NGS/Waitt grantee Silvina Vigliani explores the canyons of the
Sierra Prieta in the Mexican portion of the Sonoran Desert. Her
quest: To locate and determine the significance of rock
paintings made by native peoples centuries ago. Within these
emblematic—and sometimes enigmatic—figures, Vigliani searches
for clues to traditional beliefs and practices before the
arrival in the region of the first Europeans, and to how these
evolved after European contact. Indigenous people found refuge
from Spanish soliders in the maze of the Sonoran’s stony
canyons. Riders on horseback and crosses on canyon walls reflect
a time of “conflict and contact,” says Vigliani. More deeply
discolored artwork includes abstract images, animals, and
mythical figures, an artistic expression of more ancient times.
Many of the paintings are located near tinajas—secondary canyons
and other deep depressions in the rock where rainwater collects.
Because paintings appear so frequently near these precious,
remote, and often nearly inaccessible s