6 October 2022 - ANCIENT PETROGLYPHS IN UTAH, USA

 

ANCIENT PETROGLYPHS

 IN UTAH, USA

G'day folks,

Welcome to a unique collection of drawings that represent Fremont Native American culture. 

These beautifully preserved petroglyphs are just north of Vernal, at McConkie Ranch in Dry Fork Canyon. These panels cover 200 feet along a cliff face in the Navajo formation. It’s believed the petroglyphs were crafted somewhere between 1-1200 CE. They are excellent examples of Fremont Native American culture. 

 

The images include various people and symbols along with large renditions of the various animals that populated the region. Many are also numbered, detailing where various archaeologists have worked across the site. 

The petroglyphs can be easily reached by several trails with signs and ropes that mark the way. The trails are easy to traverse. The entire trek is just over a mile hike roundtrip.  

19 November 2021 - ANCIENT ROCK CARVINGS FROM NORTH AMERICAN CULTURE

 ANCIENT ROCK CARVINGS FROM

 NORTH AMERICAN CULTURE

 

G'day folks,

 A slab of sandstone covered with mysterious 1,000-year-old rock carvings from a vanished North American culture exists in Ohio. 

Some of the best-preserved rock art in Ohio is scrawled across an otherwise ordinary hunk of rock. The figures, an eclectic blend of straightforward designs and abstract creatures, preserve traces of a vanished Native American culture.

Nearly 40 images, collectively known as the Leo Petroglyph, are etched into the large slab of sandstone. Scanning the chunk of rock reveals familiar subjects like birds, fish, footprints, and stick figure humans. Other more abstract designs, including one that looks like a cartoon man with horns, are scattered within the mix as well.

It’s thought that people from the Fort Ancient culture made the petroglyph, though it’s unclear why or exactly when. The best guess is that people began carving the mysterious designs into the flat sandstone canvas about 1,000 years ago.

 The petroglyph was originally found along the edge of a sandstone hillside that loomed above a gorge. The rock was carefully extracted and relocated to its current spot, where it lies protected from the elements beneath a shelter. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

 

 

There’s a short nature trail beginning at the shelter, which descends into a small gorge with bedrock overhangs, almost certainly shelter for early humans. It’s well worth it to check out the path.

Clancy's comment: These always fascinate me.

I'm ...

 

 

 

27 March 2021 - WHO INITIATED THE FIRST SUSPENSION BRIDGE?

 

WHO INITIATED THE 

FIRST SUSPENSION BRIDGE?

 

G'day folks,

The Inca people of South America were noted for making durable suspension bridges by weaving mountain grasses and other vegetation into thick cables. These sturdy ropes were ideal for crossing long gorges and were called simp’achaka, which means “braided bridges.” 

 

Workers would create the cables at the site where the bridge was to be erected and it was a technique that was used centuries later for the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in 1864. 

 

 

 

Many of these suspension bridges stretched longer than what even European engineers of the time had made with stone. Today, the last remaining Incan-style grass cable suspension bridge, the Queshuachaca, can be found over a gorge in Peru’s Canas Province.

Clancy's comment: I've walked on some of these bridges and did so with great fear.

I'm ...

29 March 2021 - THE ORIGINS OF CORN

 

THE ORIGINS OF CORN

 

G'day folks,

Here's another piece of historical information.

The Americas domesticated the corn plant 10,000 years ago. Farmers in northern Guatemala and southern Mexico bred teosinte, a wild grass, for several generations. This eventually helped develop kernels that were soft enough for human consumption. After the corn plant was created, the invention was soon adopted throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

 

Historians have found that the first grown by Native Americans had small ears and consisted of only six to nine kernels per cob. Later on, they went on to develop many more varieties and corn became a dietary staple for the people of Mesoamerica.  

 

In fact, at one archeological site in Mexico, researchers have found fossilized popped corn kernels over 5,000 years old.

Clancy's comment: A very versatile grain.

I'm ...

 

15 March 2021 - WHO INVENTED KAYAKS?

 

WHO INVENTED

 KAYAKS?

 

G'day folks,

Kayaks were used throughout the Arctic and subarctic region. Native Americans living in the northern regions of North America made kayaks by stretching walrus or sealskin over wooden frames. 

 

According to historians, the Native Americans developed the kayak as they needed a small, narrow boat to navigate choppy rivers. These kayaks even had a sealed cockpit to protect the paddler from sinking. These kayaks were made using a double paddle to increase the speed and were about 19 feet (5.7 meters) long. 

 

It is said that the kayaks were an important part of the Native American culture and were regularly used for seal and walrus hunting. Children were given a kayak by the age of 10 and they were expected to build their own by the age of 20.

Clancy's coment: There ya go. Something to pass onto your kids and grandkids.

I'm ...