Petroglyph National Monument

Petroglyph National Monument lies on the west side of Albuquerque in an area known as "The West Mesa" or "Northwest Heights". The dominant landscape feature on the West Mesa is the winding 17-mile long lava escarpment created by the 5 volcanic cones that lie upon the mesa top. This landscape is home to Petroglyph National Monument. Established by Congress in 1990, this National Monument is dedicated to protect the more than 15,000 petroglyphs that have been found along the fringes of this vast lava field.

This is a special place, not just for monument visitors, but also for many Pueblo Indians, the descendants of those who carved the images into the black rock of the volcanic field. Modern Native Americans consider the entire monument a sacred landscape; in essence an outdoor church, where worship and ceremony still take place: an area that demands respect and care.

Map ( 102K jpg )

Most of the petroglyphs were created between A.D. 1300 and 1650, although some may be as much as 2,000 to 3,000 years old. Others are historic, dating from the Spanish colonial period, when Conquistadors scrawled their messages on the lava escarpment. In addition to the petroglyphs, more than 100 archealogical sites help tell a 12,000 year long history of human occupation along the West Mesa.

Respect the petroglyphs

There are many reasons for making the petroglyphs, most of which are only poorly understood for folks outside of the Pueblo Indian culture. We do know that the images are far more than just art or imitations of the natural world. The images are powerful cultural symbols that reflect the complex society and religion of the Pueblo Peoples. There are a variety of images - animal figures, geometric shapes, masks, spirals, and stars. But the one unifying principle is the relationship of the various images to the sacred history of the Pueblos.

Hiking, hours

Techniques for dating specific petroglyphs are being developed, but there is still much research to be done before an easy and reliable method is found to date these images. Often the best clue to the age of a particular petroglyph is to compare the image with other artwork of a known date, such as pottery or kiva murals.

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