While 1000s of people chose to get their post-Thanksgiving exercise by shopping the deals in our nation’s shopping malls, I escaped to southern Utah.  I recently shared a photo from the Ancestral Puebloan ruin I visited, but I was also able to visit a petroglyph panel known as the Procession Panel, which is located on Comb Ridge, west of the town of Bluff.

Procession Panel, November 2009

The panel, about 15 feet long, consists of multiple lines of people and animals “marching” towards a central point (visible below).  Two of the most interesting figures (above) are deer; the left-hand deer has an atlatl (basically a spear “thrower”) dart sticking out of its abdomen and the second one has a long tail that morphs into a snake ready to strike.  I wasn’t able to capture the entire tail in either of these photographs.  Archaeologists and Anthropologists who study the Anasazi culture have speculated on the meaning of this panel.  Was it a funeral procession?  Does it signify the event that caused the Ancestral Puebloans to leave the area abruptly?  Obviously we can never be really sure, but I’d like to suggest that it does NOT signify the people lining up outside of Wal-Mart for the best Black Friday deal on an LCD TV.

Procession Panel, November 2009

I’d also like to direct you to my new Cedar Mesa Page, showing all of the photos from my recent trip to Utah.  Enjoy!