The Red Lady - Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National ParkCaliforniaWonderlandNative American Sites
Written By Elliot Koeppel

Exploratography Date: September 16 of 2013

I write myself notes to help with image sorting. Am I the only one?

Who is the mysterious “Red Lady” of Joshua Tree? Is she single? And where can I meet her? Well, she’s an anthropomorphic figure, likely of Chemehuevi origin. She’s made of red pigment and I found her in a rock shelter deep in the Wonderland of Rocks (image enhanced a bit to better show off the Lady, she’s a bit shy).

The shelter is formed like so many others in the Wanderland, by two huge boulders leaning against each other. The place is believed to be a fertility site. The Red Lady seems to be watching over a much older bedrock mortar near the center of the shelter. A dozen small cupules cover the rock surrounding the mortar, these were probably used for grinding seeds and nuts, or paint pigments.

The fascinating thing about this site and what leads archaeologists to believe that the Chemehuevi or Serrano may have used it to mark the first day of spring and the return of fertility to the earth is this: on the Spring Equinox, the midday sun casts an “arrow of light” that directly intersects the bedrock mortar. This suggests the “theme of Earth being impregnated by the Sun,” and the beginning of the season of fertility.

There are a few other pictographs in this shelter, but they are very faded and difficult to see. But it was nice to finally meet the Red Lady of Joshua Tree and I’ll definitely be back to explore the rocks surrounding her home. Maybe she has some relatives in that next bunch of rocks right over there. And if you’re lucky enough to find one of these fascinating Native American sites, please do not disturb anything you might see. Don’t touch petroglyphs or pictographs, they are already fading away and don’t need any help. If you spot any pottery fragments, please leave them where you find them, so the next visitor can have the same enjoyment of seeing them. The saying may be trite, but it’s true: Take only pictures, leave only footprints. Leave no trace.

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Did you know the same sculptor who made the Cabazon dinosaurs also worked at Knott's Berry Farm for many years and created most of the "Bench People" you see in Ghost Town. https://www.exploratography.com/blog-cal/the-bench-people-knotts-be
Santa Rex is back! Did you know the same sculptor who made the Cabazon dinosaurs also worked at Knott's Berry Farm for many years and created most of the "Bench People" you see in Ghost Town. https://www.exploratography.com/blog-cal/the-ben
Probably the two most famous "Bench People" at Knott's Berry Farm. They have a unique tie-in to those giant Dinosaurs out at Cabazon, along the 10 Freeway. Checkout this link to read about it: https://www.exploratography.com/blog-cal/cabazo
Tent or cabin site?
Elliot Koeppel
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