Will ancient Utah art survive?

A lot of people are concerned about the ubiquity of videos and photographs. This week, Google unveiled its new "Street View" maps, which allow anyone to tour San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, Denver and New York City at street level, complete with photos of people in all their glory — whether picking their noses or reading the paper.

It's probably only the tiniest beginnings of a world that one day will allow anyone to look live into any public place anywhere.

The upside? Maybe it will be easier to catch people who vandalize Utah's precious petroglyphs.

For some odd reason, you can walk through the countryside of Sweden and see thousand-year-old rune stones unmarred and in plain sight, but in Utah artwork left by Native Americans at least that long ago serves as target practice for thrill-seekers. If the vandalism happens on public land, it is punishable with heavy fines and possible prison sentences, but catching the criminals can be difficult.

The latest tragic defacement occurred when someone opened fire with as many as 35 gunshots on ancient rock panels southwest of Fillmore. For thousands of years, the work sat untouched. Now it is destroyed. If only someone had caught the act on YouTube or made it available on a Google map.

The leaders of Eagle Mountain deserve kudos for working to preserve petroglyphs found within their city limits. Planners and developers have designs on incorporating the art into open spaces where people can see it and where it will be preserved amid new housing developments. Until the plans are finalized, they won't say where these ancient finds are. That makes sense.

One can only hope that, once the sites are known, they will remain intact for all to see in coming generations — and that more Utahns will learn to value the ancient past.

Google awakened a lot of fears with its new mapping technology. People might be identified seeking help at shelters for battered women or entering other places where they rather would not be seen. But there doesn't seem to be any stopping the tide. If you can see it with the naked eye while walking down the street, chances are you'll be able to see it soon on your computer. The human eye is becoming a little more all-seeing.

The hope is this will make people think twice before doing something they would rather not have broadcast to the world. At the least, it should one day make catching senseless vandals a little easier.