Spanish Crosses Galore & More!

[Canna]

So, I went hiking in a very well known public area today and couldn't help but notice all the Spanish petroglyphs that no one ever seems to mention. Alot of these markings have obvious Spanish influence or were supposedly created by "Spanish sheep herders", such as the sheep mural & the crosses everywhere. There's one mural in particular I'm very interested in because it doesn't look like anything else in the area and definitely seems to at least have some Spanish influence. I'd love to hear your opinions on it! Anyways, I hope ya'll find this as amazing as I did, it truly blew my mind.

Keep in mind, up until today, I was skeptical that the Spanish actually marked their trails or special areas with markings (and I'm still skeptical about rock monuments/sculptures haha). I also took pictures of any lettering that seemed to be different from the style I'm used to, with the thought process that it's probably foreign if I don't recognize it (and it's doubtful others from around here would be able to recreate it).

PS - I have enhanced all of these photos to give us a better view, it's a slight enhancement, the colors are all still the same as the surrounding rock.

#1 - circle with X and circle spiral next to 2-3 crosses


#2 - cross in a box shape with a ring on top


#3 - possible cross, strange lettering that I'm not familiar with


#4 - small faded cross


#5 - beautiful cross with interesting lettering above


#6 - angle one of the "cross rock", this rock has at least 7 crosses on it, probably more.


#7 - angle two of the "cross rock"


#8 - Sheep mural, this is important because sheep were brought by Spanish settlers in the 1600s, giving us
a good idea of time frame & persons involved with this mural


#9 - strange "p" looking lettering


Now for the fun part, this one should get your juices flowing.

#10 right side of mural - looks different from anything in the area, the markings don't form a picture. Is it a map
There is a giant cross in the middle, so I'm inclined to say there's Spanish influence in this mural.


#11 middle of the mural - Could it be half Native/ half Spanish? the snake looks Native to me


#12 left of the mural - Looks completely Native, and makes me think I'm crazy to think the first one's a map? haha... It's just the right side looks so different from the left side, at least to me.


Even though I love a good legend/mystery, I could never actually dig anything here due to a profound respect for the area, not to mention it'd be HIGHLY illegal. The artwork is far more valuable & rare than anything they could possibly lead to and that's why this area should be (and is) protected at all costs.

Alright, I'm looking forward to the professional analysis & opinions. Break out the coffee, tinfoil hat, and dowsing rods and let's get to work gents!

Edit: I only marked what I could be positive of, please feel free to fill in the blanks or interpret them how ever you please.

 

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[Blak bart]

Thats alot to take in !!! Wow....incredible ! Congrats

 

[Carolina Tom]

I'm with Blak Bart, this is a lot to take in, however, I got my tinfoil hat on extra snug for this one.

Could the sheep be native big horn sheep, perhaps drawn by Native Americans? Females with young, maybe?

 

[Canna]

Thanks guys, I'm glad ya'll find it interesting, i'm quite captivated with it at the moment myself. All of these pics were taken within a 1-3 mile stretch of canyon and are spread about among 100s of Native American petroglyphs. In the post above, I actually singled out all of the markings that look completely different than their surrounding counter-parts...

Here is an example of some of the more apparent Native American petroglyphs for comparison:







This is one of my favorites because it makes me think.

What a long strange trip that must've been LOL, aliens, a bug? Is that an arm, leg, or a?

All jokes aside, the artwork just seems so much different when compared to what I posted above. It's not whether it's more detailed or less crude, it's just a different style completely, which leads me to assume they were created by some other type of settler. I do know the Spaniards were here though due to multiple large settlements within 50 miles of the area. What gets me about the sheep mural is that it's just so detailed and realistic, though of course, it could of been made later on as one's technique advances... or simply created 50-100 years after the Spanish brought sheep into the area and the Natives knew what they looked like. What do you think, Carolina Tom?

Either way, It's very interesting to think about. I'm sure this canyon is literally filled with stuff that you can't see unless you walk right up on it, too bad you aren't allowed to free-roam it anymore.

 

[Canna]

It's not going to make a difference, so here's the pic of my favorite set of crosses in this canyon, sadly they have been defaced a bit by locals.