Desert Rock Art

When we look out from the comfort of our modern hotel room, to the desert extending to the north, we can appreciate the minimalist beauty of this land without effort, but we might no think a lot about all what lies right behind the first hill, for it seems it is not much. Well, Baja and its desert hide in some of its rocks and caves valuable evidence of a long history of settlement and survival.

Baja Rock Art was carried out 8000 years ago at least, 1000 years before than the oldest in the US, and it can be classed among the largest world wide for its size. They constitute a most important cultural heritage because they show human presence in Baja long before we thought, which makes us wonder who were they? and how and when did the artists got to the central part of the peninsula?

We know few things. Only 20 years ago they started to do research and study them systematically, although there are references about them dating back from the 18th century. Most of them represent anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures in red, black, white and yellow colors. They can be found in a number of caves and rocks in sites by the mountains of San Francisco, Guadalupe, San Juan and San Borja. They have a style of their own, very different to those in Europe and even the ones a little bit north in the US.

We´re probably talking about one of the oldest peoples in the whole continent and the origin of later tribes such as the Pericues, Cochimies and Guaycuras. We know they were seminomadic hunters, fishermen and collectors, and that their population was considerable. They dominated the bow and arrow, and the boomerang. The size and the elaborated execution reveals a social complexity level rare in such an isolated and rough area.

You can find guides and transportation to see the rock art departing from Los Cabos, but there are not many organized tours available. We suggest you to rent a car and drive to the sites. The closest to Los Cabos are in Todos Santos and La Paz premises.