[Theoria]

A sun dagger intersects the focal point of this red glyph at solar noon on the winter solstice. Earlier on winter solstice day, the dagger forms at the lower left of the panel and proceeds proceeds across and upwards until reaching the center at noon, at an ancient solar interaction site on the Campbell ranch in northern Concho County.

On the same day that the sun rises exactly in the horizon notch, sunlight splits the round shield pictograph at mid-morning, at an ancient solar interaction site on the Campbell ranch in northern Concho County.

Paint Rock: Closer views of the wide variety of pictographs at the Campbell Ranch near Paint Rock.

Paint Rock: Cliffside pictographs appear on upper rocks of a long cliff on the ranch owned by Fred and Kay Campbell near the town of Paint Rock. HOUCHRON CAPTION (04/11/2004): Pictographs stand out on upper rocks of a long cliff on a ranch owned by Fred and Kay Campbell near the town of Paint Rock. Rock art at the Campbell Ranch and other West Texas places can be seen on public tours.

For six weeks before and after the winter solstice, the sun rises in the notch created by the cliff intersecting the far horizon at an ancient site marking solar interaction with the landscape in north Concho County. Counting the days between the fall and winter notch sunrises allowed native cultures to accurately determine the day of the winter solstice.

In the late afternoon of the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun line touches, simultaneously, the bottoms of both feet of a bird-like figure at the top right of the pictograph. This alignment only occurs on the equinoxes, verifying the accuracy of the solar-interaction pictographs on the Campbell ranch in northern Concho County.

Paint Rock: Fred Campbell climbs closer to point out specific pictographs at the Campbell Ranch near Paint Rock.

[Theoria]

picto...ping

[WayneS]

The ancient Egyptians visited Texas?

[headstamp 2]

That’s Rustoleum

[WayneS]

Perhaps the most striking of these dozen pictographs is a red circular design painted on the cliff about 20 feet above the ground. At exactly noon on the day of the winter solstice -- the shortest day of the year and the traditional beginning of the winter season -- there's a dagger of light hitting the exact center of the glyph as the sun shines through spaces between layers of broken limestone.

Seriously, though, have there been NO earthquakes, erosion or shifting of rock in the centuries since these things were painted?

And what brand of paint did they use? i need to paint my shed and I want the new paint job to last a LONG time.

[moovova]

Bryan Williams earliest tagging efforts...

[onedoug]

I’m surprised they haven’t been bleached out by the Sun.

More research needed.

[cripplecreek]

How did they determine the dates of those astronomical events?

I've never understood why this is supposed to be some kind of great mystery when the answer is simple.

They were observant people in a world without the distractions we have and they needed to know these things. It only took a few years after I move into where I live now to note where the sun sets and moon rises throughout the year.

If I stand facing south with my shoulder against the southeast corner of my porch on the shortest day of the year, the sun sets almost perfectly at the peak of the garage across the lake from me.

[Vendome]

Seems like it’s more of warning to competitors...

[Windflier]

Prehistoric Texas ping!

[crusty old prospector]

That looks like prime rattlesnake country.

[Born to Conserve]

Total random bull$h!t.

[OLDCU]

Isn’t this the Indiana Jones theory?

[bgill]

They didn’t have their noses planted in their iphones 24/7.

Been there, saw that. Stood out in the field and looked at the cliff for about 45 minutes with the owner. Kinda cool.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Is it just me, or does that first pictoglyph (the one that has the “dagger of light”) look like there’s a Spanish influence to the artwork? Looks quite European to me, like a rosette on a shield.