Since I posted a photo of the Green Mask this morning, I’ll post another photo from the same site in Sheiks Canyon. These polychromatic abstract-geometric paintings are found on the upper alcove wall and are very intriguing.
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The Green Mask
The well-known Green Mask pictograph located in Sheiks Canyon, just off of Grand Gulch, is a haunting face painted high up on the alcove wall. I have read that this may possibly represent a ritual object made from a whole face and hair scalp of a human head because such an object, painted in a similar manner, was excavated from a Basketmaker burial in northern Arizona. I wish I had brought my long lens along with me when I hiked there since it was located very high on the back alcove wall.
Golden Ceiling
How about another photo of a ruin? These particular ruins are actually found right around the corner from the famous Moon House ruins on Cedar Mesa. What stuck me about this ruin was actually the nice glow of reflected light off of the golden-colored ceiling. I just had to take a photo that emphasized the lines and color of the ceiling above this ruin, and I really like the outcome.
Left & Right
These well preserved reverse handprints in Fish Creek Canyon are painted high up on the back of a large alcove above a large ruin.
Breech Birth Panel
Here’s a view of the Breech Birth Panel located just a little up-canyon from Grand Gulch in Sheiks Canyon. There are many exceptional pictographs and a few ruins located in the same alcove as this panel, and it was a great place to spend some time exploring and photographing. The name of the panel derives from the large figure second from the right which some people believe represents a breech birth scene. This is an amazing site that I am looking forward to revisiting again in the future.
