Petroglyphs Set 1 - Dinosaur National Monument – Utah and Colorado, USA

El Gato

From a 2022 trip out to Utah and Colorado...

These petroglyphs were created and left by the Fremont people who lived in the area around what is currently Dinosaur National Monument, about 1,000 years ago.

black mamba

Thanks, Al ,for providing the three postings about petroglyphs. I find this stuff fascinating. Aside from being educational, the fact of seeing something in front of you that was created by humans hundreds of years ago....or even much longer than that....just amazes me.

ziggy53

Thanks for documenting, and both capturing and post-processing, these extremely important ancient works.

Every year, it seems that the world's petroglyphs are less and less, due to acid rain, vandals, thefts and botched thefts. The dangers never decrease, especially as funding for their protection is often being cut.

Hopefully, increased public exposure to photographs of the works, like yours, and increased public awareness of both their importance and of their vulnerabilities, hopefully all of this will inspire a sense of civic responsibility in the general populaces and promote a sense of pride for their preservation.

Bravo, kind sir, bravissimo!

El Gato

@black mamba said:
Thanks, Al ,for providing the three postings about petroglyphs. I find this stuff fascinating. Aside from being educational, the fact of seeing something in front of you that was created by humans hundreds of years ago....or even much longer than that....just amazes me.

Tom....

Thank you for your comment.

I too have that same sense of awe when seeing, visiting, standing in places where over the millennia history has pasted.

I have been very fortunate to have stood feet from the pillars at Stonehenge, walked completely alone, in absolute silence, into Al-Khazneh (the Treasury) at Petra, sweated beneath the sun as I stood at the feet and gazed up at the Sphinx, walked along Hadrian's Wall.

History and the people (those remembered throughout time and those forgotten), at these sites was "heavy in the air." I spent ample time while at these sites and much of it was just thinking of who may have passed through the very spot where I stood.

Seeing these sites and experiencing them as I did, truly brought history to life.

Thanks again Tom!

El Gato

@ziggy53 said:
Thanks for documenting, and both capturing and post-processing, these extremely important ancient works.

Every year, it seems that the world's petroglyphs are less and less, due to acid rain, vandals, thefts and botched thefts. The dangers never decrease, especially as funding for their protection is often being cut.

Hopefully, increased public exposure to photographs of the works, like yours, and increased public awareness of both their importance and of their vulnerabilities, hopefully all of this will inspire a sense of civic responsibility in the general populaces and promote a sense of pride for their preservation.

Bravo, kind sir, bravissimo!

Ziggy...

I appreciate truly your comment.

I do hope as you commented that more people will recognize the importance, of these works, to all of humankind and be proactive in their preservation.

I was amazed to see these petroglyphs in person, even climbing several meters up rock cliffs (via established trails and non-destructive/non-invasive climbing) to photograph some. It will be such a great loss if our grandchildren and their children can only experience/view these petroglyphs from photographs on the pages of a book.

Thank you again for your comment and thoughts regarding my images. I appreciate both.

black mamba

I was entering my third year at college. I had an opportunity to go to Egypt on a 3 week trip, all expenses paid. I passed on the deal because I was focused on getting this college experience concluded and if I had gone it would have thrown me into a full semester delay. I thought I could make such a journey later in life.

Words cannot express how many times I have regretted that decision. I've made it to Europe and reveled in that experience. But not getting to Egypt has left a void in my life. I'm fascinated with the place. I have to experience the place vicariously now by not missing a single show that Josh Gates does with his Expedition Unknown crew when they are in Egypt.

Cornflake

Terrific, Gato! I've photographed petroglyphs a lot. Arizona is a place where you can find your own in out of the way places. When I do, I don't say where I was when I took it because I don't want them trashed. Yours are quite different from what I see here. I've got to get up there.

El Gato

Don...

I would agree 100%. If I find any that are not "available to the public" meaning so well publicized that bus loads of tourist crawl all over the place, I never include the location in any posted description. In fact, given the advances in very affordable AI software, I am reluctant to even post the images fearing that someone could scan the image and have the AI determine its relative location (if not actual location).

Thank you for your reply!