Sunday, March 29, 2020

Cieneguilla Recreation Area Petroglyph Site, Santa Fe, NM


View towards Santa Fe of one of the many clusters of petroglyphs at this site.
Cieneguilla is close to the Santa Fe Airport, attendants at the airport gave me the best directions.


Each time I've used Google maps it has taken me about a mile south of the pull off Parking Area which is behind a fence. Trust the force and recognize where you are when you arrive there.


View from up above at the rock line cliff.


BIRDS

First image I saw once up at the top was this water bird.
There are more Bird images at this site than you'd expect to see, it is probably the richest 'bird sanctuary' in the southwest.
Bring binoculars with you to bird watch the real deal as they flick and fly around you into the scrub trees 


Love Birds


Birds raiding the corn or seed stalks and birds down below waiting for seeds to drop. 


Double Phoenix Rising the unofficial logo of D.H. Lawrence.


Parrot stylized Bird


Birds and worms(?), the early bird catches the worm


Bird in the maze


Animals, Birds & Thunderbird


Maze tail animal and Bird with a view


Bird in flight over water source 


Multi figures with Thunderbird


I see 5 birds, how many do you see?


Abstract Fish with bird


Love Birds


Roadrunner


Love Birds


2 Birds


Thunderbird or Bat?


Dragonflies. When the Spanish first came into the region the Natives believed that they were carrying the symbol of the Dragonfly, which was actually the Cross.


A rare Fish Petroglyph


Spring and Hand (clan sign)


VIEWS of MULTIPLES Panels

View


View


Multi Panel


Dragonflies with multiple glyphs


View


Multiples


View


Multiples


Multiples, notice the long necked figure at bottom center


Multiples


View

HUMAN FIGURES

Figure with staffs


Two Figures, (pregnant woman?)


Water Bird with hunting figure. I wouldn't be surprised if this site is rich with 'bird point' arrowheads.


Long figure with Frog(?)


Peeping figure with antenna 


Waving Figure, friend gesture


Multiple figures


Figure with Love Birds


Waving Figure, friendly gesture


Faces


Figure on multi panel


Outstretched Figure


Falling man


Face peering out of corner of rock to create a Three Dimensional effect


Multi Panel


Horned Mask


Figural Group


Horned Mask

MORE VIEWS of MULTIPLES

View


View


Multi panel


Multi Panel


View


Large Multi Panel


Star people (Clan Sign?) Shooting Star


Multi panel


Multi panel


View


FOUR LEGGED ANIMALS

Animal with Hand (Clan Sign)


Animals/Birds perhaps Quail with 'Fabric' pattern


Four Legged Figure


Falling Duck, Four Legged Animal Figure and small Bird


Bird with Four Legged Animal Figure


Four Legged Animal Figure


Multiple Four Legged Animal Figures


Rabbit with abstract and Spring


Lizard

ABSTRACTS & SPRINGS

Walking rain over Spring


Zig Zag Journey


Possibly Hispanic Shepard glyph of Morada(?)


Headdress Crown


Mask


Bear paw Clan Sign with Human Figure


Corn Stalk


Variation of Corn Stalk with Figures


Abstract


Abstract Humanoid Fish


Snakes

KOKOPELLI aka HUMP BACKED FLUTE PLAYERS
The Kokopelli figures are considered bringers of Fertility, Rain and Seeds. By playing the flute as they approached a village they sent out the message of friendship and of their arrival.
This particular site has some of the best Kokopellis in the Southwest. It is rich with them, surprisingly Santa Fe never took them up as a symbol for the city.

View with Kokopelli


Kokopelli with Key Design 


Figure with Kokopelli


Figure with Kokopelli


At Bottom Kokopelli on Back with striped human figure (Koshare) hovering above


Kokopelli


Thunderbird with Kokopelli


Five Kokopelli all in a row

More MULTIPLE PANELS

Multi Panel


Multi panel


View


Multi panel


Multi panel


Multi panel


Three Mountain Lions


View


Multiples


Multiples


View


Rock Squirrel skull found along the trail sitting on the top of the nest of a Packrat.


View from below, this boulder which may have fallen from the rock cliff above has Petroglyphs and Hispanic Shepard marks on it along with contemporary graffiti. 

If you would like a true explanatory tour of a petroglyph site, please get in touch. My rates are quite reasonable, I've been told they are too inexpensive. I can take you to 3 or 4 sites in Taos and the area if you would like. You will be in wonderful places and see incredible imagery.

Petroglyphs in the Southwest can be as old as 400AD and as new as  1700/1800. 
Much like Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Sanskrit, Hobo Signs or even cursive handwriting they tell a story and leave behind documentation that a group of people lived at this place depicting what they did, what they saw and where they saw it.

Each site should be considered National Treasures and be protected. In my opinion the best way to keep the sites protected is by you the visitor. Closed to the public and secretive sites are magnets for mischief due to them being places where vandalism will not be noticed by other visitors. Report anyone damaging a site, document this type of behavior with photographs and make a report to the state. 
If you feel it is safe to do so, ask a vandal to stop.


If you've enjoyed the photo essay posted here please consider the purchase of a Gift Certificate from our shop in the Taos Historic District Two Graces.
With the pandemic at hand and forced closures,
our business is at a standstill leaving us without an income.
We have maintained this blog without monetizing it in order to keep it from being distracting to our readers. 

We strive to write useful information and promote others on a regular basis.
Thank you.
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Ranchos de Taos, NM 87557

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