The Castle Rock Pueblo settlement complex on the Mesa Verde Plateau on Colorado’s border with Utah is famous for its hollow cliffside buildings and petroglyphs dating back thousands of years. A research team from the Jagiellonian University in Poland reported new findings at the site, including several previously undiscovered rock paintings about 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) away.

Considering how intensively experts have studied this part of the world in the past, the new carvings, or petroglyphs, are a surprising and exciting find and could change our understanding of life in the region around 3,000 years ago.

“I used to think that we had thoroughly studied this site through full-scale excavations, geophysical survey and digitalization,” says archaeologist Radoslav Palonka of the Jagiellonian University. “But I received a few tips from older members of the local community that they might be more abundant in the higher, less accessible parts of the canyons.”

Sure enough, about 800 meters (2,625 feet) above known sites, researchers discovered a variety of lines, swirls, and other designs etched into the walls. Some engravings are spirals up to a meter (almost 40 inches) in diameter; They are believed to be calendars that help mark special dates and track astronomical observations.

Palonka says the findings “completely change” the understanding of the region known as the Basket Age in the 3rd century AD. At that time, Pueblo people lived in semi-subterranean pit houses surrounded by wooden fences and engaged in activities such as farming and wicker and basket making.

“Pueblo farming communities developed one of the most advanced pre-Columbian cultures in North America,” says Palonka. “They perfected the craft of building multi-storey stone buildings that resembled medieval townhouses and even later apartment buildings.”

“The Pueblo people were also known for their petroglyphs, intricately decorated jewelry, and pottery with various motifs painted with black pigment on a white background.”

Based on newly discovered calendars and other charts, many more people may have lived in the region in the 13th century than previously thought, researchers say. He wonders what historians will do with the remains of today’s societies thousands of years from now.

Work is currently underway to map the area in more detail using LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology, which is expected to be able to get down to a resolution of 5-10 centimeters (2-3.9 inches) and possibly reveal more engraved images. .

“We are waiting for the final results of their work and hope to discover new monuments that were previously unknown, especially from earlier periods,” says Palonka.