Picacho Petroglyphs

1985-1986

This project was part of the Bureau of Reclamation's Section 106 compliance program for the Tucson Aqueduct portion of the massive Central Arizona Project. Petroglyph sites were subject to direct project impacts and to potential indirect impacts from the major increase in access to this remote area. Petroglyph sites along the entire Picacho range were recorded in detail.

A diversity of designs was documented in the Picacho Mountain area of south-central Arizona. Archaic style petroglyphs like this grid pattern were common.

Human figures.

This boulder had scratched letters that told a gruesome story.

A possible birth scene. A mother with swollen belly is next to a child, upside down and still connected to the mother via the umbilical cord.

Pecked design.

This project represented a major advance in rock art study in southern Arizona. A rigorous set of recording procedures was developed, temporally meaningful variation in patina on petroglyph surfaces was documented, and innovative methods of data analysis were utilized. Project results included substantial refinement in the understanding of the Archaic and Gila petroglyph styles, advances in relative dating, documentation of a probable prehistoric map, evaluation of several hypotheses of rock art function, and presentation of evidence of several past episodes of earthquake activity.

Several site tours to this area were conducted during and after fieldwork, and multiple public talks have been given.

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