Third Thursday Food for Thought Presentation – “The Great Rock-Art of Chaco Canyon”
July 17 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
On July 17, 2025, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” program will present “The Great Rock-Art of Chaco Canyon” by rock-art specialist Jane Kolber. This free online Zoom presentation will be held from 7:00-8:30 p.m., ARIZONA/Mountain Standard Time (same as Pacific Daylight Time).
The reason for “The Great” in the title of this presentation is because the Chaco Canyon region has Great Rock-Art panels in addition to Great Houses and Great Roads. Hundreds of books and articles have been written about Chaco Canyon and its archaeological treasures. It is renowned throughout the world. However, until recently Chaco rock-art has been almost completely ignored. Why is that?
A partial answer is its invisibility. Southwestern U.S. rock-art is often created on surfaces with a dark coating, which emphasizes the images carved into the rocks. In contrast, very few of the cliff walls and boulders in Chaco Canyon have patinated surfaces so images on them are difficult to see. In addition, many of the most impressive panels are located high on cliff faces where an observer rarely looks.
In this presentation Jane Kolber will show and discuss a nearly 30-year research project, still on-going, that has shown that Ancient Chaco rock-art is unadorned and dominated by the spiral and animal motifs, that there also is significant later Navajo (Diné) rock-art in Chaco Canyon, and that Chaco rock-art continues to be damaged.
To register for the Zoom webinar go to https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pHJyyP3QS-esirVI7Q3VbA. For more information contact Old Pueblo at info@oldpueblo.org or 520-798-1201.
Flyer: 20250717(v3)ThirdThursday_JaneKolber_TheGreatRock-ArtOfChacoCanyon
Caption: Examples of Ancestral Pueblo (outer photos) and Diné (Navajo) petroglyphs recorded during the Chaco Reassessment Recording Project (Photos courtesy of Jane Kolber)