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Border wall expansion threatens 4,000-year-old Indigenous rock art in Texas canyon

Aug 24, 2026·Location: Del Rio, TX

Border wall expansion threatens 4,000-year-old Indigenous rock art in Texas canyon
Photo via The Guardian

The Trump administration's plan to expand border wall construction in west Texas, backed by $46.5 billion in federal funding, threatens rock art murals in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands that are roughly 4,000 years old, predating the Egyptian pyramids. Archaeologists describe the sites, created by hunter-gatherers who ground minerals for paint and built sotol-fiber scaffolding to paint figures up to 10-15 meters tall, as among the oldest known pictorial records in North America. Customs and Border Protection has begun building vehicle barriers and patrol roads through Seminole Canyon State Park, home to 27 ancient murals, despite opposition from archaeologists, local residents, and political leaders from both parties. CBP recently halted bulldozing near Big Bend National Park's Santa Elena Canyon after activists publicized videos of the construction damaging the wilderness.

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