THE EXPERIENCE
A Hunt Steeped in Ancient History: The Lewis Canyon Petroglyphs
When you hunt the rugged Pecos River canyons with Texican Outdoors, you aren’t just exploring prime free-range Aoudad habitat—you are walking the same ground as the ancient cultures who tracked this land thousands of years ago.
Our ranch is home to the world-renowned Lewis Canyon Petroglyphs (site designation 41VV236). This extraordinary archaeological treasure features an exposed limestone bedrock panel roughly the size of a football field, densely carved with thousands of prehistoric designs.
As a guest of Texican Outdoors, your adventure goes beyond the pursuit of trophy-class rams. Between stalks, you have the exclusive opportunity to stand over this massive prehistoric canvas—a profound reminder of the deep, enduring connection between hunters and these wild West Texas canyons.
What this experience means to your guide, not only a hunting adventure but an experience of a true authentic West Texas Ranch - from lodging and fire cooked meals, to exploring the river, caves, and canyons throughout your stay.
Read more about a true hunting experience with Bryan Fischer through the eye of a client - Jed Mazour.
LEWIS CANYON PETROGLYPHS
Lewis Canyon is the largest petroglyph site in Texas. Native American artists carved these abstract designs into the bedrock, where they are visible to the spirits in the sky. Two different styles of glyphs were produced at two different times in prehistory. The oldest were buried under soils redeposited from the hillsides until 1990, when excavation uncovered them for the first time since European contact.
The dominant motifs are nested curvilinear lines, human stick figures, and the atlatl, or spear thrower, which was in use in this region up until about 1,400 years ago. One cluster appears to tell a story or legend. A pair of bear tracks flanking a long serrated line are surrounded by a cloud of atlatls.
Lewis Canyon Preservation
The disproportionate emphasis on the atlatl weights suggests that they had a symbolic function as well as contributing to the power of the spear thrower. Higher on the landscape, hundreds of discrete geometric designs were cut into the rock long after the makers of the Serpentine style departed. Most of these glyphs are abstract, with only a few representations of human figures and projectile points.
The most popular motif consists of various combinations of straight lines and circles. One cluster of these designs has been interpreted as a star map. The projectile points suggest that this style dates between 600 C.E. and historic times, when the bow and arrow was the favored weapon.