Carbon dating on some of these paintings indicate that they were created by indigenous civilizations in the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico up to 7,000 years ago.
The Baja murals represent one of the largest concentrations of rock art in the Americas. Some are the oldest and largest panels of rock art in the world.
UNESCO has declared the caves World Heritage Sites.
Around Loreto dozens of archaeological sites can be visited. Because of the UNESCO designation only trained guides in Baja Mexico are allowed to take visitors inside the caves.
We drove about an hour north of Loreto on the highway, then another 6km on a dirt road and then hiked 4 km's up a dry river bed canyon and cattle trails into the desert mountains.
Thanks to the dry air in Loreto the paintings are still visible today.
Something new I learned while researching this is that ancient rock carvings are called "petroglyphs" and cave paintings are called "pictographs".
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(This is just some useful trivia to throw out at your next social gathering.)
Through scientific tests archaeologists have identified various plant and mineral components as well as the blood of animals used to paint the images.
Through these pictographs and petroglyphs we have glimpses into the lives of the early nomadic pre-Hispanic people.
The areas chosen were for the nomads' survival because the canyons would have supplied water and food for several days.
You can see here where water has passed and carved into the stone.
During massive rains these dry river beds could become dangerous with flash floods gushing down the canyons.
I think it is safe to say that the early nomads would not have been taking selfies after they had painted them, despite John's best efforts to pretend he is the ancient artist.
If you are interested in reading more:
https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/baja/great_mural_styles/index.php
https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/baja/index.php
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