Ancient Sanskrit Pictograph near Sedona, Arizona?

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Ancient Sanskrit Pictograph near Sedona, Arizona?

Copyright 2-18-2002 by Jack Andrews vrartist

http://www.viewzone.com/ancientsanskrit.htm

Over the years I have made several trips from our home outside

Tucson to the Sedona, Arizona area with my wife and family. On one

of our recent trips, my wife and I decided to visit a cliff dwelling

site south of Sedona: Palatki ruin, noted for a large display of

ancient pictographs and some petroglpyhs. For the uninitiated

reader, pictographs are ancient symbols and images painted on the

rocks and petroglyphs are ancient symbols, and images scratched or

incised into the rock surface.

Palatki ruin and rock art site sits several miles away from a

highway that connects Sedona to Cottonwood. The drive from Sedona

takes you down the slope of the Verde Valley, and the turnoff to

Palatki guides you through open red dirt desert on an unpaved road

back to a group of spectacular Sedona red cliffs. The actual ruin

site is in a secluded cove hidden by trees, above a small riparian

area created by a ribbon-like waterfall that flows down seasonally

from the overhanging cliff above the ancient living quarters.

 

When we arrived at Palatki, we spent a few minutes appreciating the

incredible beauty of the site before making our way to the small

ranger station and visitor center, located in an early Western

farmer's house under the shade of some large trees. The whole area

has a park like quality, and is a very special place.

 

The U.S. Forest Service brochure on Palatki states:

 

Palatki and its sister site of Honanki at Loy Butte are the two

largest cliff dwellings in the Sedona Red Rocks area. Honanki

represents one of the largest population centers in the Verde

Valley; this period in Southern Sinagua prehistory is called

the "Honanki Phase" and is named after this impressive cliff

dwelling. Many of the cliff dwellings in the Red Rock/Secret

Mountain Wilderness area were occupied during the "Honanki Phase".

The actual occupation of Honanki was probably between AD 1130-1280,

based upon a tree-ring date of 1271, for a wooden window lintel in

the upper ruin, as well as pottery shards. Palatki habitation is

dated as AD 1100-1300ÖThe pictographs you see here have not yet been

scientifically studied. What little we know about them suggests they

were created over a long period of time and include several design

styles. The earliest may date to the Archaic period (3000-8000 years

ago), before the cliff dwellings were constructed.

We then started up the rocky trail leading to the picture writings,

which are under a protective overhanging cliff, mostly on vertical

walls in a series of shallow alcoves or grottoes. I expected to see

some very interesting and mystical pictographs, but I never expected

to see a particularly amazing written symbol that was actually

waiting, painted on the rock, sitting unrecognized over the

centuries, hidden in front of the eyes of countless visitors. As we

approached the first grotto, this ancient image was directly in

front of my eyes and stood out among the other paintings like a

flashing sign. As a lifelong artist I have spent many years using

artists tools and paintbrushes and I immediately recognized the red

markings applied to the rock here as brush strokes. They taper off

at the end of each stroke as clearly as brush strokes in

calligraphy.

I motioned to my wife Susan to come over and take a look. What does

that look like to you? I asked her. Wow! she exclaimed, It looks

Tibetan! This coincided exactly with my first impression. I think it

looks Chinese, or Tibetan too, I blurted out, excited at the

discovery. We immediately took several photos of the symbol for

future reference. I have included a few of the photos in this

article.

 

 

 

2002 Photo © by Jack Andrews

 

In my photographs of the symbol you can see two views of what appear

to be Chinese or Asian characters painted as pictographs. When I

first saw this image I was stunned by the incredible resemblance to

some Asian characters. In Ancient American vol 6, no. 41, I wrote an

analysis of a small book written in 1913, which translates ancient

Chinese text describing visits to Arizona and the Grand Canyon by

ancient Asian travelers, so it was quite exciting to discover this

symbol unexpectedly, here in Arizona, less than a day's drive from

the Grand Canyon.

 

In another excellent book, Pale Ink: Two Ancient Records of Chinese

Exploration in America, Henrietta Mertz had covered the subject of

two visits to Arizona, one in 500 A. C. E. by a Buddhist Priest Hwui

Shan and another account compiled by the great Yu for the Emperor

Shun around 2250 B.C.E.

 

The red pictographs-like the example I photographed at Palatki-are

estimated to be between 3,000 and 6,000 years old. As it was

explained to me by a ranger at the site, the pigment is thought to

be either iron oxide pigments mixed with blood, red ochre, or iron

oxide pigments alone. If we take the Henrietta Mertz date of the

2250 B.C.E. visit above and add it to 2002 (our present date) we

come up with a possible visit some 4,252 years ago to Arizona and

maybe here at Palatki by ancient Asian travelers!

 

We then look at the 3,000 to 6,000 year old age attributed to the

Palatki pictograph and it becomes evident that the ancient symbol

painted on the rock, so long ago, can take on a whole new meaning.

As far as I know, this is the first time anyone has suggested a

possible Asian or Sanskrit origin of this particular pictograph at

Palatki. Was there an ancient Asian visitor or group of visitors to

Arizona, who may have painted this very symbol on the rock at

Palatki?

 

I have the photograph of this symbol (as in this article) posted on

my web site (Lost Civilizations and Hidden Mysteries) with a brief

description of why I think this symbol might be Chinese in origin.

 

Gene Matlock who has written books and articles on the possibility

of an ancient Indian presence in the Americas, visited my web site

and was amazed at the resemblance of the pictograph to characters in

ancient Indian Sanskrit literature. He too saw these red markings as

eastern symbols. And in correspondence, Gene points to a possible

Sanskrit origin of this pictograph.

 

Although its exact birth date is controversial, many scholars agree

that Sanskrit may be one of the oldest languages and systems of

writing on earth. Even if we consider the later date attributed to

classical Sanskrit (1000 B.C.E.) it becomes apparent that the dating

of Sanskrit or its Indo-Aryan predecessor language could possibly

coincide with the appearance of the Sanskrit look-alike pictograph

at Palatki. If Sanskrit is actually much older, then the written

language may have been established in the world before the

appearance of the pictograph at Palatki. Either way, a traveler from

the Indian subcontinent who may have made his/her way to Arizona and

Palatki, could have had an awareness or knowledge of Sanskrit or pre-

Sanskrit symbols. Native peoples who established contact with such

visitors may then have acquired knowledge of-or at least familiarity

with-Sanskrit spiritual symbols such as this, the AUM represented at

Palatki. Perhaps they would have included these symbols in

pictographs at a spiritually important site such as Palatki as they

would other powerful symbols. Or perhaps this symbol was contributed

by the ancient visitors themselves.

 

I have decided to include some of the most relevant email

correspondences, as they occurred, between Gene Matlock, Jayendra

Upadhye and myself, since they relate the interesting speculation on

this symbol in the manner it unfolded to us:

 

 

Sunday, January 13, 2002

from: Gene Matlock

Jack,

when I saw that inscription, supposedly written in Chinese, I knew

for sure that it was Sanskrit, and as the writer says, it is the

Sanskrit "Om" turned upside down. To make sure, I sent the picture

to a Hindu friend in Singapore. Jayendra Upadhye person who speaks a

close Sanskrit derivative: Aprabraunsha.

 

Aprabraunsha is a group of languages deriving directly from Sanskrit

and that, combining his facility with Aprabraunsha (Prakrit, and

others), with what he does know of Sanskrit, gives him an excellent

intuitive background.

 

Gene

 

 

 

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Sunday, January 13, 2002

from: Jayendra Upadhye

 

The letter if at all sanskrit is actually the sanskrit "AUM"

pronounced as "Om". But the tripple syllable has been turned

anticlockwise by 90 degrees.

 

Sanskrit om or aum symbol in your jpg, [The photo in this article]

the "half moon and dot in the top part of the "om" have become

straight lines. but the hooked features are still visible, though

turned 90 deg clockwise.

 

 

 

Pictograph cropped photo turned counter clockwise 90 degrees.

 

Photo © 2002 by Jack Andrews

 

Do the people that wrote this use words like "OM", "AM""AMENAMIN"

etc?

 

The Arabic "AMIN is same as the latin "Amen" is the same as the

indian root sanskrit word "Om" which was considered as the "word of

god" the shabda-brahma" or "all encompassing word as it represented

the hindu holy trinity A for brahma the creator, U for vishnu the

preserver and M for Mahesh the destroyer. Pronounced together, Aum

sounds like Om but "is different a bit in that the "m" is to be

pronounced nasally without closing the lips as one would so when

pronouncing

 

- Jayen.

 

 

 

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Tuesday, January 15, 2002

from: Gene Matlock

 

Jack,

by now quite a few Hindus have seen the picture of the strange

painting at Palatki I sent them. They are really excited, and with

good reason. First, the word "Palatki," (assuming that the

Amerindians named it), in itself explains in Sanskrit the reason for

the painting being there: Palayat (protection (divine) + G (mystical

syllable, utterance, etc.). I sent the picture to three learned men.

By now, they've sent it to many others.

 

There is only one reason for the reason why this syllable "OM" is

not written in the correct position. It was probably written on an

amulet or talisman. Since not one Hindu in a thousand could read or

write in those days, an illiterate person put it there, knowing only

that it meant "Om."

 

- Gene

 

 

 

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Thursday, January 17, 2002

from: Jayendra Upadhye

 

Gene,

I had reached the same conclusion that the person using the "om" was

either illiterate or had been a descendant of a person introduced to

sanskrit long before he was born. There is a possibility that

the "om" was painted by a man who thought of it as a pictogram, and

thus thought nothing of turning it around by 90 deg in any

direction. secondly if om is painted on a hide amulet and worn on

the biceps (as was practice in india ..not regarding om but of tying

amulets on the biceps),,then the reader would see the on turned

sideways, and may be over time associate a sideways written

trisyllable as the "real" om. These were my thoughts after seeing

the painting.

 

-Jayen

 

 

 

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Gene also says that dictionary entries in Cologne Sanskrit Lexicon,

show that name Palat-ki really derives from the Sanskrit Palayat-gi.

Note that the last syllable can be either "gi" or "gir." Even if the

last syllable were "Ki," you would still be on solid ground because

the homes of the ancient North India Hopis, those of Khiva, were

called "KI-VA" : Ant Hill Residence. So, it is possible that a great

Kiva was once located at Palatki.

 

The Palatki ruin, and the Sedona region, along with the Verde Valley

have a long history and prehistory of human habitation. I have

visited other significant ancient sites in the area, such as

Montezuma Well and its associated cliff dwelling. Many of these

ruins are along creeks, rivers, and watercourses and there are

indications that ancient travelers could have migrated along such

watercourses, which could have supplied an abundance of wild game

and in many cases cultivated foods. Was there an even more ancient

group of travelers from the Indian subcontinent who sailed across

the oceans and managed to make their way to the interior of the

North American continent along such watercourses and on to Arizona,

leaving a painted Sanskrit symbol on the red rock cliff face of

Palatki?

 

The striking nature of this pictograph at Palatki demands further

investigation and study. This spring Gene Matlock, my wife, Susan

Anway and I will return to the Palatki site and search for more

evidence of possible Sanskrit writings. There are many questions to

ask in relation to such a strange symbol appearing at Palatki. If

the symbol was written by someone who had knowledge of Sanskrit, how

did this knowledge make its way to Arizona, or was the individual

who painted this symbol actually from India? Do the First Peoples of

the area have stories of such a visitor or visitors? Was the symbol

painted by a Native American of the period who had contact with

Indian influences, and if so where and how did such contact occur?

 

What was the writer of the symbol at Palatki trying to communicate?

Parts of the symbol resemble the sacred Om symbol. Was this writer

designating Palatki as a spiritual center as Gene Matlock suggests

it was (great kiva) ? Palatki certainly is a beautiful place that

puts one in a meditative mood. Om or Aum is a symbol of the essence

of Hinduism. It can mean: Oneness with the Supreme, and a merging of

the physical being with the spiritual. There is a

spiritual "doorway" in the rock wall near the end of the trail to

the picture writings at Palatki, a large vertical rectangular slab

of rock is slightly separated from the cliff. Certain Native

American elders believe this dark shadowy separated space defines a

door where the spirits of the mountain journey between their world

and ours. This certainly hints at the spiritual importance of the

site and refers back to the meaning of the Om symbol, painted on the

same rock face as that doorway between the physical and the

spiritual, just a short distance away.

 

Palatki has many strange mystical symbols painted on the rocks over

the centuries by visitors and inhabitants of the area. Certain

Native American tribes still use the location for spiritual

ceremonies. Did an ancient travelers from India visit Palatki and

meet with native inhabitants, experiencing the sacred nature of this

special location, becoming so enthralled that they left this potent

and powerful eastern spiritual symbol in red iron oxide pigment as a

remembrance to the future, or a gift of spiritual awareness to the

site in pictographic form?

 

The possible importance of this discovery is best stated by Gene

Matlock: Jack, Now, this is the first time in history, that I know

of, that Sanskrit (pictographs) have been found in the Americas.

Possibly the person who wrote this was either neither illiterate or

had accustomed himself to writing Sanskrit in the wrong direction.

You really have something meaningful here. I personally think that

this "Om" syllable is a big discovery, every bit as big as the

Decalogue Stone in Los Lunas, New Mexico

 

Notes:

>From the U.S. Forest Service handout for the Palatki/Honanki sites,

south of Sedona, Arizona

 

In 1980, after successfully completing the genealogy of his Matlock

family line, Gene D. Matlock, then a high school teacher in Azusa,

Ca, became ambitious. He said to himself, "If I can find my

Matlocks, I can find anything and anybody!" This hyper-confident

attitude engendered the following books: Jesus and Moses Are Buried

in India, Birthplace of Abraham and the Hebrews; Yishvara 2000 - The

Hindu Ancestor of Judaism Speaks to This Millennium; India Once

Ruled the Americas; The Last Atlantis Book Youíll Ever Have to Read;

>From Khyber (Kheever) Pass to Gran Quivira (Kheevira), NM and

Baboquivari, AZ - When India Ruled the World. He is now preparing a

serialized online book for the Hindu website, www.vandemataram.com,

entitled India Once Ruled the World. Besides these books, he has

written articles dealing with India as progenitor of all nations for

Viewzone Magazine (www.viewzone.com), Vandemataram, and others.

Gene, who has studied Hindu mythology since childhood, received his

undergraduate degree from Mexico City College (now University of the

Americas), in 1951. Because of his knowledge of Hindu mythology and

traditions, he smelled a strong odor of "curry 'n rice" in Mexico,

from the moment he first crossed the border in 1948. - by Gene

Matlock

 

Jayendra Upadhye clarifies his use of the word hide as follows:

There is a custom in India of wearing amulets on the neck, biceps

etc, but not as painted hides, but on paper in enclosed in small

metal capsules. Native amerindians might have used hide instead as

paper was not in plentiful supply as far as I know, but hide was.

 

The name Palatki is attributed to archaeologist Jesse Walter Fewkes,

who named the site in 1895. The name is Hopi, which Fewkes

interpreted as meaning Red House. The Fewkes translation of Palatki

may be incorrect.

 

Possible Ancient Chinese or Tibetan Pictograph in Arizona

by Jack Andrews July 10, 2001

Jack Andrews copyright 2001 may be only used in it's entirety with

this notice and the notice "First published at" (below) clearly

visible and this entire article must be unaltered unless specific

written permission is granted by me. Permission is granted to link

to this article from another web site - Jack Andrews

 

 

First published at

"Lost Civilizations and Hidden Mysteries"

 

Exploration and Imagination with Jack Andrews and Susan Anway

 

 

Below you can see two views of what appear to be Chinese or Tibetan

(see Learn Tibetan web site) charactor(s). When I first saw this

image on the rock at Palatki Ruins/Rock Art site, south of Sedona,

Arizona I was, quite frankly stunned, by the incredible resemblence

to Chinese charactors. As you may know, I have written an analysis

on this web site of a small book written in the early 1900s about

speculated visits to Arizona and the Grand Canyon by ancient

Chinese. Another excellent book Pale Ink, Two Ancient Records of

Chinese Exploration in America, by Henrietta Mertz covers the

subject of two Chinese visits to Arizona, one in 500 A. D. by a

Buddhist Priest "Hwui Shan" and another account compiled by the

great Yu for the emperor Shun around 2250 B.C.

 

The red pictograph below is estimated to be between 3,000 and 6,000

years old. The pigment (explained to me by a ranger at the site) is

thought to be either iron oxide pigments mixed with blood or iron

oxide pigments alone and has it been carbon dated to the year dates

above.

 

If we take the Henrietta Mertz date of the 2250 B.C. visit above (at

least that is when the account of the visit was documented, the

visit itself may have occured before that date) and add it to 2001

A.D. (our current date) we come up with a visit some 4,250 years ago

to Arizona (Mertz) by ancient Chinese.

 

We then look at the 3,000 - 6,000 year old date.. "The abstract

symbols, as well as some of the more abstract human figures done in

red, are believed to mainly be the work of the Archaic cultures,

from 3000-6000 years ago.." - See "About Palatki" ... and it becomes

evident that the symbol below takes on the possibility of a whole

new meaning.

 

 

 

http://www.gci-net.com/users/v/vrartist/chinesepictograph.html

 

Original photo by Jack Andrews copyright 2001 may be only used in

it's entirety with this notice and the notice "First published at"

(above) clearly visible and this entire article must be unaltered

unless specific written permission is granted by me. Permission is

granted to link to this article from another web site - Jack Andrews