land cruise 2015: Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site, TX

February 21-22, 2016

According to their website: "For thousands of years, people have trekked to these rock hills in far west Texas. In earlier times, they came for the rainwater pooled in natural rock basins, or huecos (my note: not to be confused with Waco, TX)."


Huecos

"Visitors today marvel at the imagery left by those ancient people". The imagery referred to is the numerous pictographs and petroglyphs left by people over the last thousand years on the walls of caves in this area. Whereas the cave paintings we saw at Seminole Canyon and at the White Shaman sites (see earlier posts) were dated between 2000 and 4000 years ago, many of the paintings and writings at Hueco Tanks are more contemporary.

"Around A.D. 1150, the Jornada Mogollon people began farming squash, beans and corn at the base of the rock hills, where they had access to water for their crops. They built a small cluster of pithouse structures, studied by archaeologists in the early 1970s. Remains of their agricultural life include pottery shards, stone tools and water control features.
These people also left images in the park. Their imagery of animals, birds and large-eyed figures may represent rain or storm deities. The most renowned images are “masks” or face designs. Hueco Tanks has the largest grouping of such masks in North America, with more than 200 identified."

Getting to and from the sites can sometimes be a bit of a challenge....

Dave, the spelunker

"After the arrival of the Spanish, native people continued to visit Hueco Tanks, looking for water and shelter. The Kiowa, Mescalero Apache, Comanche, Tigua and the people of Isleta del Norte Pueblo consider the site to be a meaningful part of their heritage.
Their rock images are of handprints, dancing figures, horses, weapons and humans in European clothing. These images may show stories of celebration, tradition, conflict and change."

Over the decades, as different groups of people visited the site, there were additions of graffiti and much defacing of the original paintings and drawings. These, in addition to the natural fading of colours due to light, mean that what we see today is only a fraction of the original works.

Painting made of the cave drawings in the 1930s

Faded remnants of one of the figures today

"The Butterfield Overland Mail began operations in 1858. For the first time, people separated by nearly 2,000 miles of wilderness could communicate. Because of its water sources, Hueco Tanks served as a relay station for a year, until a safer southern route was established."
Some of the graffiti in the caves is believed to have been written by travellers.


1884 graffiti overlaying some earlier paintings

The Hueco Tanks Park is also a world renowned site for the sport of "bouldering" (or free climbing). As the popularity of the sport increases, the number of people wanting access to the park is also increasing. In addition, more tourists are wanting to view the paintings. These demands can sometimes come into conflict with efforts at preservation and with the cultural significance of the site for some Native groups. Park officials are attempting to work with all groups. The result is that, unlike other state parks, access to Hueco Tanks is limited. First, only 70 people are allowed into the day-use area on a daily basis. Access to two out of three of the mountains is with a guide only. Camping reservations must be made in advance and are limited to a maximum of three days. And, finally, everyone allowed onto the site is required to view a video about respecting the area and conservation.

One can only hope that these measures will prevent further vandalism and help preseve what is truly a treasure.