February 20, 2023 – In addition to the canals and pueblos they built, the people of the Hohokam culture etched petroglyphs throughout the Salt River Valley. These petroglyphs took a variety of geometric and representational forms. We traveled to Phoenix to search for and photograph a few of these sites. Our journey began in the South Mountain Park and Reserve.
We started at the Pima Canyon Trailhead which was packed with people since it was President’s Day. The parking lot was full of outdoor enthusiasts: hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers, and families with children. We followed the East Pima Canyon Road (trail) west for a mile or so and didn’t see any petroglyphs. Figuring we were in the wrong place, we crossed a dry wash to the north and then worked our way back to the parking lot. Along the way, we spotted a large rock on the top of a hill and upon inspection found our first petroglyphs: a group of geometric patterns. We photographed the petroglyphs and returned to the parking lot.
We drove around the mountain to tackle the Mormon Trail, which we hoped would lead us to the petroglyphs at Hidden Valley. On the maps it looked to be a relatively easy hike, but we became a little confused by all the trails meandering throughout the area and never found Hidden Valley. We did, however, find several petroglyphs on the Mormon Trail. They weren’t particularly easy to find because they were so weathered. The petroglyphs on the Mormon Trail were more representational in nature and appeared to be people and animals, deer we presumed. After taking a few photographs, we descended the trail and had lunch.
Given the size of the crowd at the South Mountains, we decided to look for a place with more solitude. With that in mind, we headed to Hieroglyphic Trail in the Superstition Mountains to the east of Phoenix and about 7 miles south of the Salt River as the crow flies. We followed the trail for one-and-a-half miles under an amazing sky that cast beautiful light and shadows on the surrounding landscape. We eventually reached a small spring that emerged from the canyon walls and found a spectacular array of petroglyphs. They were stunning in quality and quantity. Literally dozens of geometric and representational forms were etched into the rocks at the spring. Ironically, the trail is called “Hieroglyphic Trail,” but, in fact, there are no hieroglyphs here, just petroglyphs – a hieroglyph is a character used in pictorial writing while a petroglyph is a rock carving.
That concluded our search for petroglyphs, and it was well worth the effort. Petroglyphs are haunting in their beauty. The Pima Indians believe they have spiritual significance, but no one knows for certain. Based on our observations, the petroglyphs seem to be in important areas (high knolls, lookouts, and springs), so it stands to reason they played a vital role to the people of the Hohokam culture whether it was art, religion, or route-finding.