Suburban Rock Art: Petroglyph Nat'l Monument 5/15/09

Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, New Mexico is an odd little duck; part monument, part neighborhood attraction, it is one of the few NPS locations that doesn't even bother to disguise its suburban trappings. Sure, Aztec Ruins (also in New Mexico) has been preserved amidst a populated area, but there's a bit of isolation at least, or at least the illusion of same, once you walk from the visitor center to the ruins. At Petroglyph, you can practically smell the freshly cut grass of nearby housing developments, and the roar of traffic is so ever-present, it's a surprise this site was even preserved at all. Hell, the visitor center is mere feet from Al Unser Boulevard, and yes, it's the Al Unser you know and quite possibly love. Odds are he'll mean more to you than anything you see here.

Given the presence of school buses, outdoor grills, sunbathing housewives, and dog-walkers, it's utterly impossible to feel transported to the past. And the petroglyphs themselves, while always beautiful in their own way, appear to be intruding on a modern world that wants nothing to do with them. There are two mains trails - Boca Negra Canyon and Rinconada Canyon - and it stands to reason that we chose the one with more snake warnings than actual petroglyphs. We spent the brief walk overreacting to every perceived hiss and snap of grass. While none appeared, it's not to a visitor's advantage to begin his or her journey expecting to be attacked by venomous beasts. As bad as the initial hill (seen above) was, at least the trail was cleared of creeping death.

Having left a visitor center that was not at all helpful beyond the mandatory passport stamp, we wondered: would we learn the eternal mystery of these ancient scribblings? Of course not. No one really knows why they were left, but it's safe to assume that whoever's responsible, it was, as it is now, a matter of ego. Human beings, to put it crudely, like to piss on their property. It provides closure, a sense that "I was here" and "I mattered." They are certainly art, if art is to mean one's attempt to make sense of the universe, and it's no less artistic to simply communicate an idea or position. The images of Petroglyph are likely from 400 to 700 years old, though many believe they could reach back as far as 3,000 years. Regardless, the people of the area saw something that mattered to them, and they sought to preserve it in the landscape. How little we change, eh?

But I come to bury Petroglyph, not to praise it. And the evil that men do lives on via the very encroachment upon historical wonders that cookie-cutter housing provides. That, and it won't last a blip of time in comparison to these priceless artifacts of beauty and mystery. The minute I considered the ancient man or woman responsible for the above bird, I was rushed back into the present with a car horn blast, or piercing tire squeal. Oh well, there's nothing to be done about it now. The Johnson family and the Ortegas are within earshot, and it's only a matter of time before they push trinkets emblazoned with assorted petroglyphs in the convenience store downwind from history.

FINAL RATING

4/10