Gold Butte, NV Feb 17, 2013 Part 2 - Petroglyphs

Part 2:

Petroglyphs

I had heard about some amazing petroglyph examples in this area and had to check them out for myself. It is thought that these petroglyphs were made by the Anasazi as early as 2000 years ago but nobody really knows for sure.

When you arrive at the site there is a fence around it so we had to park our ATVs and walk in on foot. Make sure to bring water as it is a little bit longer of a walk than I planned for, plus I kept getting sidetracked.

 You will see some examples of typical petroglyphs found in this region, like others found in Logandale, Valley of Fire, Red Rock etc. These typically have depictions of indigenous animals , spirals, squiggly lines, hands, feet and other interesting symbols.

There are several books you can read that give you some insight as to what all of them mean.

It is thought that these petroglyphs were made by the Anasazi as early as 2000 years ago but nobody really knows for sure. There is one petroglyph in particular that peaks many people's interest. It is unlike any other petroglyph I have seen.  I have heard that there are 2 others just like it in the Las Vegas area, but have not seen any data to verify, nor have I seen them myself. I am talking about

Falling Man

 

 As you can clearly see this man appears to be falling from the sky. Did someone in pre-history put this here to let future generations know that someone jumped off this rock formation to end their life?

If you look closely, you will notice that Falling man appears to be holding something in his hand. Is this man not "Falling Man", but instead "FLYING MAN"? We will never truly know the meaning of the Falling Man petroglyph, but it is fun to see it in real life and speculate at what happened here thousands of years ago.

Climbing out of the canyon area where "Falling Man" is located, you have to climb through a little rock tunnel. Just before that tunnel I noticed this........

What the heck is it?

On the top left corner of the petroglyph it almost looks like a man jumping off of a rock. Does this petroglyph tell the story of "Falling Man"? We can only speculate...