio Grande valley. They have deep spiritual significance to modern Pueblo groups as well as other indigenous people such as the Diné (Navajo) and the Apache. Similar images continue to have value in contemporary ceremonial life for many Southwestern tribes. The associated meanings of some petroglyphs are known by a few Southwestern tribal groups, while the direct meanings of other images have been lost over the centuries., This boulder contains a good example of various images made by the Ancestral Pueblo people 400 to 700 years ago. They used sandstone hammerstones and chisels to remove the thin exterior layer of desert varnish which exposed the lighter color of the basalt’s interior. Some images are recognizable by us today; however, their original meanings were known only by the carver and by those who travelled and lived during that time period.