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Clay: Explorer not Ariz. graffiti artist by Clay Thompson - Nov. 10, 2012 12:00 AM Republic columnist Today's question: I am relatively new to the Valley. While hiking in South Mountain Park, I came across a rock behind an old iron cage that was inscribed "Marcos de Niza 1536." I think Marcos de Niza was an early Spanish explorer. Did he really sign this rock? I thought the rock is pretty cool, especially if it is really his writing. First of all, welcome to the Valley. Don't be alarmed. Things will work out OK. Probably. Anyway, there is indeed such a rock in the park's Pima Canyon. Supposedly the full inscription reads, or once read, "'Fr. Marcos de Niza corona todo el nuebo Mexico a su costa 1539." That means, "Let's enslave the Indians and go crazy looking for gold and silver." Not really. It translates as "Friar Marcos de Niza crowned all of New Mexico at his labor, 1539." Or something like that. You're right -- if it really were de Niza's handiwork, that would be pretty cool. However, whether he was on a sacred, soul-saving mission or just out walking around, it is highly unlikely he took time out to leave any graffiti. Did you know that one of the most common strategies that Native Americans, especially in the Southwest, used to deal with European explorers looking for mineral wealth was to tell them they didn't have any themselves, but the next tribe down the road was loaded? The natives thought the explorers were nuts, so they'd tell them anything to get them to go away. You can hardly blame them. But the Europeans came back later and settled their hash. But I digress. South Mountain and many other areas around the Valley were Native American trade routes that covered lot of a territory. However, it is not certain that de Niza, a French-born Franciscan, ever came this far north. A few years ago, the PBS show "History Detectives" had Arizona State University professors Ronald Dorn [Is that David Dorn's creepy brother???] and Eduardo Pagan (a co-host of the show) study this matter. They had some tests run and found, based on the lead deposits from automobile fumes, that the inscription probably was chipped into the rock sometime in the 1920s, maybe a bit sooner, but definitely after cars came along. Why anybody would bother to do such a thing is beyond me, but at least it gave people something to wonder about for many years. Reach Thompson at clay.thompson@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8612. |