Romo Peak and the Sutherland Wash Rock Art District – 2/23/2019

View from Romo Peak. February 2019.
View from Romo Peak. February 2019.

In 1949 Ray Romo was walking near the top of a hill above the Sutherland Wash Rock Art District when he found a ceramic jar covered by an inverted bowl – the ceramics and contents as described in Archaeology in the Mountain Shadows – Exploring the Romero Ruin – by Deborah L. Swartz and William H. Doelle:

Both vessels were decorated with red-on-brown designs, which dated between A.D. 1100 and 1150. The jar contained around 100,000 stone and shell beads, and about 30 copper bells.

Most of the beads were made from red and black stone, but a small number were made of turquoise or marine shell. A majority of them exhibited signs of wear from having been strung. However, no thread was found to show whether they were strung when placed into the vessel. This find is called the “Romo Cache” after Mr. Romo.

The estimate in Archaeology in the Mountain Shadows is that it would take a single person 2.8 years of constant work to produce the 100,000 beads and if strung together it they would stretch 300 feet – an astonishing quantity, while I have not seen a concrete theory offered for the reason the cache was created it seems hard to believe that it didn’t have quite a bit of meaning to the person/people who left the objects.

Copper bells, made in Mexico, have been found in sites across the Southwest but are not common and finding 30 bells in one locations seems to be very rare. From Archaeology in the Mountain Shadows:

Copper bells were made using a process called the “lost wax” method. A small pebble was embedded into a ball of clay, the clay was dipped into wax to form an even coat, and then the waxed ball was surrounded with more clay. Molten copper was poured into the space held by the wax, which melted out. After the copper cooled, the clay was removed from the exterior and chipped off of the pebble inside the copper bell.

The hike to Romo Peak was steep and rugged, we never found any hint of a trail, and to our eyes the summit was remarkably like many other hilltops in the area. We spent some time at the top, enjoying the quickly melting snow, the great views, and wondering at the human activity in the area nearly 1,000 years ago that resulted in the Sutherland Wash Rock Art District and the Romo Cache.

Water in Sutherland Wash near the Golder Ranch South Parking Area. February 2019.
Water in Sutherland Wash near the Golder Ranch South Parking Area. February 2019.
Rushing water in Sutherland Wash. February 2019.
Rushing water in Sutherland Wash. February 2019.
Sutherland Wash Rock Art District Petroglyph. February 2019.
Sutherland Wash Rock Art District Petroglyph. February 2019.
Corn perhaps? February 2019.
Corn perhaps? February 2019.
Sutherland Wash Rock Art District Petroglyph. February 2019.
Sutherland Wash Rock Art District Petroglyph. February 2019.
A quiet moment at the Golder Ranch South Parking Area. February 2019.
A quiet moment at the Golder Ranch South Parking Area. February 2019.

Sutherland Wash Rock Art District – 1/30/2016

The Sutherland Wash Rock Art District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. Located in and around Sutherland Wash the area holds an incredible number of Hohokam petroglyphs. Ceramics and artifacts found in the area indicate that it was inhabited by the Hohokam between 1000 A.D and 1300 A.D. The water in the area would certainly have been an attraction and researchers have identified probable prehistoric trails both to the top of the Santa Catalina Mountains and to nearby locations such as Romo Peak pass thru this area. (The Romo Cache was found on Romo Peak and contains 100,000 beads and a number of copper bells) .

Flower petroglyph. January 2016.
Flower petroglyph. January 2016.

In Flower World Imagery in Petroglyphs: Hints of Hohokam Cosmology on the Landscape by Janine Hernbrode and Peter Boyle the petroglyph above is identified as a flower – from a BorderLore post:

There are more than 600 petroglyph panels in the district, including many representations of flowers, butterflies and birds. Such imagery is characteristic of a spiritual landscape known as the Flower World. In this Uto-Aztecan belief system of ancient Mesoamerican origin, believers evoked a flowery, colorful, glittering paradise through prayers, songs, and other actions. The likelihood of this connection is strengthened by the discovery of Mesoamerican copper bells at Honey Bee Village (a nearby Hohokam settlement) and in a cache of Hohokam artifacts found near the rock art district.

A panel of petroglyphs in the Sutherland Rock Art District. January 2016.
A panel of petroglyphs in the Sutherland Rock Art District. January 2016.
Female anthropomorph and flowers. Januaru 2016.
Female anthropomorph and flowers. January 2016.

Gender in Hohokam Imagery and Landscape: Sutherland Wash Rock Art District, Coronado National Forest, Arizona by Janine Hernbrode and Peter Boyle examines gender in the Sutherland Wash Rock Art District – out of the 419 anthropomorphs at the site 64 male and 65 female figures were identified – the image above clearly matches the female characteristics described in the paper.

Zoomorph. January 2016.
Zoomorph. January 2016.

Even more common than the anthropomorphic petroglyphs at the site are representations of animals – it is difficult to tell what animal is represented above, but interesting to dream about what people were seeing in this area 1,000 years ago…