The Apache Death Cave ๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป: In 1878, still decades before Two Guns would become a town, Apache raiders attacked an encampment of Navajo. They killed every man, woman, and child, with the exception of 3 girls, which they took prisoner. This all took place close to the Little Colorado River. When Navajo …
You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find information on these ruins—but I’ll tell you what I know for sure, and give you what I think with a healthy dose of speculation and educated guesses. Many ruins are slowly being unearthed in the region, while many remain completely buried under centuries of dirt, waiting …
If you’ve driven more than 30 miles down the I-40 east of Flagstaff, you’ve no doubt noticed the remains of this ghost town and wondered what you were looking at. Wonder no more! The history of the land on which this town sits has an incredible history—too much to cover in one post. We will …
This panel has several glyphs. The most interesting are the waterbird, a sun, and some type of zigzag. I’m not sure who created them but several tribes occupied the area at different times. The image known as the “waterbird” could be a crane, or a great blue heron. Interesting to note, the crane is a …
This site is believed to be over 700 years old. Like many ruins in the Red Rocks of Sedona, it is built into a large natural enclave. This built-in security would have protected its inhabitants from many hazards, even keeping them dry in terrible storms. Today, that same protection helps to preserve this site from …
One of the most common rock art motifs, found here and across the world, is the spiral. While it has long existed and spans many cultures and all continents (except Antarctica), there is much debate over the meaning of spiral imagery. Some interpret it to be a coiled snake or a whirlwind. Others say it …
To some people this might look like nothing, but in actuality, this is what’s known as a “Metate,” a stone tool used by native peoples going back thousands of years to prepare plant foods. Metates were meant to be used in conjunction with a Mano (grinding stone), a small rounded rock, similar to what you …
If you follow me on Social Media, these hand pictographs might look familiar to you. Not too long ago I shared a similar photo of a number of red hand graphs, but in Sedona (seen below). More than coincidence, these 2 sites are likely connected by the same tribeโthe Sinagua. Different tribes often used different …
I’ve had a few people ask me what the difference is between a Petroglyph and a Pictograph, so I’ll explain that here (with pictures, yay!). Petroglyphs are carved into stone (picture left) while pictographs are painted onto it (picture right). Easy, right? But wait, there’s more! Glyphs are far more common than graphs. One obvious …
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This arrowhead is in great condition and still sharp. It is likely from the early Hohokam culture. The Hohokam were known to make very fine dart points with serrated edges, in addition to a thin design, which would increase lethality—these are major identifiers. Their weapon crafting was more sophisticated than surrounding tribes. ? *Special thanks …