Topock Maze Archeological Site | |
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| Nearest city | Needles, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°42′57.48″N 114°29′51.93″W / 34.7159667°N 114.4977583°W |
| Area | 0.8 acres (0.32 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 78000745 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | October 5, 1978 |
Topock Maze is an archaeological site located south of Interstate 40 near Needles, California. The site consists of numerous rows and groups of parallel lines; while hypothesized to be a geoglyph, the purpose, age, and creators of the lines are disputed. A 1908 report by Edward M. Curtis suggested that the site was built as some sort of maze or labyrinth, inspiring its name; however, later research has concluded that this was not the site's purpose. A 1978 study by Arda M. Haenszel proposed that the lines were prehistoric and had some sort of religious or ceremonial significance to the native Mojave people; this conclusion was supported by a 2005 study. Archaeologist Ruth Arlene Musser-Lopez published a study in 2011 which concluded that the lines were created recently, likely by gravel scraping operations during railroad construction in the 1880s; however, they were built over a preexisting prehistoric art site. [2]
The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 5, 1978. [1]
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Musser-Lopez, Ruth Arlene (2011). ""Mystic Maze" or "Mystic Maize": The Amazing Archaeological Evidence" (PDF). SCA Proceedings. 25. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
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