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Black Hands Pictographs

I found these solitary black pictographs hidden under a pile of granite boulders out at the northern end of Joshua Tree National Park. The pictographs here are very faded. A casual passerby wouldn’t even notice them. You have to know what you are looking for and stop a minute to see them.

I used false colors and DStretch to bring out the details in them. One large digitate anthropomorphic figure dominates the panel with its well-defined hands and feet. Smaller figures are next to him, with a few undecipherable symbols there as well.

The Serrano or Chemehuevi tribes most likely created these pictographs. Why, of course, remains a mystery.

I'm not giving directions to this site. They are not geographically located in a particularly important spot; granite rock shelters are ubiquitous in Joshua Tree. No other rock art seems to be nearby. Perhaps some water pooled here after a significant rain? This place makes a good spot to rest.

Regardless of the reason this rock art is here, it is a sacred place. Please treat it with respect.