MYSTERY ROCK

Sodabob

Sr. Member
Jan 14, 2019
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Primary Interest:
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Howdy

I haven't been around for a while and had to re-register with a different name. Anyway, I'm working on a real mystery and could use some help. If I can remember how to post pictures, please notice the carved images in what locals call "The Mystery Rock." I have been asked by our local Historical Society / Museum to research it, and depending on the results here, might write an article for them in their newsletter. The rock has already been examined by a group of Archaeologist but they are baffled as to what the carvings might be or represent. The only thing they determined with any certainty is that the carvings were done with some type of steel tool such as a chisel. As for the date it was carved, they are baffled about that as well. Its located in a brushy area about 100 feet away from an old State highway and about 100 yards from an old Railroad line that was built in 1916. In the area there is also an old U.S. military encampment that was built in 1940-41 and sold to the County around 1947-48. The two most prominent theories are ...

1. The rock was carved by a Railroad worker
2. The rock was carved by a member of the Military

But regardless of who carved it or when, we are trying to determine what the carvings might be or represent? The archaeologist said they don't recognize the pattern and are pretty sure they are not Aztec or anything like that, and that they might be random that only the "carver" knows the meaning of.

If you have any theories or recognize the pattern as something specific, please let me know and I will pass the information on to the Historical Society. The rock is located about 50 miles east of San Diego along old Highway 94.

Thanks in advance to those who participate in possibly solving a mystery that has had locals baffled for several years.

Sodabob ... a.k.a. Sodabottlebob and Sodapopbob


The rock is about 6 feet long, 3 feet wide, and about 2 feet thick. Most of the carving are on one end of the rock but in some places continue over the side. The local museum has permits to move it next Spring but will need a backhoe to lift and transport it.

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Still fine tuning my pic option settings
 

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Error / Ignore
 

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This is a test to see if I reset my settings properly. My post were a mile wide a minute ago
 

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Is there any more like it in the area? And what is the area we are talking about....ie Indians, or Aztecs, Incas?
 

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Native Americans are in the surrounding areas and there are no other rocks or designs like it that I am aware of. The Archaeologist already eliminated the designs as being Native American and pretty much refer to them as "Whimsical" that only the original Carver could recognize. Everyone thinks the Carver got the designs from "somewhere" but from where?
 

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I see no Native American Indian symbols that I know of. The lines are clean and crisp and not much weathering. Makes one wonder??
 

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The Native Americans in the area are "Kumeyaay"

Here's a sampling of their Petroglyphs and Pictographs and a chart showing the typical designs they used. But, like I said, the Archaeologist have already eliminated the designs as being Kumeyaay, but I thought I'd post them anyway. Petroglyphs are carved/scratched images on rock, whereas Pictographs are images painted on rocks.

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Kumeyaay Designs.jpg

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The Native Americans in the area are "Kumeyaay"

Here's a sampling of their Petroglyphs and Pictographs and a chart showing the typical designs they used. But, like I said, the Archaeologist have already eliminated the designs as being Kumeyaay, but I thought I'd post them anyway. Petroglyphs are carved/scratched images on rock, whereas Pictographs are images painted on rocks.

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That is my tribe Santa Ysabel Kumeyaay
 

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Back-of-the-boat

Howdy neighbor

I live in the area and will gladly take you to the rock sometime if you're interested. Just send me a PM and we'll make arrangements. But lets wait until it stops raining or possibly next spring
 

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Back-of-the-boat

Howdy neighbor

I live in the area and will gladly take you to the rock sometime if you're interested. Just send me a PM and we'll make arrangements. But lets wait until it stops raining or possibly next spring

I live up by Fresno now.But if I come down to visit any family I'll PM you.
 

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Sounds good! I will look forward to it.
 

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Perhaps it's just art for the purpose of making you stop and scratch your head.
 

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My thoughts are, since the carvings are on the 'top of the stone' and extend around to the 'back', that it was likely mounted in an upright position at some point in time. :icon_scratch: I also see the symbols as being Indigenous in nature, I also see signs of weathering and age. I think this was likely a trail marker for the local inhabitants thousands of years ago.

I would suggest that you repost this thread in the Tnet Artifacts Forum here...
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/north-american-indian-artifacts/


Many distinct Native American tribes populated thesouthwest region of the current United States, starting in about 7000 BCE.

•The Ancestral Pueblo tribes—the Anasazi, Mogollon, and Hohokam—began farming in the region as early as 2000 BCE, producing anabundance of corn. Navajos and Apaches primarily hunted and gathered in thearea.

•These ancient southwestern tribes deserted the area around 1300 CE, probably due to crop failures; European colonists encountered a group of people partially descended from the Ancestral Pueblos in the mid-1500s.

The Anasazi, sometimes called the Ancestral Pueblos, residedin the Four Corners region — where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizonameet; the Mogollon lived mostly in southwestern New Mexico; and the Hohokam dominated the desert of southern Arizona. Historians estimate that these threetribes reigned over the region from approximately 200-1500 CE, and either dissolved or evolved into the Pueblo Indians—whom the Spanish encountered and who still reside in modern New Mexico. They have also transformed into the Zuniand Hopi tribes. The Apache and Navajo tribes arrived in the Pueblo regionaround 1200 CE from the Pacific Northwest and remained distinct from the Pueblo people living in the region.

Chaco Canyon, a center for the Anasazi people, was home toover twelve thousand people and became a trade hub. The Chacoans, a branch ofthe Anasazi people living in the canyon, created over four hundred miles ofroads that connected the town to other disparate villages in the region. The Chacoans mostly traded away turquoise, traveling west for sea shells from California, south for exotic birds from Central America, and north for minerals and ores from the Rocky Mountains.


Best of luck to you in your research Bob,
Dave
 

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