Overgaard in Navajo County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Can You Read the Rocks....?

Stop 2

Photographed by Denise Boose, September 1, 2013

1. Can You Read the Rocks....? Marker

Inscription.
These pictographs were made by Native Americans some 800 to 2,000 years ago.

How were they made?
Paint was made from powdered minerals, charcoal or crushed plants and mixed with a binder such as saliva, blood or vegetable juices. A yucca leaf chewed and frayed at the end made a good paint brush.

What do they mean? Religous Beliefs....
Many pictographs have been indentified by Native Americans as representing sacred beings or ceremonies.

History...
Pictographs may tell the story of a noteworthy event, like a successful hunt. Spirals, like the one depicted here, symbolize the travels or migrations of a clan.

Signs...
Other pictographs appear to be trail markers. They may also have marked territorial claims or the presence of water.

Calendars....
Some pictographs were situated so that shadows or sunlight are cast on the images in a certain way only on the solstice or equinox. Archeologists believe these pictographs served as calendars for the Mogollon Indians who lived here long ago.

Legends...
These are pictorgraphs that illustrate characters or event and traditional legends

Good Luck Charm...
Frequently,

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big game are painted. These may have been created to encourage fertility or a successful hunt.

Journey Through Time

"Please do not touch the pictographs. Oil from human skin will damage them and can interfere with dating methods. Do not deface this artwork by adding your own. These irresplaceable masterpieces are easily destroyed."

Erected by Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Indigenous Peoples and Communities.

Location. 34° 23.832′ N, 110° 37.801′ W. Marker is in Overgaard, Arizona, in Navajo County. It is on Black Canyon Road, on the right when traveling west. Black Canyon Road can be accessed from Highway 260. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Overgaard AZ 85933, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Arizona’s Mogollon Rim,

in the White Mountains,

and in Hopi.

It is also in the American Southwest,

in the Mountain West,

and at the Four Corners.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Photographed by Denise Boose, September 1, 2013

2. Can You Read the Rocks....? Marker

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 3 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Imagine Yourself Here Some Nine Hundred Years Ago (approx. 1.2 miles away); Travel on a Journey Through Time... (approx. 1.6 miles away); How Long Has It Been? (approx. 2.4 miles away).

Photographed by Denise Boose, September 1, 2013

3. Can You Read the Rocks....? Marker

Auto Tour Marker 2 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Denise Boose, September 1, 2013

4. Auto Tour Marker 2

You can get a map called the Black Canyon Audio Tour from the Black Mesa Ranger Station.

Can You Read the Rocks Trail image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Denise Boose, September 1, 2013

5. Can You Read the Rocks Trail

Follow the trail, but be careful since some areas are steep.

Blue Diamond Trail Markers image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Denise Boose, September 1, 2013

6. Blue Diamond Trail Markers

Photographed by Denise Boose, September 1, 2013