Petroglyph National Monument

The "warm breath of mother earth" can be seen on the west side of Albuquerque during the early morning when the sun is barely peeking over the top of the Sandia Mountains, according to the Native Americans from the Pueblo villages, and along the volcanoes that emit the "breath" is the largest documented concentration of petroglyphs in an urban area.

 In June of 1990, Congress established the 7,236.5-acre Petroglyph National Monument along the western edge of Albuquerque. The monument includes the volcanoes on the western edge, over 350 archeological sites -- including the ruins in the Boca Negra -- and over 20,000 petroglyphs. The monument is cooperatively managed by the National Park Service, the State of New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque.

About 150,000 years ago, the tectonic plates under Albuquerque pulled away from each other and the earth's crust was stretched until a crack was formed and lava poured out in a series of six eruptions that hardened in six distinct layers on top of the soft sandy New Mexican soil. The weight of the hardened lava eventually crushed the soft soil and formed a vertical escarpment ranging from 50 to 350 feet tall. The sides of the escarpment became a place where the Pueblo people would use heated river cobble and peck, abrade, carve and incise the dark surface from the lava to expose the lighter color beneath in cultural images that would guide their ancestors spirits through the "spiritual portal" to the afterlife.

 It is hard to know exactly what the images depict, said Diane Souder, chief of interpretation and outreach at the monument. There are quite a few masks, bird images, spirals and geometric shapes. One of the bird images, she said, she had always thought was a macaw based on the bird trade that the Pueblo people did with Mexico. Macaws have always been important to the Pueblo people and their remains have been found in Pueblo ruins and their feathers are still used in clothes of many of the traditional dances. Then, one day, a visitor from a neighboring Pueblo told her it was a morning dove from the believes of his pueblo.

"Only the people that cared the images know for sure," Souder said.

 In 1540, the Spanish documented 47 different Pueblo villages on the Rio Grande between Belen and Bernalillo.
 
"As I tell my kids," Souder said, "This was the happening spot."

However, as interesting as the petroglyphs are to learn about the Pueblo history, Souder said the Pueblo people have told her the volcanoes are more important.

On "wicked-cold, finger-numbing cold" mornings when it is about four degrees out, if you hike out to the volcanoes and watch as the sun peaks over the Sandia Mountains and hits the cold black rock of the volcanic valley, you can watch as the heat of the sun sucks the warm moist air up through the lava tubes from somewhere in the volcanic valley and the steam pours out like the "warm breath of mother earth," Souder said.

HelloMetro tip:  There are many hiking trails of varying difficulty in the monument for you to enjoy, but please do not touch the petroglyphs because body oils can ruin them for future generations.

- by Julie Medina, Albuquerque Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)