MESA PRIETA PETROGLYPH PROJECT

The Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project is a project to protect a place.

MPPP is exclusively organized for charitable and educational purposes, including the protection and preservation of archaeological features and the environment and cultural landscape of the Mesa Prieta region of the northern Rio Grande Valley through documentation, education, outreach and promotion of heritage stewardship.

In 1993 and 1994, a 188-acre private parcel owned by Katherine Wells was recorded by the New Mexico Archaeological Society’s Rock Art Field School led by Jay and Helen Crotty.  In 2007, the property was donated by Katherine Wells to The Archaeological Conservancy and became known as The Wells Petroglyph Preserve.  The Preserve represents the most concentrated area of petroglyphs on Mesa Prieta and is on the National Register of Historic Places and the State Register of Cultural Properties. Recognizing that the petroglyphs on Mesa Prieta offer an irreplaceable link to the past, an effort to organize a project to survey and record all the petroglyphs on the mesa was initiated in 1999.  The organizers of the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project realized that the preservation of that history was critical to the area’s quality of life.    

Since the project began in 1999, about 80,000 petroglyphs and cultural items have been documented.  We estimate there are well over 100,000 petroglyphs and archaeological features on the Mesa. MPPP values education as a vehicle to learn more about the Mesa and become better stewards of this special place. One of our foundational programs includes the annual Summer Youth Internship Program, where high school students learn hands on STEM skills and help document Mesa Prieta - Tsikwaye. We value our long standing collaborations with K-12 schools, tribes and local communities. Next year 2024 MPPP will be celebrating 25 years of the project. We invite you to become supporters and sponsors to celebrate the historical legacy of the project and the ongoing work ahead in education and preservation. 

 As a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, MPPP relies on income from grants, generous donors, income from tours, sales of merchandise and various creative fundraising efforts to support educational, recording and numerous other preservation activities.

Thank you for your continued support of the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project.

Kuundawhoha, Gracias, Thank you!