Anasazi Solar Marker: The Use of a Natural Rockfall

The midday ``sun dagger'' solstice and equinox marker on Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, is formed by three sandstone slabs that collimate sunlight onto two spiral petroglyphs. The slabs appear to be the result of a natural rockfall and not a construct of the Chacoan Anasazi. Alt...

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Published inScience (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 217; no. 4564; pp. 1036 - 1038
Main Authors Newman, Evelyn B., Mark, Robert K., Vivian, R. Gwinn
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 10.09.1982
Subjects
Bedding planes
Canyons
Cliffs
Electrical stimulation
Nerves
Petroglyphs
Radioactive decay
Sandstones
Sunlight
Weathering processes
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Summary:The midday ``sun dagger'' solstice and equinox marker on Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, is formed by three sandstone slabs that collimate sunlight onto two spiral petroglyphs. The slabs appear to be the result of a natural rockfall and not a construct of the Chacoan Anasazi. Although neither the rockfall nor the petroglyphs can be dated accurately, it is likely that the petroglyphs were designed after the rockfall by people who observed the details of the light pattern for several annual cycles.
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ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.217.4564.1036