Mesa Verde, Spanish for ‘Green Table’, was a flourishing community from AD 600 through AD 1300.
These cliff dwellings actually represent the last 75 to 100 years of occupation.
The petroglyph was located on a sheer wall accessible only by a trail a little over 2 miles from the edge of Chapin Mesa. According to one Hopi elder,
this petroglyph may tell the story of two clans (the Mountain Sheep Clan and the Eagle Clan) separating from other people and returning to their place
of origin. Note the boxy spiral shape. This likely represents a sipapu, the place Pueblo people believe they emerged from the earth (believed to be near
the Grand Canyon).
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