Sat, Dec 31, 2005 (7:44 a.m.)

Ancient people traveling across Southern Nevada left behind their marks.

For those who wish to visit these treasures in the Las Vegas Valley's back yard, the next tour is scheduled for Jan. 14, led by the executive director of the Nevada Rock Art Foundation.

Tours of the cultural and archaeological treasures are scheduled monthly through May at Valley of Fire State Park, about 35 miles northeast of Las Vegas off Interstate 15.

Valley of Fire features more than 100 panels of ancient petroglyphs, Alanah Woody, tour leader, said.

"These particular images are probably between 800 and 2,000 years old, but some could be much older," Woody said.

Woody, along with local community leaders and archaeologists, founded the Nevada Rock Art Foundation in 2001 to preserve, protect and document the more than 1,000 petroglyph sites in Nevada. The foundation also aims to educate the public.

Despite rock art left in spectacular landscapes, many sites, some as old as 10,000 years, are under threat from building development, vandalism and natural degradation, Woody said.

The foundation hopes that tours of the sites will instill a sense of respect and appreciation for the cultural and artistic merits of these ancient engravings and their creators, Woody said.

Reservations are required for all tours. Southern Nevada tours are held the second Saturday of winter and spring months.

To register for the tour, call (702) 804-6723.

To learn more about the Nevada Rock Art Foundation, call (775) 323-NRAF (6723) or visit www.nevadarockart.org.

Mary Manning can be reached at 259-4065 or at manning@lasvegassun.com.

archive