2,000 Years Older Than Egypt’s Pyramids: Ancient Arizona Fish Geoglyph Damaged by Border Wall Construction

A giant fish-shaped geoglyph in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert has been severely damaged by border wall construction. Newly published research indicates that the ancient ground carving predates Stonehenge and Egypt’s oldest pyramid.

Known as the “Las Playas Intaglio,” the carving is now considered to be the oldest example of its kind in the Americas. A geoglyph is an ancient design carved, scraped or drawn into the ground. Learn more about geoglyphs.

Ancient Arizona geoglyph damaged during border wall construction

In April, contractors hired by the Trump administration to build a second wall along the Arizona-Mexico border damaged approximately 50 feet of the ancient sculpture, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, which documented the destruction.

The geoglyph lies in the ancestral homeland of the Tohono O’odham and other Indigenous tribes. Researchers estimate that it was created at least 6,500 years ago and possibly as many as 7,500 years ago.

The once 272-foot-long sculpture was previously thought to be about 1,000 years old. The latest research places its creation roughly 2,000 years before the first pyramids in Egypt, about 1,500 years before the earliest construction at Stonehenge and 4,000 years before the Nazca Lines in Peru. Researchers reported the findings.

The researchers said the new date highlights “the importance of this site and the parallel great misfortune that resulted from its damage.” Their article was published in the SAA Archaeological Record.

Conservationists call the damage a cultural and historical atrocity

“This discovery adds to an already devastating loss. This is a cultural and historical atrocity,” Russ McSpadden, a southwest conservationist with the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.

A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said in an email to NBC News that the contractor “inadvertently interfered” with the site. The spokesperson added that CBP Director Rodney Scott is “engaging directly with tribal leaders to determine appropriate next steps.”

“The remainder of the site has been secured and will be appropriately protected. CBP is conducting a thorough review of construction protocols and strengthening communication procedures to ensure this never happens again,” the spokesperson said. The agency also said it is “committed to respecting and protecting cultural heritage through all border infrastructure projects.”

Border construction affects Tohono O’odham sacred lands

Damage to the site, along with construction on Tohono O’odham land and other Native American sacred territory, has further strained the relationship between tribal nations and the federal government. The tribe is appealing a federal judge’s decision not to stop the government from building a border wall through reservations.

Although the Las Playas Intaglio has been irreparably damaged, the Tohono O’odham people are also working to prevent the government from drilling into Quitobaquito Springs, a desert water source in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The springs are considered sacred and are home to endangered species.

To build border walls and barriers, the Department of Homeland Security invoked authority under the Secure Fence Act of 2006, waiving numerous laws that protect the environment, water resources, cultural sites, historical sites and religious sites.

The Tohono O’odham Nation has long worked with CBP, part of the Department of Homeland Security, on border security efforts intended to prevent drug traffickers and others from using tribal land for criminal activity.

The tribe’s reservation straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, and its members undergo identification checks before traveling between the two countries. The tribal nation says about 3,000 of its members live in Mexico.

Opposition to border wall construction continues

The Center for Biological Diversity said in a news release that conservationists and tribal nations have long warned that border walls and secondary barrier projects could cut off sensitive habitats and damage cultural sites across the region.

Wall construction in other parts of the border has prompted lawsuits and opposition from landowners, Native American tribes, local governments, conservation groups, business owners and others.

In Texas, Lipan Apache tribal nonprofits and outdoor recreation operators oppose border wall construction. They argue that it could destroy sacred sites or restrict access. The Department of Homeland Security has no authority to violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, they argue.

A federal judge ordered a moratorium on construction in Big Bend National Park after the lawsuit. Construction continues, however, in other rugged, undeveloped and remote areas outside state and federal parks.