Posted by Paul Wegemann on December 2, 2009 at 9:29 AM
I was wandering around Canyonlands over Thanksgiving and came across these holes inside an old granary. Does anyone know what they're for?
Are they even authentic? The area, Aztec Butte, has been pretty well impacted by visitors, so I'm suspicious of anything I saw up there.
For scale, this was shot from maybe 3 or 4 inches away with a 15mm fisheye.
Posted by Joshua Hardin on December 2, 2009 at 1:50 PM
They look like footholes, but the scale seems too off for that to be possible. Maybe you came across their salt or pepper shakers?
Posted by Mel Ladewig on December 2, 2009 at 2:19 PM
I do believe these are symbols used by the ancient puebloans, but I don't remember what they are believed to reference. Of course they could be made more recently due to the location. I could find reference to the sipapu hole found in a Kiva floor which refers to their origin story. I remember a reference to these wall holes and ancestors spirits but can't find a reference to corroborate this.
Posted by bill meikle on December 2, 2009 at 3:39 PM
Seems like if you put posts in the holes you would have a ladder. Maybe I'm misreading the scale though.
Posted by Paul Wegemann on December 2, 2009 at 3:56 PM
I should have been more clear about the size. The holes are just a little wider than pencil width. The fisheye really does allow you to get very close. So close in fact, that I had to be really careful not to touch the rock face with it.
Posted by bill meikle on December 2, 2009 at 5:45 PM
it would have to be pencils then ...
Posted by Nat Coalson on December 2, 2009 at 9:42 PM
Somehow they remind me of the flower hole in the new generation VW bugs... maybe decorative, with flowers or plants stuck into them? Just a goofy guess
Posted by John Klotz on December 3, 2009 at 6:38 AM
This question has been bothering me all night and I woke up with the answer in my brain. The holes were obviously the work of the ancient Rockpecker (related to the modern woodpecker) attempting to get the grain
Posted by Josh Schutz on December 3, 2009 at 12:40 PM
i remember seeing these holes at aztec butte. if i remember correctly there were 13 of them. i remember seeing 13 holes in other locations as well. there are 13 full moons this year. But there that only happens every 2 or 3rd year.
could the holes be marking a shadow or something?
i have also seen slits cut in the rocks as well. the slits were where they would rub sticks on the rocks to sharpen them. these holes may be as simple as that. but i think that there is another meaning.
Discussion
8 repliesAre they even authentic? The area, Aztec Butte, has been pretty well impacted by visitors, so I'm suspicious of anything I saw up there.
For scale, this was shot from maybe 3 or 4 inches away with a 15mm fisheye.
could the holes be marking a shadow or something?
i have also seen slits cut in the rocks as well. the slits were where they would rub sticks on the rocks to sharpen them. these holes may be as simple as that. but i think that there is another meaning.