• Ancient Ruins and Archaeology
• Archaeological Site Etiquette Guide
• Archaeological Resources
• Rock Writings – Pictographs and Petroglyphs
• Sinagua - The Ancient People of the Verde Valley
• Ancient Ruins – Photos and Models
• Ancient Ruin Sites - Sedona
• Ancient Ruin Sites - Verde Valley
• Ancient Ruin Sites - Flagstaff Region
• Ancient Ruin Sites - Northern Arizona

Rock Writings – Pictographs and Petroglyphs

The common archaeological term for petroglyphs and pictographs is “Rock Art”. Some scholars call them “Rock Paintings”. I call them “Rock Writings” because I believe that they serve a similar communicative function to the hand and arm sign language gestures that allowed Native American tribes of differing languages to communicate in fundamental ways. The primary difference is that petroglyphs and pictographs are presented visually through rock and stone and utilize more complex symbolic meanings than typical sign language. For an in-depth view of this perspective read le Van Martineau’s book When The Rocks Begin To Speak.

Piedra Pintada Books – Bob Edberg
www.rock-art.com/books

Forget Amazon and go here. Probably the most complete selection of Rock Art books anywhere on the planet outside of University libraries. I imagine it rivals even those. Bob features books on Rock Art from every region of the world, coffee table pictorial books, videos, calendars, and even titles out-of-print titles. As a thoughtful touch the titles are organized by region as well as alphabetically. Click on the “Specialist Titles” and be dazzled. Bob also generously lists other book sources for his Rock Art passion in his Links section and explains each link’s specialty. It’s a fine resource.

42Gr532: A Rock Art E-Zine – Jim Blazik
www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/6381

A bi-monthly internet e-Zine focused on Rock Art. Blazik maintains a lengthy archive of previous articles that are fascinating if you love this subject. Read the articles titled “Secret Site” or “A Recent Find” to get a taste of what it’s like to explore and discover Rock Writings. Many miles and hours are invested by passionate hunters in this specialized field of anthropology and archaeology. Then comes the examining, theorizing, deductive analysis, and wondering. I have hundreds of photos from sites that I have explored in Arizona’s remote backcountry. Blazik, here I come…

The Rock Art Foundation
www.rockart.org

Specializing in the rock art of the Lower Pecos region of Southwest Texas. Fabulous color photos of a well-recognized regional style.

Rock Art Pages – James Q. Jacobs
www.jqjacobs.net/rock_art

Totally fantastic site dedicated to Native American Rock Art. Jacobs has one of the very best sites online with photos and artwork, in-depth articles, and links to other sites.

Rock Art Studies: A Bibliographic Database
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/collections/rockart.html

Since 1993 this compilation an astounding 14,400 citations to the world’s rock art literature has been the passion of Leigh Marymor, a plumbing contractor from Berkeley, California and current vice-president of the American Rock Art Research Association (ARARA). There is a Search utility for tracking author, title, or keyword that will help you delve into this fantastic collection.

Tracce – Online Rock Art Bulletin
www.rupestre.net/tracce

A European-based website that serves a virtual bulletin board for activities related to Rock Art studies. Forums, archives, encyclopedia, and postings make this site an invaluable resource. The postings on the homepage list interests such as current research, calls for scholarly papers, an SOS for Southwestern Rock Art preservation, and Rock Art recording field schools. There are currently 616 links to Rock Art sites worldwide, including 130 links to sites specifically concerned with North America. This link section also features search filters for narrowing and refining your rock art research, an exemplary touch. Fantastico.