Arizona Indigenous sacred site, 6,500 years old, damaged by Trump administration’s border wall

A 6,500-year-old Indigenous sacred site in Arizona has been damaged by border wall construction. (Photo: Russ McSpadden / Center for Biological Diversity) New research has revealed that the Las Playas Intaglio, a sacred Indigenous geoglyph in Arizona, is at least 6,500 years old, making it the oldest scientifically dated geoglyph in the Americas. The discovery comes months after the fish-shaped earthwork was partially damaged by federal contractors working on the Trump administration’s second border wall through the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. Previously believed to be around 1,000 years old, the site has now been linked to an ancient period of Indigenous history predating Egypt’s first pyramid, Peru’s Nazca Lines and the initial construction of Stonehenge.The findings, published in the September issue of The SAA Archaeological Record, were reported by researchers David S. Whitley and Ronald I. Dorn. Their study identifies the Las Playas Intaglio as the oldest scientifically dated geoglyph in the Americas.The researchers used a technique known as varnish microlamination dating, which examines microscopic layers of rock varnish and compares them with regional records of ...