Nelson NV/Keyhole Canyon petroglyphs - Feb 2,2013

I had heard and read about some petroglyphs in the mountains just west of Nelson, NV. Normally when we go ride at Nelson we go check out the old mines where the Mormons were mining gold and silver in the 1800s. This time around we went to try to find the petroglyphs. Paul, Michael and I set out in search for them and were completely amazed and what we found.

We rolled up on Keyhole Canyon in the El Dorado Mountains on this sunny day and were amazed at the sheer amount of petroglyphs this site had. Other petroglyph sites I have seen had petroglyphs fairly close to the ground. This canyon has petroglyphs starting near the ground and working their way all the way up the cliff walls which tower at least several hundreds of feet. In the picture above there is a petroglyph that looks like a robot with a box-like head. It is irritating to see that modern day people have carved their names in the rocks over the petroglyphs

 Near the entrance of the canyon I start climbing around on the rock piles and discover several ancient dwellings under the rocks. These dwellings have soot marks on the ceilings of them telling me they had fires built and would take shelter in these areas. There were also petroglyphs inside these areas. The picture above is of one of the smaller dwellings. I forgot to take a picture of the bigger one :)

As we made our way into the canyon it became clear that this canyon was of great importance to the people who once lived here. The walls had petroglyphs scattered all over them as the canyon started changing colors from a grayish color to more of a bleached white color where water has come through. You can see where a waterfall would form in a flash flood which are known to happen in this area. It is my opinion that this canyon played host to different ceremonies held by the native people.

It is hard to date an area like this. I can tell you that some of the petroglyphs in this area are a lot more detailed than other petroglyphs I have found in Southern Nevada. In addition to these petroglyphs, there are what is called pictographs which are basically petroglyphs with color

 

Summary

Since this area clearly has signs that water collects here, it seems highly probably that animals would come into the canyon area for a refreshing drink in the middle of the desert. The native people must have recognized this and took advantage of the animals being boxed in for an easy hunt. With both water and food being available in this canyon which sits in an otherwise barren desert landscape, it is easy to see why it became important to the ancient peoples. To signify its importance they put markings on the walls to thank the gods for what they had provided as well as tell the stories of their people.