Ancestral Pueblo and Historic Ute Rock Art, and Euro-American Inscriptions in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, USA

In the central Mesa Verde region, rock art occurs on canyon walls and on boulders that are frequently associated with other archaeological remains. Moreover, rock art, together with architecture and pottery, is actually a primary source of archaeological information about the presence of various cul...

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Main Authors: Radoslaw Palonka, Polly Schaafsma, Katarzyna M. Ciomek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Arts
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/14/3/60
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author Radoslaw Palonka
Polly Schaafsma
Katarzyna M. Ciomek
author_facet Radoslaw Palonka
Polly Schaafsma
Katarzyna M. Ciomek
author_sort Radoslaw Palonka
collection DOAJ
description In the central Mesa Verde region, rock art occurs on canyon walls and on boulders that are frequently associated with other archaeological remains. Moreover, rock art, together with architecture and pottery, is actually a primary source of archaeological information about the presence of various cultures in the area. It includes paintings and petroglyphs of Ancestral Pueblo farming communities, images and inscriptions made by post-contact Ute and possibly Diné (Navajo) people as well as historical inscriptions of the early Euro-Americans in this area. This paper presents the results of archaeological investigations at four large rock art sites from Sandstone Canyon, southwestern Colorado, within the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (CANM). Methods of rock art recording included advanced digital photography, photogrammetry, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), hand tracing, and consultations with members of indigenous societies and rock art scholars. Geophysics and sondage excavations were conducted at one site revealed important information about archaeology, environment, and geology of the area. Analysis of rock art and other material evidence aims to help reconstruct and understand the mechanisms and nature of cultural changes, migrations, and human–environmental interactions and later cross-cultural contacts between indigenous peoples and Anglo-American ranchers and settlers in southwestern Colorado and the US Southwest.
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spelling doaj-art-8610a3ee5e3e4e1ca1e308180f89ab282025-08-20T03:32:31ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522025-05-011436010.3390/arts14030060Ancestral Pueblo and Historic Ute Rock Art, and Euro-American Inscriptions in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, USARadoslaw Palonka0Polly Schaafsma1Katarzyna M. Ciomek2Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, 31-007 Kraków, PolandMuseum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USAInstitute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, 31-007 Kraków, PolandIn the central Mesa Verde region, rock art occurs on canyon walls and on boulders that are frequently associated with other archaeological remains. Moreover, rock art, together with architecture and pottery, is actually a primary source of archaeological information about the presence of various cultures in the area. It includes paintings and petroglyphs of Ancestral Pueblo farming communities, images and inscriptions made by post-contact Ute and possibly Diné (Navajo) people as well as historical inscriptions of the early Euro-Americans in this area. This paper presents the results of archaeological investigations at four large rock art sites from Sandstone Canyon, southwestern Colorado, within the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (CANM). Methods of rock art recording included advanced digital photography, photogrammetry, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), hand tracing, and consultations with members of indigenous societies and rock art scholars. Geophysics and sondage excavations were conducted at one site revealed important information about archaeology, environment, and geology of the area. Analysis of rock art and other material evidence aims to help reconstruct and understand the mechanisms and nature of cultural changes, migrations, and human–environmental interactions and later cross-cultural contacts between indigenous peoples and Anglo-American ranchers and settlers in southwestern Colorado and the US Southwest.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/14/3/60rock arthistorical inscriptionsAncestral PuebloUtedigital documentationphotogrammetry
spellingShingle Radoslaw Palonka
Polly Schaafsma
Katarzyna M. Ciomek
Ancestral Pueblo and Historic Ute Rock Art, and Euro-American Inscriptions in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, USA
Arts
rock art
historical inscriptions
Ancestral Pueblo
Ute
digital documentation
photogrammetry
title Ancestral Pueblo and Historic Ute Rock Art, and Euro-American Inscriptions in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, USA
title_full Ancestral Pueblo and Historic Ute Rock Art, and Euro-American Inscriptions in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, USA
title_fullStr Ancestral Pueblo and Historic Ute Rock Art, and Euro-American Inscriptions in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, USA
title_full_unstemmed Ancestral Pueblo and Historic Ute Rock Art, and Euro-American Inscriptions in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, USA
title_short Ancestral Pueblo and Historic Ute Rock Art, and Euro-American Inscriptions in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, USA
title_sort ancestral pueblo and historic ute rock art and euro american inscriptions in the canyons of the ancients national monument colorado usa
topic rock art
historical inscriptions
Ancestral Pueblo
Ute
digital documentation
photogrammetry
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/14/3/60
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