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| Rochester Panel - Emery, Utah |
I’m not an authority on anything you read at my blog. I simply have experiences that I detail here. I have respect for the people who are authorities, experts in their fields because I learn and enjoy what they do. I was born in Phoenix, Arizona and although I am only a first generation Arizonan, my heritage, my ancestors are not from this area. But this is where I live. I respect the law, the land and the people that were here before me. Respect starts from within so when I visit to observe and photograph a site, I imagine how I would think if the photographs and the visit would affect my own feelings if I were the indigenous peoples, that their ancestors created the rock art and pueblos and or ruins. How would I feel about my conduct? That is the basis for what I do, basically, “the golden rule.” Treat people how you want to be treated.
Some people go to museums to look at modern, contemporary or historical art. I’m one of them, artists like Jean Michael Basquiat, Gustav Klempt, M.C. Escher, Andy Warhol, Peter Max, and a few others are very aesthetic to me but the archaic stone pictures or “Tapamveni” the Hopi term for tapped rock images are far more interesting. So I visit these outdoor “museums” and casually research how they came to be.
Entering the pass time of visiting rock art sites has not been easy. Other rock art enthusiasts are tight lipped about the whereabouts of these sites and it’s not hard to understand. These sites are defiled by careless people. They shoot the petroglyphs with guns, chip away marking with their own dated signature. They spray paint graffiti and leave their own mark. It makes me physically sick to see this defacement. To date, I have not touched one single petroglyph. I have not taken one single pottery shard or arrowhead. Anything I come up upon, I view it with my eyes, that’s it. I’ve followed the laws of the land to get there and when I’m there, I’ve only taken photographs, watched were I stepped and left with only the dust on my clothes.
I will detail the whole, what, and why of my activities for your review or comparison. Do not ask me for the whereabouts of these places, you can find out all the details using the tools that I describe below. It’s not hard, you just have to do a little research and know how to navigate a map.
My go to at this time is three and a half hours by car then a couple of hours hike to view and photograph a wonderful collection of hundreds of years old Hopi and Diné Tapamveni. I also have South Mountain Park, just a fifteen minute drive from my home.
Where It Starts
I live in Phoenix, Arizona. I look for and find interesting and aesthetic rock art to photograph for my project, The Idea. The intent of my article is to show what is behind my interest, what I do and the things I do it with. Earlier this year, I had researched rock art and pictograph sites in Utah. I detailed a three day plan with hotel stays in two cities. The driving plans were spot on. My hiking and time on site were too generous. I ended up coming home early by 24 hours. I learned quite a bit about trip planning from this. Although I spend time on site taking pictures and studying the area, I often spend far less time observing once I have my photographs. I’m learning to slow down and relax. I have a similar trip to Nine Mile Canyon in Utah this coming spring. I will start planning the itinerary this January.
My primary form of choosing which area to visit is generated through my small library of books found at various used book stores in Phoenix where I live. I browse used books, purchase, read at home and further research using the Internet and various Apps on my tablet, an Apple iPad. I use Wikipedia and YouTube for educational entertainment, Google Earth to virtually visit, Google Maps to plan my routes and Gaia (mapping application) to generate final GPS assistance for hiking to my destination.
My Area.
Arizona is home to one of, if not the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the United States, Shongopovi or Old Oraibi on the Hopi reservation. The Navajo reservation is in North Eastern Arizona and also occupies North Western New Mexico and South Eastern Utah. It is the largest reservation in the United States. The Navajo reservation is larger than ten states in America. The seat of the government is in Window Rock, Arizona.
The term, “Navajo” comes from Spanish Missionaries and historians that described the people living in Pueblos which is a unique style of adobe flat roof dwellings of the indigenous peoples of the area. The Navajo call themselves Diné. I will often use the term Diné which is synonymous with the Navajo as it is the name they have for themselves.
The Hopi reservation is completely surrounded by the Navajo reservation. The two nations occupied the Navajo-Hopi joint use area. In 1974 and 1996, Congress described in the Navajo-Hopi Land settlement Act, the artificial boundary which is still a controversy to this day.
There are twenty two federally recognized indigenous peoples of Arizona “tribes” as they are described. They are the descendants from the migration of ancient and indigenous people that have been described as moving Southward from what we know as Alaska and Midwestern Canada. I will primarily focus on the areas that I visit, subsequently describing those people and tribes, the rock art that they made hundreds and thousands of years ago.
Phoenix is the fith most populated city in the United States and is home to 5.9 million people in the metropolitan area which is more than one hundred miles across. The current and primary indigenous people found in the Phoenix area are the Pima-Maricopa, Yavipai, Tohono O’ odham, Pascua Yaqui and the Gila River Tribe. The ancestrial tribes of the area are Hohokam known for their extensive irrigation canals, they are the ancestors of the Tohono O’ odham (Pima and Maricopa.)
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| A South Mountain Hohokom petroglyph. |
South Mountain Park, which is the largest municipal park in the United States is within the ancestral range of the Hohokom and many petroglyphs can be observed there. It is a short drive from my home and I have done quite a bit of hiking, hang gliding and paragliding in this area as well as my current interest, finding and photographing rock art found within the park.
The areas within my state that I search for rock art is primarily desert flats, mountains and valleys with ephemeral streams, they only flow after a rain. We do have dams that interrupt perennially flowing rivers but many dams have been built in the last one hundred years that have created a chain of lakes. Our landscape has changed since our native indigenous peoples have occupied it hundreds, even thousands of years ago however desert climates is the predominant condition that the rock art is found in and that I am preparing for in my adventures. My adventures curtail in the summer, months from June through September are far too hot to be hiking in the relentless heat. Fall, winter and spring the temperature and climate are pleasant for searching, photography and travel.
In my pursuit of these archeological discoveries, I follow the laws of our cities, states and tribal reservations when approaching and photographing rock art. I am respectful and considerate, I am a guest, a visitor and my pursuit could be confused as my presence at these sites is similar to the artifact hunters that find and remove only to sell for personal gain. My presence in these areas should be in question as they need to be protected against criminal artifact collectors. I’m on the side of the law and will report any suspicious activity that I see myself.
The Things I Use.
Many of these areas are approachable by Interstate highways, paved county roads and finally desert dirt backroads. I own a Subaru Forester which is an All Wheel Drive vehicle that is capable of comfortably traveling long distances on highways then navigating primarily low clearance off paved road tracts into the wilderness. As I’ve said, I only travel to legally available land that is not gated or signed as private or no trespassing. The Forester is the most comfortable and capable cross country car that I have owned. It is absolutely perfect for this pursuit.
I dress for the expected temperature and exposure. I dress by layering with modern fabrics. I rarely hike more than six miles so I wear comfortable hiking shoes along with a backpack to hold water and food for the day. I carry a small stool and binoculars. This allows me to hike, stop and search for rock art using my binoculars. I choose an 10x42 for clarity and focus range. Often the rock art is high upon individual rocks and desert varnish panels. I use a hiking pole(s) for assisting in distance and navigating hills and climbs.
I use Nikon cameras and lenses. My primary camera is a D780, a digital camera capable of sharing lenses with my Nikon F6 35mm film camera. My favorite lenses are the 28-30mm Nikkor for an all around close up through telephoto searching and photography lens. For close work, I use a variety of lenses like the 14-24 rectilinear, a 16mm fisheye and the 18-35mm ultra wide angle lens.
For film. I use a combination of Fuji Velvia 50, Kodak E-100 and I am beginning to use Kodak Portra 160.
My current area of interest lies within the Petrified National Forest, a federally protected park that has guarded paid access to ancient pueblos and subsequent rock art found in the area.
This piece is an abbreviated yet descriptive article that should be thoroughly developed in unique chapters which I will do in the future. My blog is not meant to be a teaching platform this article is nothing more than a “ hit piece” on our topic to be shared to a select few. I enjoy the discussion with those people and my interest is to share in this enthusiasm for indigenous peoples rock art.
Car - 2023 Subaru Forester
Backpack - North Face Recon - Camp Time Roll A Stool - Vortex Diamondback 10x42 - First Aid Kit - Sunscreen - Sun Gloves - Buff - Shemagh - Water Bottle - Towel - Black Diamond Hiking Poles
Cameras - Nikon DSLR D780 - Nikon Film 35mm F6 (Velvia 50 - Kodak E-100 - Portra 160)
Lenses - Nikkor 14-24 f2.8 G ED FX - Nikon 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye-NIKKOR AF-D - Nikkor 18-35 f3.5-4.5 G ED FX - Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 G ED VR FX
Devices - iPhone - iPad
Research - Wikipedia - YouTube
Mapping Software - Google Maps - Google Earth - Gaia GPS
Resources & Key Terms
NavajoNavajo Nation
Pueblo
Hopi Reservation
22 Federally Recognized Tribes in Arizona
Phoenix, AZ
Indian Health Services: Tribal Information
South Mountain Park
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