Sloan Canyon walls tell stories through time

Petroglyphs are thought to be 900 years old

Walking through Sloan Canyon is like taking a trip back in time. In the enclosed cocoon of the canyon, lizards scurry, birds flutter by and only the occasional sounds of airplanes overhead serve as reminders of how close civilization lies outside the rock walls.

Petroglyphs and red-inked pictographs lace the canyon walls and are particularly dense in mid-canyon. Because of decades of flood sediment deposits, petroglyphs can be spied at foot-level -- a rarity because ancient people usually tried to place them as high as possible.

Though the petroglyphs have been known of since the 1970s, it is only now, since the canyon was established by congressional decree as the Sloan National Conservation Area last November, that archeologists are thinking about their meaning. Some rocks are encrusted with symbols from different Indian cultures, from different times.

The drawings are thought to be about 900 years old and representing as many as eight tribal cultures, including the Anasazi, Patayan and Numic groups. According to literature from the Bureau of Land Management, the conservation area is "one of the most significant and sacred cultural sites in Southern Nevada." More than 300 rock art panels with 1,700 individual designs have been documented.

Tim O'Brien, the manager of Red Rock Canyon and the new Sloan Canyon National Conservation Areas, said the BLM is going to hire a contractor to develop a three-year plan for Sloan. A 500-acre piece of BLM land, sandwiched between Anthem and the West Henderson Plan area, is scheduled to be put up for auction this November to pay for the start-up costs to set up and manage the new conservation area. O'Brien said it is unusual for budgetary provisions to be accounted for in the congressional establishment of a conservation area.

Future ideas, still in the most rudimentary phases, include possibly having guided tours of the canyon to explain the cultural significance of the area to visitors. Part of any future plan will include contacting local American Indians to help unlock the history they record.

"There will be consultation with them as to what kind of story should be told," O'Brien said. "We definitely want to get the Native Americans involved, if they're willing."

Already a few historians have been invited to the nearly inaccessible site to offer their opinions. Some of the early drawings are reminiscent of other area petroglyphs with circles, lines and various hatch marks. However, the newer drawings, known as historical petroglyphs by archeologists, show more advanced drawing techniques, including human forms, developed animal figures and even what might be people wearing cowboy hats and carrying guns.

In fact, in one area deep in the canyon there are two petroglyphs that may single a spiritual gateway or marker. On one side of the canyon, a ground-level rock depicts a sheep and another symbol, while on the opposite side of the canyon another ground-level rock depicts a birdlike animal and a similar symbol.

"Usually, every time I come in the canyon I see one I haven't seen before," the BLM manager said.

According to O'Brien, archeologists suspect people followed Big Horn Sheep into the canyon. In one narrow section of the canyon, rocks jut out over the floor and seem to be strategically placed to provide a good spot for felling prey from above.

The 48,438-acre conservation area encompasses the North McCullough Wilderness Area, which lies in the southeastern part of the Las Vegas Valley, and is one of 15 national conservation areas.


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