“Signs of Life”

“The Rio Grande Valley is rich with ancient history. For thousands of years people have been living their lives out along this great river valley. From the days of the Ice Age when men hunted the great Mastodons for food and clothing, to the warmer times when the farms of the Anasazi dotted the fertile valley. Stories and lives were carried across this landscape by the nomadic tribes passing through, in their continuous search for a better life. These lands now resonate with the voices of the people we know today as the Pueblos. All of these tribes, clans, and people, ancient and modern, have left sighs of their lives buried deep within the soil and upon earth’s canvases of rock. Many petroglyph sites are difficult to interpret, they are often spiritual and magical in nature and filled with images of supernatural deities. Some rock art sites seem to record a specific event in ancient history, but those are rare. This place is alive with images and symbols of everyday life, from etchings depicting a hunting party to a maiden carrying water. The powerful bear appears here as well as the ghostly image of the cunning coyote. Symbols of fertility and of a birthing mother, tells us of a happy time of abundance and prosperity, and the flute playing Kokopelli of course, suggest a time of celebration. All of these meticulously created images are signs of life spanning thousands of years. They are stories of tribes, people, and of individuals that have lived out their lives in this sacred place.