In Search of the Santa Clara Petroglyphs: The Abstract Enigma

Unravelling the mysteries of two unique, older petroglyph sites that I found along the Santa Clara River in Utah.

Land Hill petroglyphs overlooking the Santa Clara River in the Santa Clara River Reserve. 
This design on the right closely resembles an Ancestral Puebloan (formerly Anasazi) petroglyph found in Arizona.
Checkerboard designs are associated with Glen Canyon Style 5 made before 1050 A.D. by Ancestral Puebloans including Basketmaker cuture.

Related Posts:

Rattlesnake Petroglyph

Fremont Indian State Park

Parowan Gap

Corn Springs

Trip Stats
Location:  Santa Clara River Reserve near Ivins and Santa Clara, Utah - Land Hill.
Trailheads:  Anasazi Valley Trailhead (north) and Tukupetsi Trailhead (south).
Distance:  The distance that includes all of the petroglyphs described here is ~ 5+ miles (top of Land Hill and along the Santa Clara River).
Some interesting books:
A Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest by Alex Patterson.
Early Rock Art of the American West:  The Geometric Enigma by Ekkehart Malotki and Ellen Dissanayake.
The Rock Art of Utah by Polly Schaafsma
Links:  Santa Clara River Reserve Map
Santa Clara/Land Hill is designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).
Geology:  Petroglyphs are located in the oldest rocks of the Santa Clara Quadrangle Geologic Map:
- Shinarump Member Upper Sandstone unit and Shinarump Conglomerate Member of the Chinle Formation:  Upper Triassic (~ 200 million years ago).  Petroglyphs in sandstone and dinosaur tracks in conglomerate.
-Cliffs below Land Hill along the Santa Clara River:  Upper Red Member of the Moenkopi Formation:  Lower Triassic
(~ 250 million years ago).

 
​The fascinating rock art on the Tempi'po'op Trail (Anasazi Valley Trail) in Ivins, Utah, made by the Virgin Ancestral Puebloan and Southern Paiute cultures hundreds and possibly thousands of years ago can be discovered for more than two miles along the cliffs of Land Hill, overlooking the Santa Clara River.  Additionally, many more petroglyphs are pecked into huge boulders and sheer walls beneath Land Hill, next to  the river.  Each time I explore this part of the Santa Clara River Reserve, I find new petroglyphs. ​

On a recent wander, I discovered two intriguing petroglyph sites that I had previously passed by. ​

Site #1 - Geometric-Abstract
A huge boulder propped upon a conglomerate rock pedestal in a flat and open space next to the river features very old and eroded petroglyphs covering almost one entire side of it (see images below).  Abstract, geometric designs predominate:  straight and curvilinear parallel lines, chevrons, and a round circle glyph containing radial lines connecting boundary to center.  There's a line-encircled group of small pits.   It wasn't until the second visit to this site that I found petroglyphs on top of this boulder.  I circled it to find a route to the top; the only possibility was a wall on the side away from the river, with shallow sloping ledges on a steep face.  To get to the top, you would have to be rather spry, and brave, too!

Five bighorn sheep on the right side of the boulder along with two large columns made with parallel vertical lines bisected incrementally with horizontal lines are pecked next to the older-appearing, lichen-filled and more highly eroded geometric glyphs.

​Who made these abstract/geometric petroglyphs and what do they "mean"?  Various theories include shamanistic visions, recording of phosphenes, and communication of vital information like water sources.  The Paiute word for them, Tumpituxwinap, translates roughly as "storied rocks."

Site #2 - Representational - Fremont Rock Art?
After I climbed a passage through the cliffs from river to the top of Land Hill to the  Een'oog Trail (means "old ones" in Southern Paiute language), I found another intriguing petroglyph of a figure with hairbobs and a trapezoidal body, with a squiggly, serpentine-like line that ends at its leg.  It is revarnished with wide-set eyes.  The second time I visited this site, I shared it with a goose who was communicating with its mates across the river.
I also found a bilvalve fossil (see photos below).

Flipping through Polly Schaafsma's book Indian Rock Art of the Southwest, I found a petroglyph that closely resembled this one on Land Hill.  It is the Fremont Southern San Rafael Style.  It resembles those in Capitol Reef National Park.  The hallmarks of Fremont rock art is the tapering torso in ceremonial regalia with large ornamental hairbobs, sashes, and necklaces.  Fingers are splayed.  

Although this petroglyph doesn't have head gear or ornamental adornment, it does have other features of Fremont rock art:  splayed fingers and earrings or "hairbobs."  The serpentine figure to its left, ending at its leg resembles the "rattlesnake" petroglyph located just below on a boulder facing Land Hill's cliffs.

Huge boulder on flat area near Santa Clara River predominated by abstract/geometric petroglyphs, possibly of the Great Basin Curvilinear and Rectilinear style.  

The right side of the boulder; these deer and sheep petroglyphs seem to be younger than those on the left side because they are not as eroded.  The plant-like image (upper left) looks like a corn tassle to me.

Petroglyph on top of boulder (left).  It reminds me of a necklace:  it's similar to those that are pecked into a boulder nearby.  It looks like a chain of circles, which might indicate the Great Basin Curvilinear style.
​In Search of the Rattlesnake Petroglyph.

Back of boulder with what I could find as the easiest route to the top.

Early Rock Art:  Abstract/Geometric Designs
One of my earlier posts, In Search of the Rattlesnake Petroglyph, discusses theories on the creation of geometric rock art.  The book Early Rock Art:  The Geometric Enigma is a great source to consult.  Abstract/geometric designs (nonfigurative) came before iconic or representational designs, like bighorn sheep and anthropomorphs (stylized human figure).  Lifeways of Archaic cultural groups changed, due to competition for resources and increased population, to more permanent settlements with farming and planting, and social complexity.  This perpetuated the shift from abstract images to representational images, occurring not only in the American Southwest, but worldwide.
The Western Archaic Geocentric Tradition (from Malotki's Archaic Rock Art of Arizona)
​Even though there's solid evidence that big game hunters roamed the American Southwest before 7000 B.C., big-game animals were not depicted.  There may have been a strict taboo against creation of realistic game and humans during this Paleoindian time.

The people who have inhabited Utah.
from Troy Scotter and Nina Bowen's paper, 
The Rock Art of Utah.

A new way of living after this era consisted of gathering wild foods and small-game hunting.  The first abstract-geometric rock markings appeared then in what is known as the "Western Archaic Geocentric Tradition," spanning ~ 6000 B.C. and lasting to as late as A.D. 500.  Markings include rakes, lattices, sets of parallel lines, concentric circles, arcs, grids and meanders.  These designs are often revarnished and heavily eroded deeply pecked into low cliffs and boulders.

There are old petroglyphs in the Santa Clara River Reserve that may have been created during this Archaic time, before or near the beginning the Ancestral Puebloan culture.

Barely perceptible repatinated petroglyph.

Phosphenes are lately being proposed by scientists as the catalyst for the creation of abstract designs.  All humans experience phosphenes that occur during hyperventilation, migraine headaches, meditation, use of hallucinatory drugs, fatigue and hunger and pressure put on a closed eye.  The idea is that geometric petroglyphs and pictographs depict an innate visual grammar (Engel in Fein, 1993) that we all share, ingrained in the biology of our brains.   My earlier post Corn Springs Petroglyphs:  Vision Quests, Steamboats, and Ringing Rocks  explains a few theories for the creation of the Western Archaic Tradition rock art.

​The Santa Clara Boulder and the "Abstract Enigma"
I found two photos of petroglyphs very similar to that of the spoked circle design on the large boulder by the river.  One illustrates the Western Virgin Kayenta style and the other illustrates Great Basin Carved Abstract petroglyphs.  This spoked circle seems less prevalent than the spiral petroglyphs that appear frequently on the cliffs above the river.  

Great Basin Abstract tradition rock art spans the Archaic and the Late Prehistoric (8,000-150 years ago).

The Great Basin Carved Abstract style occurs in St. George, Utah area.  It's characterized by purely geometric petroglyphs that fill boulders so that little unmarked space is left.  Art includes various circle configurations, grooves, grids, lattices, herringbone shapes, ladder-like shapes, chevron, hatchmarks and dots.  This boulder along the Santa Clara River contains some of these elements.  Since this style is found not only in Nevada's Great Basin, but throughout the American West, some scientists call it "Carved Abstract".  The rows of vertical lines cut with horizontal lines, surrounded by a line are similar to "gridiron" petroglyphs seen in New Mexico.  

​The parallel wavy lines above the spoked circle are considered Great Basin Curvilinear, which I read is another way to say Great Basin Carved Abstract.  The grids and cross-hatchings, and perpendicular form is known as "rectilinear."  These styles are associated with the Archaic style and also occur in styles associated with Puebloan and Fremont groups.

Two authors state that the Great Basin Abstract petroglyphs appear to be made as a part of "magic hunting ritual and were related to subsistence practices..." (Heizer and Baumhoff).  Abstract designs predominate this style, with a limited depiction of animals.  The most common animal portrayed is the bighorn sheep.

​I also noticed what appeared to be cupules (pit and groove style) on the back side of the boulder.  Or are these holes just natural weathering?  Or both?  One pit placed on the side of the boulder looks too symmetrical to be made by weathering.  Theories for their creation include fertility enhancement and the use of powder produced from making them.

Cupules or natural weathering?  Cupules are associated with very early Carved Abstract Style.
It's assumed that cupule sites identify places of significance.

 Anthropomorphic (Human-like) petroglyph on a flat boulder near the Een'oog Trail and the cliffs overlooking the Santa Clara River.  Size is ~ 14 inches tall.

Is a Snake Biting the Figure with the Drooping Hands?
The second amazing petroglyph I found is on top of Land Hill along the Een'oog Trail, on the cliffs above the Santa Clara River.
It's totally repatinated, blends into the rock, so it's easily missed (see above).  Its drooping arms, termed "pendant" by scientists, round head, hair bobs, long rectangular or slightly trapezoidal (wider at the shoulders), and feet and hands pointing down match the description I found of the Anasazi Basketmaker culture - 500 BC - 800 AD.  The term "Anasazi" has now been replaced by "Ancestral Puebloan."

A serpentine-like line winds its way from the left side of the figure to the figure's leg.  

These “representational” styles are typically associated with Fremont and Western Puebloan cultures (ca. 2,000-750 years ago) in southeastern Nevada, Utah, and the Colorado Plateau. These semi-horticultural groups made rock art that featured  human-like forms portrayed by trapezoidal, rectangular, or triangular body shapes. These were often portrayed with bodily decoration such as headgear, jewelry, or decorated clothing.  

In my research, I found the Classic Vernal-Style (a sub-set of Fremont Style) Anthropomorph has large heads and trapezoidal torsos with well-defined extremities.  The Fremont style tends to have round earbobs and arms and hands held down, commonly with splayed fingers.

In western Utah, there is an intermix of Great Basin Curvilinear and Fremont styles.

Ancestral Puebloan farmers lived in the Land Hill area in permanent settlements ~ 1,000 years ago.  The Santa Clara River gave them a good water supply to irrigate their crops.  During A.D. 700 - 1100, population on Land Hill thrived, but then around 1200 A.D., population decreased possibly due to changing climatic conditions.

I found an old corn cob in a grassy area beneath the cliffs next to the river (see photo below).  Every kernel had been removed.  It couldn't have survived hundreds of years!  Or could it have been exhumed after the record-setting rains of 2022-2023 that caused a major landslide at an area close to it?  

A Land Rich in Culture, Stories, and Mystery
​Dinosaur tracks have been documented on Land Hill.  At first glance, you wouldn't imagine that the Santa Clara River Reserve holds so many stories among its cliffs, plateaus, and rock art.  If you look closely, you will see abstract and representational communication made by different cultures during different times.  In my quest to figure out who made these fascinating petroglyphs and why, I realize that if anything, they still remain an enigma.

I'll let you  know if I find the dinosaur tracks and more corn cobs!

Keep Exploring!

When I went to look at the figure with the round head and the ear bobs again (lower right), I shared the petroglyph rock with a goose.

Petroglyphs (walls on right) overlooking the Santa Clara River.

Land Hill on the right and a path that runs along the Santa Clara River.  Beaver Dam Mountains in the distance.  Petroglyphs are found on the flat surface rocks, in the steep cliffs of Land Hill, and on boulders along the river.

Finding a route down from the top of Land Hill with my friend Laura.  We are headed to the Santa Clara River below.
Notice the Shinarump conglomerate rock in the right foreground.

When we got near the river, we found this boulder with what looks like Great Basin Curvilinear style and a family of anthropomorphs (human-like) figures.  We now call this the "family rock" for location reference.

Great Basin Curvilinear?

Petroglyphs on the Anasazi Valley Trail in Ivins, Utah.
 The Glen Canyon Style 5 (Ethnic groups are Early Puebloan and Basketmaker).
Bighorn sheep have large rectangular bodies disproportionately large compared to their small heads, tail and legs.  

Laura and some really cool sandstone boulders along the Santa Clara River.

Some Cool Stuff on the Trail
Clockwise from upper left:  smooth striations, or slickensides created from scraping against other rocks in a fault, bivalve fossil near the Een'oog Trail, a corn cob, a desert-varnished panel on an eroded sandstone boulder.

Sandstone boulder detail.

References
Bureau of Land Management.  Land Hill Heritage Site.
Malotki, Ekkehart.  The Rock Art of Arizona:  Art for LIfe's Sake.  From website:  Bradshaw Foundation.
Mangum, M.E. 2018.  Lithics and Mobility at Land Hill and Hidden Hills:  A Study of the Stone Tools and Debitage at Sites in the Santa Clara River Basin and on the Shivwits Plateau.  Brigham Young University ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  2018. 28107515.
National Park Service.  Reading Rock Markings.
​Schaafsma, P.  1971.  The Rock Art of Utah.
Schaafsma, P.  1980.  Indian Rock Art of the Southwest.
​Scotter, T. Bowen , N.  2017.  The Rock Art of Utah.
​The Nevada Rock Art Foundation - Styles and Themes
​Willis, J.C., Hayden, J.M.  2015.  Geologic Map of the Santa Clara Quadrangle, Washington County, Utah.