Natural Bridges National Monument

On the underside of the third largest natural bridge in the world (Kachina Bridge), several petroglyphs (rock carvings) and pictographs (rock paintings) exist, which rock-art experts believe to be anywhere from 500 to 1,500 years old. The carvings are thought to be the work of the Anasazi Indians who once lived in that area of southeastern Utah. A mountain goat, a human figurine, multiple handprints, and many other carvings and drawings are seen easily underneath the bridge on both sides of the span. The most fascinating piece of rock art at Kachina Bridge, however, is the petroglyph that looks exactly like a dinosaur. This figure, which is carved into the rock, has a long, thick tail, a long neck, a wide midsection, and a small head. Any unbiased visitor to Kachina Bridge would have to admit that this particular petroglyph looks like a dinosaur—specifically an Apatosaurus(more popularly known as Brontosaurus).

After examining this petroglyph firsthand and taking manypictures of it, as well as the surrounding rock art, we proceeded to the Natural Bridges National Monument visitor's center where we spoke with one of the staff members at the front desk. Once informing her that we had just hiked down to the base of Kachina Bridge, she immediately asked if we saw the petroglyphthat resembles a dinosaur. We said that we had, and then asked her how "they" explain such an anomaly? (If, according to evolutionary scientists, hu-mans never lived with dinosaurs,how did the Anasazis, who lived in Southeastern Utah from A.D. 500 to 1450, carve such an accurate picture of an Apatosaurusonto the side of a rock wall?) Her response: "They don't really want to explain it." After politely pressing the woman for more information, she indicated that the dinosaur petroglyph was carved too early to be a horse, because the Anas-azis did not have horses. She also commented that some people actually think it really is a picture of a dinosaur, but "they are crazy." She further explainedthat there are petroglyphs that resemble mammoths around this area, so the petroglyph at Kachina Bridge may be just "some monster" that the Anas-azis carved onto rock.

The only other animal that this staff member at Natural Bridges National Monument seemed to think that the petroglyph in question could have been was a horse. But, according to her own testimony, the Anasazi Indians were a horseless people. (Spanish settlers supposedly did not introduce horses to America until the late sixteenth century.) Thus, she concluded it is some kind of monster. This "monster," however, looks exactlylike what scientists call Apatosaurus(a large sauropod dinosaur). It is no wonder that this woman earlier admitted that scientists "don't really want to explain" this petroglyph. They do not want to talk about it, because they cannot logically explain it away.

No one with whom we spoke about the petroglyph, nor any reputable writer whose works that we have checked on the matter, has challenged the genuineness and accuracy of the petroglyph. In fact, two well-known rock-art experts have written about this particular petroglyph, and neither has suggested that it is a modern-day fake. One of these rock-art experts is a man named Francis Barnes—an evolutionist widely known for his knowledge on rock art of the Ameri-can Southwest. He stated: "There is a petroglyph in Natural Bridges National Mon-ument that bears a startling resemblance to a dinosaur, specifically a Brontosaurus, with long tail and neck, small head and all." The other evolutionary rock-art specialist, Dennis Slifer, made this statement about the same petroglyph: "One of the most curious designs is a petroglyph that resembles a dinosaur."

Truly, the dinosaur petroglyph at Natural Bridges Na-tional Monument shows every sign of being an actual drawing of a real dinosaur by a people who lived in that area of Utah hundreds, or perhaps even 1,000 years, before the first dinosaur fossil was found in modern times. The only logical way to explain this drawing is to admit that people have seen dinosaurs in the past.

---

Copyright © 2014 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

*Please keep in mind that Discovery articles are written for 3rd-6th graders.

This document may be copied, on the condition that it will not be republished in print unless otherwise stated below, and will not be used for any commercial purpose, as long as the following stipulations are observed: (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the original publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site URL must be noted; (3) any references, footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must be included with any written reproduction of the article; (4) textual alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden; (5) Some illustrations (e.g., photographs, charts, graphics, etc.) are not the intellectual property of Apologetics Press and as such cannot be reproduced from our site without consent from the person or organization that maintains those intellectual rights; (6) serialization of written material (e.g., running an article in several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of the material is made available, without editing, in a reasonable length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may not be offered for sale or included in items offered for sale; and (8) articles may be reproduced in electronic form for posting on Web sites pending they are not edited or altered from their original written content and that credit is given to Apologetics Press, including the web location from which the articles were taken. Further, documents may not be copied without source statements (title, author, journal title), and the address of the publisher and owner of rights, as listed below.

For catalog, samples, or further information, contact:

Apologetics Press
230 Landmark Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117
U.S.A.
Phone (334) 272-8558

http://www.apologeticspress.org