a spiritual journey to The Great Gallery
There are four panels in Horseshoe Canyon: High Gallery, Horseshoe Gallery, Alcove Gallery, and The Great Gallery. This canyon contains some of the most significant barrier canyon rock art in America. Human presence in Horseshoe Canyyon has been dates as far back as 7000-9000 BC, where paleo-indians hunted large mammals as mastodons and mammoths across the Southwest. Later inhabitants included the desert archaic culture, the fremont culture, and ancestral puebloans.
The High Gallery
and I quote ……… Once you reach the bottom of Horseshoe Canyon, follow the trail for about another 1/3 of a mile and on the east side (left of the wash) of the canyon you will find the High Gallery. Is is easy to miss as the trail leads you on the opposite side of the wash. It is called the High Gallery because it is much higher on the canyon wall than other panels.
The panel is made using an iron oxide type paint and includes figures of what seems to be people, animals, and even a rain cloud. Part of the fun of looking at the panels is trying to interpret what these ancient people were trying to convey with these elaborate drawings. It is recommended that you use binoculars (and a tripod for pics) so you can get a closer look at these drawings.
The Horseshoe Gallery
and I quote …… the second panel is called the Horseshoe Gallery. It is located on the west wall of the canyon and is hard to miss. It is a very diverse panel with all types of figures and symbols. Spend some time here examining the rock as you will find figures that you did not notice at first glance. It is thought that these figures were made by the Fremont and ancestral Puebloans about 1,500 years ago. On sunny days this panel catches a lot of sun, so bring some sunglasses with you so you can admire the panel without the sunlight bouncing off the rock.
The Alcove Gallery
These panels are highly deteriorated, so I will just post a couple of images.
The Great Gallery
and i quote ………… about a mile from the Alcove Gallery you will arrive at the grand daddy of them all, the Great Gallery. It is the oldest and most elaborate of all the rock panels in the canyon. Many of the figures are 5-6 feet tall and sport colors and intricate patterns when compared to other panels. Pay attention to the designs within the figures and you will find smaller images of people, animals, and other patterns inside them.
The pictographs at the Great Gallery are thought to be about 3,500 years old.
So let’s go ……………….
I find this one so spiritual, the giant ghost surrounded by solid ghosts.
and this is a more dramatic editing
a closer view at parts of the main panel
an ascending ghost with a snake to its right
ghosts on a broken section; what else was there ?
you just can’t saturate the image to get the colors since the background is red also, so you have to create a mask on the actual painted areas and saturate those. See the ladders on the ghost to the left ? That is not the only place you can see them.
there is so much dancing here, although those human figures may be fighting. Those are the only humans in the whole panel, except one more.
ghosts with sheep under them
here is the other human, I want to think he is playing a trumpet (I wish)
ghost full of animals
ghosts inside ghosts
ghost with a weapon
more of that one
i tried but I cant capture it, the ghost to the left has GREEN pigment on those vertical lines
a closer look
you notice the ghost spitting on another one to the right ?
a closer look at the spitting animal
the thin ghost
just amazing