November 13, 2005
MN's Participate in TNC Year End Event
AZ Master Naturalists joined other Nature Conservancy volunteers and Kaibab NF archeologist Neil Weintraub on a short hike in to visit Keyhole Sink Archeology Site near Parks, AZ. This intriguing site is a permanent waterhole and natural big game trap that includes a User's Manual!
After a fun lunch at Casa Bonita to celebrate another big year for Hart Prairie, hosted by Rebecca Garrett, TNC Hart Prairie Program Manager, volunteers carpooled west to Keyhole Sink, near Parks, AZ.
As you can see in the first photo, we did find a shard, which is uncommon at this site within the box canyon. This one was much degraded. Obsidian flakes and debitage are perhaps more common here. There is one very nice petroglyphic panel in addition to the pièce-de-résistance, the apparent diagrammatic glyph of the box canyon being used to trap big game, probably deer. See below:
On the left, a cluster or herd of ungulates faces the entrance to the keyhole shaped trap. Additional marking at the entrance may be weir-like gate structures, or the profile of the escarpment on either side of the entrance. Additional scattered figures include anthropomorphs, zoomorphs, and other symbols. It is a very striking panel, principally because it appears to be so unambigous in its meaning, unlike the majority of what we call "rock art."