In Which We Find Petroglyphs

This weekend, we went south into some of the national parks of Utah. We visited three total, and the first one we stopped at was Capital Reef.

We didn't get to spend a great deal of time there, as the recent snowstorms have forced them to close certain areas. But one thing we could still see was the famous Fremont Petroglyphs.

Petroglyphs are "rock art" -- that is, they are pictures carved into the rocks which represent people, animals, or other elements. They differ from hieroglyphics in that they are not a representation of any language, but rather simple pictures. Hieroglyphics can be "read," while petroglyphs are simply pictures.

It is uncertain whether petroglyphs were used for simple storytelling, if they were about one's personal life, or even if they had religious origins. But there are clear images of people and animals, sometimes patterns. Many are getting hard to see as wind and elements wear down the rock. But many are still clear enough that it is easy to see what they are meant to represent in general. What their overall meaning may be is unknown.

I like to think of this one as a man and his dog, but it may well be something like a shepherd and his sheep.

And speaking of sheep...can you see the bighorns carved into these rocks?

It's really a fascinating piece of ancient history, dating back to possibly as early as 600 AD.

We'll go back to Capital Reef another time, when the park is fully accessible. But it was a great little detour this trip!