N.M. petroglyph sites named to national historic register
02-17-07 - North America — , New Mexico
A collection of 12 petroglyph sites in the Dona Ana Mountains of southern New Mexico has been named to the National Register of Historic Places, giving the sites the highest level of national significance.
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The sites are part of what the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division calls the Summerford Mountain Archaeological District. There are four other rock art districts, all in the northern half of the state.
"The archaeological sites in the (newly listed district) stand out from other sites in the Southwestern United States because of the association of rock imagery with archaeological deposits and artifacts," said Katherine Slick, director of the Historic Preservation Division.
Unlike most of New Mexico's other districts, the Summerford sites are in close proximity to archaeological deposits that include other artifacts that researchers can use to learn more about the people who first inhabited the Southwest.
Slick said the variety of art styles and the excellent condition of the Summerford sites also make the new district important in understanding the nation's pre-European history.
The district covers 2,170 acres owned by the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center at New Mexico State University. It's not open to the public, nor has it ever been subject to excavations or looting.
Glenna Dean, a state archaeologist, said those familiar with the sites have noticed differences between the petroglyphs and pictographs at Summerford and those at the northern sites. For example, animals are depicted in different ways.
Those differences indicate that culture groups developed regional styles over time, she said.
"These figures are not simply an early form of graffiti," she said. "They have meaning, but we don't understand the relationship of the images to daily life of identifiable groups in the past." "
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