<\/p>\n
For Pueblo Tribal Council member Paul Tosa, human-made markings on stone are not \u201crock art,\u201d the commonly used term. Instead, he says the etchings left by his ancestors nearly 800 years ago are better described as \u201cliving spirits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause that is our connectedness with nature,\u201d said Tosa, who lives in Jemez Pueblo region of New Mexico, about an hour\u2019s drive north of Albuquerque. \u201cWe just don\u2019t go to visit. We go to pray to the ancestors \u2013 the ones that have gone before us. You are there, and you can feel the presence of the ancestral people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tosa, 66, is one of several essayists who contributed to a new book, Rock Art: A Vision of a Vanishing Cultural Landscape, which depicts significant archaeological sites scattered throughout the Southwest.<\/p>\n
Tosa credits his knowledge of the Hemish people, and fluency in their native dialect, Towa, to his grandfather, Francisco, who would sit around the stove and tell Tosa stories before bed in the tribe\u2019s native tongue \u2013 the only language Francisco could speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe couldn\u2019t even write his own name in English,\u201d Tosa said. \u201cThe language is most key. It identifies us as who we are, as Hemes people. Without language, who are you? It\u2019s my way to explain who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tosa frequently hosts tours of rock art for anyone interested, but his main goal is to educate the Hemes youths with the hopes they\u2019ll learn the language and the tribe\u2019s rich culture will live on.<\/p>\n
He compares the passing of cultural knowledge to the image of the iconic spiral rock art.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather said that represents the time of emergence,\u201d Tosa said. \u201cAs we move into the future, there\u2019s no line that cuts it off. We will live and survive forever as Hemes people in this part of the landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people have different interpretations (of the spiral imagery),\u201d he said. \u201cFor us, it\u2019s to show we emerged with problems, and yet we will continue to exist. Therefore, there is no line. We continue forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
The book\u2019s author, Jonathan Bailey, said it\u2019s this cultural significance that motivated him to cover 30,000 miles of Utah\u2019s backcountry on foot, photographing ancient drawings on the sides of canyon walls. The book contains more than 150 color photographs from that exploration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen rock art my entire life, but I got serious about it when I was 7,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cIt\u2019s all I ever wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bailey said Rock Art was in part a reaction to the disclosure of site locations through social media, which brought a \u201c1,000 percent\u201d increase in vandalism to the Native American art.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople would write their names, shoot bullet holes. ATVs would drive over burial grounds, fracturing skulls. Some people would light campfires in (ancient) shelters,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cPretty much anything you can imagine, they\u2019ve probably done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bailey hopes more education, as well as state and federal land management, will bring an end to rock art vandalism. Though not a Native American, he feels strong ties to the drawings.<\/p>\n
Lawrence Loendorf, an archaeologist who has studied rock art in New Mexico and Montana for more than 50 years and contributed an essay, agreed that the ancient drawings are at risk. Currently, he is president of Sacred Sites Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation and protection of Native American rock art.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a cultural resource,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s very popular for people to visit, but far more importantly, it\u2019s considered by Native people to be a sacred site.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tosa\u2019s visits to the rock art are part of everyday life, with regular rituals and offerings. Even on hunting trips, he said the presence of the markings make it feel as if his ancestors are right there beside him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the specialness, the sacredness and the spirituality we have,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of a kind to have this knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n