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South Mountain Rock Art Project Rock Art in the South Mountains |
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The South Mountains on the southern edge of Phoenix, Arizona have long been considered a sacred place to Native Americans. The O’odham (Pima Indians) call these mountains “Muhadag du’ag, or Greasy Mountain, and their oral traditions include stories about these mountains. Rising 1,500 feet above the urban metropolis of Phoenix, the South Mountains are filled with beautiful and isolated canyons, springs, and outstanding elevated views of the surrounding landscape and the night sky. Numerous trails, many of which are associated with ancient rock art and broken pottery, lead from the base of the mountains into the upper reaches of the canyons. The rock art and associated artifacts indicate that the trails were created by the Hohokam people, an artistic and intelligent culture that successfully farmed the Sonoran Desert with a vast system of irrigation canals for more than a millennium. Other evidence of the Hohokam is present in the South Mountains as rock shelters, pithouses, and cleared areas. The South Mountains were important to the Hohokam for many of the same reasons they are important to modern day populations – for refuge from the busy and noisy urban areas, for solitude and quiet, and for opportunities to commune with nature. The South Mountains have always been and continue to be a sacred place. However, the archaeology and rock art of the South Mountains are currently threatened because of development along the edge of the mountains, as well as a lack of awareness among the general public of the significance of the mountains’ cultural and natural resources. We plan to change this through a combination of community outreach, tribal consultation, and citizen volunteers.
This project is financed in part by a grant from the Historic Preservation Heritage Fund which is funded by the Arizona Lottery and administered by the Arizona State Parks Board. |
