6/7/11
Dr. Anthony Peet
Petroglyphs have always given me pause. Looking at them is like looking through a window to the mind of the Anasazi.
I often wonder what the artist intended to communicate as they pecked designs and figures into the rock tarnish of their homeland. I was wondering that when I first laid eyes upon The Trader in that isolated wash intersected by the newest segment of roadway I’d found.
That lone anthropomorphic figure etched into the southern face of the boulder stopped me for another reason. I had never seen another like it – not one with both arms extended before it, something held between the hands.
That something between The Trader’s hands had become a topic of debate within the university. It was as if the mysterious object defined its carrier and therefore determined the petroglyph’s proper name. Originally, I suggested that the figure carried a sacred object and named the petroglyph, The Pilgrim. Someone else called it, The Priest. However, the majority of my colleagues agreed the petroglyph was a trader carrying his wares to market, so, inadvertently, the title of The Trader stuck.
However, on this year’s field trip, as I was preparing to introduce my students to The Trader, I was faced with a shocking new surprise.
Dr. Anthony Peet
Petroglyphs have always given me pause. Looking at them is like looking through a window to the mind of the Anasazi.
I often wonder what the artist intended to communicate as they pecked designs and figures into the rock tarnish of their homeland. I was wondering that when I first laid eyes upon The Trader in that isolated wash intersected by the newest segment of roadway I’d found.
That lone anthropomorphic figure etched into the southern face of the boulder stopped me for another reason. I had never seen another like it – not one with both arms extended before it, something held between the hands.
That something between The Trader’s hands had become a topic of debate within the university. It was as if the mysterious object defined its carrier and therefore determined the petroglyph’s proper name. Originally, I suggested that the figure carried a sacred object and named the petroglyph, The Pilgrim. Someone else called it, The Priest. However, the majority of my colleagues agreed the petroglyph was a trader carrying his wares to market, so, inadvertently, the title of The Trader stuck.
However, on this year’s field trip, as I was preparing to introduce my students to The Trader, I was faced with a shocking new surprise.
Love this entry, too. And I wondered, as I read it, how archeologists of the future might view what we leave behind? Will there be one thing, one particular item that will engender such interest? Do we even have the capacity anymore to do this? Those questions make me want to work even harder to leave my mark behind.
ReplyDeleteI wonder that too. I wonder too how much we think we know about something and in reality is completely wrong. Such as some object we think tells a complete story about somebody's life in the past, but if that person were here today they'd probably tell us we just found their toilet.
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