History
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The majority of the petroglyphs on Boca Negra Canyon's Macaw Trail were made by the ancestors of modern Pueblo people. The Ancestral Puebloans created them by carefully removing desert varnish with hand-held stone tools to expose the lighter color of the basalt's interior. After centuries of exposure, older images oxidize, and this darkening confirms their authenticity and great age. Archeologists identify these images as Rio Grande style petroglyphs, a style that developed rather suddenly around A.D. 1300, coinciding with a dramatic increase in the local population and the construction of many pueblo villages along the Rio Grande. Elements frequently seen in this style include human figures, animals, and geometric designs.
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Albuquerque, New Mexico · United States
