In Episode 4 of our Virtual Tour Video Series, we are taking you on an extensive tour of Wells Petroglyph Preserve located in northern New Mexico, hosted by Previous Owner and Founder Katherine Wells and Preserve Archaeologist Chester Liwosz. You will get a special glimpse of some of the rock art panels scattered across the Preserve along with the archaeological theories behind some of the reoccurring images. The site is known for having solstice markers and is thought to contain special acoustical attributes that may have been part of the context for the multiple human and animal flute player images across the site. Mesa Prieta contains a variety of rock art panels dating as far back as the Archaic period up to the early 20th century when the Work Projects Administration crews were working in the river valley below.
Katherine purchased the property in 1992 and founded the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project in 2002, which set out on the lofty task of documenting all of the petroglyphs across the entire mesa. The Project has recorded around 70,000 images so far – and it is estimated that there are at least another 30,000 that still need to be recorded.
