24 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Polish archaeologists discovered new petroglyphs dating back to the 3rd century in Colorado

Archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University, southern Poland, have made a significant discovery of ancient indigenous paintings and carvings in the US state of Colorado-Utah border.

This Polish team has been exploring the area for over a decade, unraveling the mysteries of the 3000-year-old Pueblo culture.

Leading the research since 2011, Radosław Palonka, a professor at the Jagiellonian University and a specialist in New World archeology, says the findings dramatically alter the understanding of settlement in the area. His team is the only Polish and one of the few European archaeological groups to work in the region.

The research is carried out at the Castle Rock Pueblo settlement complex, located on the picturesque Mesa Verde plateau on the border between Colorado and Utah. These areas are popular not only with archaeologists but also with tourists, because of the famous Pre-Columbian settlements built in rock niches or carved into canyon walls as well as numerous works of rock art created by members of the ancient Pueblo culture, which dates back to nearly 3 thousand years ago and is still present almost exactly in the same area.

Photo: Jagiellonian University in Kraków

“The agricultural Pueblo communities developed one of the most advanced Pre-Columbian cultures in North America. They perfected the craft of building multistorey stone houses, resembling medieval town houses or even later blocks of flats. The Pueblo people were also famous for their rock art, intricately ornamented jewellery, and ceramics bearing different motifs painted with a black pigment on white background’,”  Prof Palonka said.

The discoveries of his team include previously unknown huge galleries and petroglyphs dated to various historical periods. The oldest of them, showing warriors and shamans, are estimated to date back to as early as the 3rd century AD, the period known as the Basketmaker Era. They were engaged in farming and produced characteristic baskets and mats. Most petroglyphs come from the 12th and 13th century.

These carvings vary in form, featuring complex geometric figures and spirals. The rock art frequently portrays shamans, warriors, bison, deer, and bighorn sheep, with some depicting hunting scenes.

Photo: Jagiellonian University in Kraków

In the 15th-17th century, when the area was inhabited by the Ute tribe, the rock panels started to feature large narrative hunting scenes showing bison, mountain sheep and deer hunts. In later centuries they also depicted horses, which reflected the events of the Spanish conquest, before which these animals were unknown to Native North Americans (they disappeared from this continent during the last ice age).

The newest pieces of rock art include the 1936 signature of Ira Cuthair, a famous cowboy, renowned not only in Utah or Colorado, but also in Arizona and New Mexico.

The discoveries were made in the higher, less accessible parts of three canyons: Sand Canyon, Graveyard Canyon, and Rock Creek Canyon, following hints from local residents.

Photo: Jagiellonian University in Kraków

Prof. Palonka’s research has resulted in the discovery of previously unknown petroglyphs 800 meters (2625 feet) above the cliff settlements, with spirals up to one meter in diameter. These petroglyphs, which were used for astronomical observations and calendar determinations in the 13th century, reshaped the understanding of population size and religious practices.

The Polish team anticipates further discoveries and awaits a detailed 3D map of the canyons, prepared by University of Houston researchers who conducted both LIDAR and optical surveys by flying 450 meters above the canyons.

Photo: Jagiellonian University in Kraków

The Polish archaeologists also work closely with local Native American groups such as the Hopi and Ute tribes, helping them understand the iconography and art of the indigenous people.

Next year, the team plans to record video interviews with tribal elders for a permanent multimedia exhibit at the Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum, including the Kraków archaeologists’ findings.

Cover Photo: Jagiellonian University in Kraków

Jagiellonian University

Related Articles

Rare Five Bronze Age Axes found in the Forests of Poland

5 December 2023

5 December 2023

Archaeologists in Poland have discovered five Bronze Age axes in Starogard Forest District, located in Kociewie. A metal detectorist named...

Mystery of Knaresborough Roman hoard revealed by Newcastle experts

13 January 2024

13 January 2024

Archaeologists at Newcastle University have investigated one of the most unusual late-Roman metalware ever discovered in the British Isles. Although...

Archaeologists find a 5,000-year-old piece of wood in Orkney, which they describe as “astonishing”

10 August 2021

10 August 2021

Archaeologists continue to make surprising discoveries in Orkney. Although organic materials are quite difficult to find, archaeologists have found a...

7,000-Year-Old Temple at Risk: Urgent Calls to Save Santa Verna Archaeological Site in Gozo

17 July 2025

17 July 2025

Archaeologists and heritage conservationists are sounding the alarm over continued development near the Santa Verna archaeological site, a prehistoric temple...

Homo Bodoensis may be the ancestor of modern humans

28 October 2021

28 October 2021

Although modern humans are the only surviving human lineages, their kinship with other human species that roamed the world is...

11,000-Year-Old LSU Campus Mounds Are Oldest Known Human-Made Structures In North America

23 August 2022

23 August 2022

According to new research published in the American Journal of Science, two six-meter (20-foot) high mounds on the campus of...

The migration movement that started from Siberia 30,000 years ago may have shaped Göbeklitepe

24 June 2022

24 June 2022

Professor Semih Güneri, retired faculty member from Dokuz Eylul University (DEU) Caucasus Central Asia Archeology Research Center, stated that they...

Artifacts found in Japan could be prototypes of ninja weapons

14 January 2022

14 January 2022

Artifacts discovered in the ruins of structures associated with warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s 1590 Siege of Odawara may be prototypes of...

Contemporaneous with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia the Indus Valley Civilization city of ‘Mohenjo Daro’: Skilled urban planners with a reverence for the control of water

10 September 2022

10 September 2022

The Indus River Valley (or Harappan) civilization (3300-1300 BCE) lasted 2,000 years and spanned northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest...

Traces of 9300-year-old settlement unearthed near Volcanic Cappadocia in central Turkey

28 August 2022

28 August 2022

During the most recent excavations at Sırçalıtepe Mound (Sırçalıtepe Höyük) in Türkiye’s central Niğde province, archaeologists discovered traces of a...

Sumatran fishing crews may have found the legendary Gold Island in the Mud of the Indonesian River

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

The site of the Srivijaya kingdom, known in ancient times as the Island of Gold, may have been found by...

Archaeologists unearth first archaeological evidence about Anatolia’s mysterious Kaska community, sworn enemies of the Hittites

16 January 2025

16 January 2025

In the course of the excavations conducted by Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University‘s Department of Archaeology, artifacts from the Late Bronze...

1900-year-old Child’s Nightgown with intriguing knots found in the Cave of Letters in the Judean Desert

5 October 2023

5 October 2023

The Cave of Letters in Israel is one such site that has yielded a large number of papyrus letters and...

An inscription with the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of the Phrygians

8 August 2022

8 August 2022

An inscription bearing the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of...

A new study in Portugal suggests that mummification in Europe may be older than previously thought

3 March 2022

3 March 2022

New research on the hunter-gatherer burial sites in the Sado Valley in Portugal, dating to 8,000 years ago, suggests that...