Spirals Carved Into Colorado Rocks Thousands of Years Ago Could Be Ancient Calendars

Last edited Mon Dec 25, 2023, 11:09 AM - Edit history (1)

24 December 2023
By DAVID NIELD



These petroglyphs are thought to be calendars. (Jagiellonian University)

The Castle Rock Pueblo settlement complex on the Mesa Verde plateau where Colorado borders Utah is well-known for buildings within cliff-side hollows and rock art dating from thousands of years ago.

A research team from Jagiellonian University in Poland has reported back on new findings from the area, including a variety of previously undiscovered rock carvings covering a distance of some 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles).

Considering how extensively experts have studied this part of the world in the past, the new carvings or petroglyphs are a surprising and exciting finding – and they could transform our thinking about life in the region up to around 3,000 years ago.



The Pueblo people lived in settlements hewn from rock. (Jagiellonian University)

"I used to think that we studied this area thoroughly, conducting full-scale excavations, geophysical surveying, and digitalization," says archaeologist Radosław Palonka from Jagiellonian University.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/spirals-carved-into-colorado-rocks-thousands-of-years-ago-could-be-ancient-calendars