The first time I visited Pueblo Pato, I wasn't impressed. I was hiking alone along the edge of the canyon, and came across a medium-sized pueblo about where I expected Pato to be. The weed-covered ruin consisted of around a hundred rooms and was surrounded by an extensive "sheet-midden" of pot sherds and lithics, but otherwise seemed unremarkable.

How wrong I was. It was several years before I returned, to find that the mound I had stumbled upon was only one of at least three that make up the Pato group. Cumulatively, Pueblo Pato comprises approximately 300 rooms, making it one of the largest in the Monument. Two of the mounds perch dramatically up against the edge of the cliff (see the aerial photo above), while the third (not shown) lies 200 meters inland. One of these clusters appears to have been at least two stories high, based on the thickness of some of the remaining walls and the amount of rubble.

The area around the site contains much evidence of its past occupation, including manos and metates, pot sherds, obsidian flakes, and arrow-straightener grooves cut into a large boulder. The surrounding land has been cleared of rocks and terraced to support agriculture; and stands of agave, presumably descended from the original crops, grow there still. There is also a "racetrack" nearby—one of those mysterious features found throughout the region that archaeologists surmise was used for some kind of ritual sporting event.

But the most interesting attribute of Pueblo Pato is the petroglyphs. Etched into the cliff face below the ruin are dozens of panels depicting everything from animals to people to abstract art. Included among them are the famous "Duck" petroglyph for which the site is named (pato means "duck" in Spanish), and some of the best examples of the "big-hands, big-feet" motif in the region.

Photo 1 shows one of the mounds from a distance. It is possible to walk right past one of these sites and never see it, due to the camouflaging grass and brush. Photo 2 shows some interior walls with prickly pear cactus growing inside. The pads of the cactus are edible after cooking, and the red fruit (shown in its ripened state in this September photo) is used to produce sweet juice or jellies. Photo 3 shows more walls. These have been recently exposed, probably by looters, and will soon deteriorate as the stabilizing mud mortar washes away.

Photo 4 shows some stonework along the narrow point that juts out into Perry Tank Canyon. This is the same point visible at the top of the aerial photo above.

Photo 5 shows some flakes of obsidian found among the pot sherds that litter the site. In recent years it has become possible to determine where such obsidian was mined, using a technique called Energy-Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF). As it turns out, most of the obsidian found on Perry Mesa came from Government Mountain near Flagstaff, about 65 miles to the north.

Photo 7 shows a boulder with grooves cut into it, probably used to straighten arrow shafts. (The shafts would be heated with steam, and then carefully worked in the grooves to take out any bends or kinks.) Photo 8 shows a broken trough-style metate of a type used to grind corn into flour.

Directly across the canyon from Pueblo Pato lies another ruin called Rattlesnake. The ancient trail that connects them follows the canyon's rim up-stream for about three-quarters of a mile, descends into the canyon, and then climbs back out on the other side. Fields of agave, probably descended from the original crops, line the route on the Pato side (photo 9). The stream crossing at the bottom of the canyon is marked with at least a dozen bed-rock and boulder metates—some with manos still present—surrounded by a host of petroglyphs (photos 10 and 11). One imagines this as a meeting place, where denizens of both pueblos gathered to gossip and prepare food. An interesting detail is the shape of the metates: this oval "basin-style" design is usually associated with grinding seeds and nuts, whereas the "trough-style" metate found in Pato itself (photo 8) is more suitable for corn.

One of the more enigmatic aspects of Pueblo Pato are the panels of "big-hand, big-feet" petroglyphs (photos 13 through 16). There are other examples of this motif around Perry Mesa, but this is the largest grouping. Their significance is unknown.

Photo 17 shows a petroglyph of a human-like figure that appears to have a tail and horns. The tail, however, may actually represent a loincloth similar to the one shown in Photo 18. Scott Kwiatkowski, an archaeologist and member of the Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe (who claim the ancient inhabitants of Perry Mesa as their ancestors) has pointed out that the loincloth or breechcloth was common among southwest tribes, and proposes this as an explanation for the ubiquity of tailed anthromorphic petroglyphs throughout the region.

The "horns" on the figure may represent a ceremonial headdress similar to those in the historical photo 19. Photo 20 shows another anthromorphic petroglyph at Pueblo Pato, this one wearing a similar headdress and possibly holding weapons.

Photos 21 through 24 show some of the other petroglyphs found in the vicinity. Images of pronghorn antelope and mule deer are especially common, and were probably a significant source of food. Pronghorns (though not mule deer) still roam the mesa today.

Pueblo Pato was supposedly named for the petroglyph of a duck located near the ruin, but (as of June 2007) I have never been able to find it. If anyone would like to donate a photo, I'd appreciate it.