Wander Minnesota: Celebrating The Solstice At The Jeffers Petroglyphs
If you haven't visited the Jeffers Petroglyphs near Comfrey, you really should. And this weekend, there are extra enticements to do so.
Petroglyphs are images that have been carved into rock, in this case Sioux quartzite.
On this expanse of stone, which is about 50 yards wide and 300 yards long, there are cravings made as many as 7,000 years ago and as recently as 250 years ago. There are more than 4,000 images at the Jeffers site, many of buffalo, turtles and thunderbirds. These are images that are important in Native American culture and represent centuries of Native American life and beliefs.
"What's the most important thing to take from this site? We were here for thousands of years, and the spirit that we believe in, the Great Spirit – our creator, left here his marks," Joe Williams, a Dakota elder, said of the site. "That's why, to us, it's a very sacred area. These markings that are left here are the survival of the people, the spirit of the people. The markings here are what they used to survive. This place is an encyclopedia of American Indian ways of being, put here by elders to teach us."
The best time to visit the petroglyphs is morning or evening, while there is daylight but it's not bright. Some of the images are difficult to see when the sun is brightest.
Now through Labor Day, there are guided tours of the petroglyphs Wednesdays through Mondays.
It's an impressive site, especially after a long-term restoration project was undertaken to remove lichen that was obscuring the carvings.
However, this weekend, there will be a special addition to the Jeffers Petroglyphs.
Recently remnants of an ancient astronomical observatory were found in southwestern Minnesota. Starting June 17, there will be a replica of this ancient observatory at Jeffers Petroglyphs. At sunset on Friday, participants will replicate the original observatory, then they will observe the summer solstice Saturday morning through the recreated observatory.
"This is an extraordinary discovery," Tom Sanders said.
Sanders is an archaeologist whose inclusion of American Indian elders in studying the petroglyphs at Jeffers has broadened the interpretation and sacred intent of the 5,000 known, ancient carvings at the site.
"The ancient observatory provides insight into how our ancestors thought; how sophisticated they were in their thinking. It really illustrates how intelligent and thoughtful the American Indian ancients were. Traditional academic thought is that only the ancient Greeks had a command of mathematics, geometry and astronomy. This configuration of rocks on the prairie required extraordinary knowledge of mathematics and geometry," Sanders said.
While the observatory's configuration of rocks records several major astronomical events, Sanders believes the observatory's focus is on the winter solstice.
"In a snow covered northern climate it would be important to have a way to determine when spring is coming," Sanders said. "The sunrise that lines up with the winter solstice rock formation tells you that it is time to do certain ceremonies, and when to begin preparations for the next season."
So, why build a replica?
"The original is in a place where there are rare prairie plants, endangered species that can't weather people," Sanders said. "The observatory itself could be damaged, and our elders don't want people on the site which is very sacred. It is fragile, rare and needs protection. It is a miracle it survived. Our preservation action is to leave it as it is."
The replica observatory will be built on restored prairie that is part of the Jeffers Petroglyphs site and will remain on the site. Future events at the solstice and equinox will be planned.
What else is happening in our state? Be sure to check out the 10 p.m. Sunday night WCCO newscasts, where you can learn more in the weekly segment, Finding Minnesota.
