Now in its third edition, the preeminent guide book to rock art and ruins sites open to the public throughout the Four Corners states. Paperback.
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Ancient
Ruins Of The Southwest - David Grant Noble Now in its third edition, the preeminent guide book to rock art and ruins sites open to the public throughout the Four Corners states. Paperback. |
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The
Art of the Shaman: Rock Art of California - David Whitley More than just a picture book, a lengthy exposition of Whitley's ideas on the shamanic nature of much of California rock art. Interesting and provocative, even if you don't agree with his interpretations. Hardcover. |
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Art
On The Rocks: Rock Art Of The Southwest - Bruce Hucko A "Wish You Were Here" title from Sierra Press. Excellent text and beautiful pictures. Out of print, but copies available. Paperback. |
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Canyon
Country: Prehistoric Rock Art - Fran Barnes Not the greatest of production jobs, but the text is an excellent survey of rock art topics, there are lots of black-and-white photos and diagrams, and the last third of the book is one of the more complete listings of places on the Colorado Plateau where you can find rock art. Paperback |
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Canyon
De Chelly: Its People And Rock Art - Campbell Grant Slightly dated, but still a strong work on the history of Canyon de Chelly and its rock art. Discussion of rock art takes up about 1/2 of the book. Paperback. |
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The
Cave Paintings of Baja California : Discovering the Great Murals of an
Unknown People - Harry Crosby Magnificently illustrated book, structured as sort of a travelogue through a large number of the wonderful rock art sites in Baja California. Much improved from the first edition. Hardcover. |
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Easy
Field Guide to Southwestern Petroglyphs - Elizabeth C. Welsh 32-page chapbook, done in cooperation with the Deer Valley Rock Art Center. Good albeit brief general overview of petroglyphs, with dozens of black and white drawings. paperback |
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A
Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest -
Alex Patterson First-rate visual "glossary" of common rock art symbols from the Southwest, with an enormous number of reference to earlier works. Refrains admirably from stating with certainty what the meanings of the symbols are. Paperback. |
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The
Forgotten Artist : Indians of Anza-Borrego and Their Rock Art
- Manfred Knaak Excellent ethnographic study of the Indians of the southern California deserts. Rock art is only one focus of the book, but it does take up a large fraction, and there are quite a few excellent photographs. Out of print, but copies available. Paperback. |
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A
Guide to Rock Art Sites : Southern California and Southern Nevada
- David S. Whitley The introductory text alone is worth the price - an excellent summary of current theories about shamanistic elements in rock art. The heart of the book is the listing of 38 rock art sites, 5 in Nevada and the rest in Southern California, with excellent descriptions of each site. Paperback. |
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Guide
to Rock Art of the Utah Region : Sites With Public Access -
Dennis Slifer Covering areas of Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado as well as all of Utah, this is as close to a complete guide to public rock art sites in the area as is possible. Many photographs (black and white, with some color plates), as well as maps and access information for the sites. Also includes interpretive text and rock art etiquette guidelines. Paperback. |
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Images
From The Past - Robin Scott Bicknell Basically a guide to public sites; B/W pictures only, and not a lot of text. Included because it has some sites not listed in other books. Out of print, but available here. Paperback. |
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Images
in Stone - David Muench (Photographs), Polly Schaafsma (Text) A wonderful coffee table book, with photos by one of the best Southwest photographers around. Hardcover. |
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Indian
Rock Art of the Southwest - Polly Schaafsma Best single volume work on the area. Paperback. |
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Kokopelli:
The Making Of An Icon - Ekkehart Malotki Primarily a look at Kokopelli in the Hopi ethnography, but with some references to rock art (along with a fair number of nice color photographs. Hardcover. |
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Kokopelli
: Fluteplayer Images in Rock Art - Dennis Slifer, James
Duffield An excellent and informative popular book on the Kokopelli theme in rock art. Paperback. |
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Landscape
Of The Spirits: Hohokam Rock Art at South Mountain Park -
Todd Bostwick (text), Peter Krocek (photos) First-rate pictures, but even more valuable text by the City Archaeologist for Phoenix. Paperback, but also available in hardcover. |
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Legacy
on Stone : Rock Art of the Colorado Plateau and Four Corners Region
- Sally Cole While the text, photos and diagrams are excellent, the references cited are useful for those looking for more specific or technical information about various topics. Paperback. |
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Pecos
River Rock Art - Jim Zintgraff and Solveig Turpin Large-format picture book. Nice pictures and text, but a little short for the price (less than 75 pages). Out of print, but available here. Hardcover. |
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Petroglyphs
and Pictographs of Utah : The East And Northeast (Volume 1), Petroglyphs
and Pictographs of Utah : The South, West, Central and Northwest
(Volume
2) - Kenneth Castleton These two volumes have descriptions of hundreds of rock art sites in Utah, including black-and-white photos or drawings of most of the sites. Indispensable as a survey of the variety and distribution of Utah rock art. Paperback. |
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Rock
Art Of The American Indian - Campbell Grant A seminal work on Native American rock art. Included on this list even though only part of the book deals with the American Southwest. Paperback. |
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Rock
Art of the American Southwest - Fred Hirschmann
(Photographs), Scott Thybony (Text) Another coffee table book, although smaller in size and scope than "Images In Stone", and the excellent text is more personal. Surprisingly little overlap with "Images In Stone"; both are very worthwhile titles. Paperback. |
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Rock
Art of New Mexico - Polly Schaafsma Comprehensive survey of rock art from across the state, with almost 200 black-and-white photos. Text has been revised and updated from the original 1972 edition. Out of print, but copies available here. Paperback. |
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Rock
Art And Ruins For Beginners and Old Guys - Albert B. Scholl,
Jr. An eclectic and eccentric book, with everything from camping and travel advice to recipes, in addition to archaeological information. Funky but worth a look. Paperback. |
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Rock-Art
of the Southwest - Liz and Peter Welsh Best single-volume description of rock art basics and terminology, from the director of the Deer Valley Rock Art Center and his art conservator wife. But the list of public rock art sites is a little short (only 28 sites listed for seven SW states), so if you're looking for a comprehensive public site guide, look elsewhere. Paperback. |
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The
Rock Art of Texas Indians - Forrest Kirkland (Illustrations),
W. W. Newcomb Jr. (Text) Forrest Kirkland spent the last 9 years of his life, 1933-42, traveling all over Texas to document the rock art in watercolors. This book reproduces 160 of his paintings, 32 in color, an unsurpassed record of Texas rock art. The text by W.W. Newcomb is from 1967 and, while somewhat outdated, is still useful. First-rate book production job as well. Paperback, but also available in hardcover |
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The
Rock Art Of Utah: A Study From The Donald Scott Collection -
Polly Schaafsma Primarily oriented toward Fremont rock art, defining stylistic differences from sites all across Utah. Close to 200 photographs and black-and-white figures. The text is primarily that of the 1970 edition, although a brief preface summarizes some more recent developments. Paperback. |
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The
Rock Paintings Of The Chumash - Campbell Grant One of the classic works in the field, handsomely reprinted. Deals with all aspects of Chumash culture, not just the rock art. The color plates include Grant's recreations of Chumash panels damaged by erosion or vandalism, including the famous panel at Painted Rock (now virtually destroyed by vandals). Out of print, but available here.Hardcover. |
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Sacred
Images : A Vision of Native American Rock Art - Leslie G.
Kelen, et al Coffee-table paperback with gorgeous photos of Utah rock art and some excellent text. I especially like the sections by Native Americans about what these sites mean to them. |
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The
Serpent And The Sacred Fire - Dennis Slifer Highly-technical examination of fertility images in Southwestern rock art, with hundreds of black-and white drawings and photographs, and a handful of color plates. Paperback, but also available in hardcover. |
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Signs
of Life : Rock Art of the Upper Rio Grande - Dennis Slifer From Colorado down to Texas along the Rio Grande. Paperback, but also available in hardcover |
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Stone
Chisel and Yucca Brush - Ekkehart Malotki and Donald Weaver Expensive but glorious. Terrific pictures and text from two acknowledged experts in the field. Hardcover. |
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Tapamveni
: The Rock Art Galleries of Petrified Forest and Beyond -
Patricia McCreery (Text), Ekkehart Malotki (Photographs)
Comprehensive text with hundreds of illustrations and color photos. Out of print, but available here. |
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Warrior,
Shield And Star: Imagery And Ideology Of Pueblo Warfare -
Polly Schaafsma Reexamination of rock art and kiva paintings in light of new discoveries about prehistoric warfare among the pueblo peoples. Paperback. |