Pictographs, petroglyphs, pueblos in Permian sandstone. Adumbrated Anthromorphs in archaeological ruins. The mystery of the ancient Puebloans, aka Anasazi and even further back in time referred to as basket makers. Deep sand eroded from the cliffs fills the bottom of the canyon floors. Cottonwoods and willows line the arroyos. Canyon walls that rise gently, ever so slowly from the town of Chinle, until they tower hundreds of feet above the valley floor. Looking down from the rim leaves an impression of an almost bucolic lifestyle. The canyon walls display the remnants of ancient paleo beaches, crosscut remains of thick dunes. The formations displaying the changing environments of geological time, and presenting sculptured cuts, as circles and solid blocks.
The oral stories present a human layer to echo the desert varnish, pieces of stories intermingled with the alcoves and cliff faces. Both history of ancient whispered atrocities along with Spanish and US military actions merge with the shattered stone rubble piles on the edges all of which rapidly disintegrates into the sandy bottom.
No photograph can hear the echoes, only a quiet spiritual remembrance to past times exists. The small tiny marks and ruins left on the Canyon De Chelly’s massive walls are all that is left to be captured. JP 11/28/2016