Why nobody talks about the hidden stone markings at Mesa Verde?

I took a trip out to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado last spring and something caught my eye that the guidebooks totally skip. Right near the Cliff Palace overlook, I noticed these small carved lines on a boulder that looked way too organized to be natural weathering. I asked a ranger about it and he said they're thought to be ancient solar markers the Pueblo people used to track seasons. Nobody mentions them in the brochures or on the big info signs. I spent 20 minutes just staring at them, trying to figure out the pattern. It made me wonder how much other stuff we walk right past at famous sites that never gets highlighted. Has anyone else spotted something like this at a famous ruin?

2 comments

2 Comments

emerymoore14d ago

Damn, that is actually really interesting. Did the ranger give you any clue about what time of year the markers line up with, or is that stuff just straight up lost to time now? I bet there's tons of little details at places like that which the official tours just skate right past because they want to keep things moving. Always figured the real secrets are the things you have to stop and stare at for a while to notice.

the_jake14d ago

Easy there, @emerymoore. I mean, are we sure this isn't just some local trying to sell a "special tour" or a bored ranger messing with people? Stuff like this gets blown out of proportion all the time (remember that "haunted" hotel in New Mexico that was just bad plumbing?). I'd need to see the actual data or a photo of the sun hitting the marker before I buy into it being some ancient secret. Half the time, these "hidden alignments" turn out to be a coincidence with a fence post or a later addition to the site.