Saving Santa Claus: Ancient Petroglyph May be Key to Christmas Legend

[emad]

Published: Wed, 26 Mar 2008
Edited by Carly Zander



PRICE, Utah, March 26 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- This year, Santa can't wait for Christmas. A small, but dedicated group of rock art preservationists in Utah - the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, and their allies - are fighting to preserve what may be the original Santa Claus.

Nine Mile Canyon: Located high on the side of a sheer cliff in a rugged place in central Utah, is an ancient petroglyph that dates back over 1,000 years; it has an uncanny resemblance to the modern day Santa, an elf, and his nine reindeer.

A petroglyph is a work of prehistoric Indian rock art that is chiseled or "pecked" into rock, usually into a dark patina surface; the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition and their preservationist friends are seeking to save this ancient petroglyph from destruction.

An industrial gas and oil development in the area is slowly destroying this and thousands of other petroglyphs that call this canyon home.

http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2008-03-0326-003.shtml

[xchrom]

1. there's a cause i can believe in -- saving santa! nt

[pocoloco]

2. Ah......Bighorn sheep instead of Raindeer.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

6. 2 are not bighorns...

The first two are reindeer or moose, a couple might even be antelope.

My guess is that it's a scene of an early 'rancher'.

[Ian David]

3. I'll bet a dollar that it's a hoax. n/t

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. nope, just has nothing at all to do with Santa.

ridiculous notion all the way around. :eyes:

[YankeyMCC]

8. My bet is it's a ploy

the image may not be a hoax but unfortunately the state of society today and the control of the xian religious right mean that by calling it an image of "santa" is a way to get attention and perhaps get some people who would not normally support saving the site to think about saving it because of the bogus connection to santa.

[havocmom]

4. Under bush/cheney, BLM seems to stand for Business Loving Morons

rather than the original Bureau of Land Management

[sinkingfeeling]

5. But, the GOP and Bush say we should be able to drill in ANWR without doing any damage because of all

that 'new' technology'.

According to Pam Miller, a trained archaeologist and Chair of the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, "'Santa' is one of more than 10,000 unique petroglyphs and pictographs (prehistoric Indian art painted on rock) found in the canyon that are being obliterated by dust and destroyed by dust-suppressant chemicals (magnesium chloride) that is being sprayed on roads. Additionally, the vibrations of huge trucks, drill rigs, bulldozers, and industrial traffic are also affecting these ancient works of art."