Just noticed the stone tool marks on a 5,000 year old wall in my hometown

I was at the Pueblo Bonito site in Chaco Canyon last month and saw how grinding grooves on the sandstone looked totally different in morning light versus afternoon shadows. Has anyone else found that the time of day you visit changes what you can pick out on old structures?

3 comments

3 Comments

iris_schmidt2d ago

Have you ever tried going back to the same wall at different times of year too? When I was out at Mesa Verde, the cliff dwellings looked totally different in the winter when the sun was lower and shadows were longer. You could see detail in the mortar lines and chisel marks that just got washed out in the harsh summer light. It makes you wonder what else we miss just because we show up at the wrong hour.

hannahcraig2d ago

Last October I found petroglyphs on a canyon wall that completely vanished in the noon glare.

wendy_henderson212d ago

Did you try going back during a different season to see if anything changed?