Book Description
This is the first specifically designed key to the interpretation of American rock art. Interest in the subject has grown significantly among professional archaeologists and informed lay persons in recent years, but the purpose and meaning that the intriguing symbols had for their creators remain a mystery. Although the significance of the symbols will never be known for certain, educated guesses can be made. The "Field Guide" brings together 600 commentaries on specific symbols by over one hundred archaeologists, anthropologists, researchers, and Native American informants. Intended to be used in the field, as well as a reference, the book includes a pictorial key at the beginning and is organized by tentative meaning or by description. The reader can easily find the one or several of the 500 illustrations that most closely match the symbol in question. Patterson emphasizes the tentative nature of the interpretations and has included an index by neutral archaeological description as well as complete documentation of every excerpted comment. The range of the book is from the northern states of Mexico to Utah and from California to Colorado.
Customer Reviews:
A concordance of rock art.......2007-02-20
My instinct was to refer to this as a dictionary of rock art symbols, but that's not quite right--The book isn't quite that precise. The book lists a number of categories of rock art symbols, with postage-stamp sized illustrations, and brief passages, mostly cited from other authors, explaining what that author thought might be the importance or meaning of that symbol. There is a very brief list (perhaps three pages) of the most important rock art sites, with EXTREMELY cryptic directions ("Exit at I-40, ask for directions at park visitor center", for example). As a result, this book will help you before a visit by preparing you for what sort of things you might see and what they meant, and it will help you afterwards, in figuring out what you saw, but it won't help you plan the visit or be a guide during the visit.
Worthwhile if you really want to try to understand what you are seeing at these sites, but not one-book coverage of the subject--And probably more than you want to know if a single book on rock art is all you want.
Phenomenal book.......2007-01-02
This field guide is a must for Rock Art enthusiasts! You can take this book with you on your hunts or simply photograph your rock art and then take home to research the meanings in this book. It doesn't matter where you are in the Southwest, this book will explain any pictographs or petroglyphs you find. It is filled with photos, drawings and explanations which are simple and precise to decipher.
Whether you are a beginner or a true artifact hunter, this book is for you!
A Great Resource with some flaws.......2003-11-07
Patterson's created one of the best resources available on ancient rock art. As a means of understanding ancient rock art in North America the book probably occupies an unchallenged place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in these 'artifacts'. Unfortunately, as a field guide the book has some serious organizational snags. The specific types of subject matter are arranged in ways to cause a person in a field setting to create some rock-art of his own with his fingernails. Even though my copy of this book is tattered through long use I continue to have difficulties relocating what I'm searching for in the text. I usually carry a simpler and better organized field guide for quick and dirty work and leave the Patterson book for a time when I'm sitting on a rock somewhere catching my breath after the fact.
All this said, I believe this book is a great one and I'd recommend it for home study. There's not a better one available.
Awesome Pictures.......2001-08-16
I needed an excellent source book for primitive petroglyphs for some art work. This book proved to be an excellent resource
Life on the rocks.......2000-05-18
Work done by others is always fascinating, which is why national parks featuring ancient ruins are so popular; they showcase the incredible and often very beautiful work done in the Southwest before Europeans arrived.
It takes a lot of work and skill to create a petroglyph. I know, I've tried it. A full day's work produces only a small image. First, find a hard river stone with a pointy end; then, spend hours using it to chip away enough desert varnish and surface rock to make a shallow indent on a large boulder or cliff face. When you finish, since rocks don't rot or grow back, the design will last thousands of years.
Rock art wasn't doodles or graffiti, churned out in a trivial moment or so; it is serious statements of faith that Native Americans took days or weeks to produce. The original meanings may never be recovered, which is a great loss; but, the artistry can still be appreciated. Patterson's sketches are clear, concise and free of unrelated static. Since petroglyphs are the originals of modern Native American art, this is also a guide for artists, historians and poets of the Southwest.
It is a bilingual dictionary, everything from "arrow" and "atlatl" to "X-ray styles." In Spanish, it helps to know "Alto" means "Stop;" in the petroglyph language, it helps to know what sign means "Sun." Patterson offers educated insights into 600 common petroglyphs. People today link certain symbols to ideas, such as an "apple" as a gift for a teacher, a still life art object, a kind of pie, or a computer. In all likelihood, every petroglyph had as many or more meanings -- depending on the story teller.
Consider Patterson's description of the sun sign, which is still a popular design for silver jewelry from the Pueblos: ". . . the outer circle represents the ring of light around the Sun, the second represents the sun itself, and the inner circle or dot, his umbilicus, which opens to provide mankind with game and other sustenance." Next, think of modern artists who see the sun and paint a yellow circle, while others paint a yellow circle and create a sun. Now, the petroglyph sun sign takes on new meaning.
Art expresses a sense of adventure. A thousand years ago, petroglyphs were patiently chipped into boulders and cliffs to create a permanent memory of unique and special events. They portray a dramatic history of gods, demons, giants, tricksters and rare events as powerful and devious and clever as any Nordic saga. They also offer maps to the beginning of creation and pathways to a fulfilled life. Petroglyphs are a record of the exploration, knowledge and interpretation of America long before its "discovery" by Europeans. It reminds us that we have much yet to understand; it may not be the "Rosetta stone" of the Southwest, but it is one of the texts.
This is a masterful guide, sensibly devoid of guesswork and idle speculation (that's my field). Every society invents, discovers, experiments and creates to explain its origins and values. Patterson classifies common themes that were important enough to be written on rock. Rock art is one of our cultural treasures. If you want a book of facts about it, this is where to start.
Book Description
Two hundred color photographs by David Muench show rock paintings and petroglyphs in the arid regions of western North America, extending from Baja California north to Washington and from Wyoming west to California. Most of the locations are remote; many are secret. The photographs are organized into ten geographically-based styles: Great Basin and Mohave Desert, Green River, Colorado River, Little Colorado River, San Juan River, Gila River, Rio Grande, Columbia River, Chumash and Anza Borrego, and Baja California. Anthropologist Polly Schaafsma describes the cultural and physical context of each of these stylistic traditions, which range in age from six thousand years ago to the historic era.
Customer Reviews:
Indespensible guide to Southwestern ruins.......2007-07-25
Gordon and Cathie Sullivan have done an outstanding job of describing many of the more accessible ruins and rock art sites of the Southwest. The text gives a succinct overview of each site and what is known about its history. The color photography is outstanding, and the production qualities of the book are first-rate. This has clearly been a labor of love by two people who have really done their homework.
I own many books on prehistoric ruins and rock art of the Southwest. None can cover everything. This book focuses on the more easily accessible sites (not always well known) and a few well-known but less accessible ones like Keet Seel and Betatakin. It also doesn't go into a lot of detail about what you will see when you get there. But as an overall introduction to prehistoric Indian ruins and rock art, there is none better.
Where to Go and What You'll Find There.......2006-05-24
Last Week I was driving east of Flagstaff, Arizona when I noticed a sign saying Walnut Creek National Monument. I had no idea what was there, but turned off to go see. It was fascinating. A collection of cliff dwellings from the long ago Sinagua indian tribe. It was only by accident that I went there.
Then I found this book that describes and pictures all or nearly all of what remains from these early cultures in the four corners area. It is beautifully done, both the writing and the pictures. Using it we were able to find numerous points to visit that we simply wouldn't have thought about otherwise.
The book talks about a lot of places such as Walnut Creek as well as the larger, better known sites such as Mesa Verde. It covers my own favorites of Hovenweep, Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly quite well. This is, foremost a visitors guide. It is not a book on the people, where they came from or why they left. It doesn't cover things like why do experts think that people didn't really live at Chaco Canyon. It tells you instead that Chaco exists, how to find it, and what's there.
Perfect companion to your SW visit.......2006-02-07
I reviewed this book for the Gila Cliff Dwellings bookstore that I run down here in Southwest New Mexico and am extremely pleased with this publication and thrilled to add it to my stock as a "Staff Pick." For the SW visitor (or resident!)interested in exploring ruins and sites here I encourage the purchase of this book not only for the outstanding photography that captures the essence of this area but for the research and accurate content, which is often hit-or-miss with travel books. The authors have included many obscure sites along with the popular ones.
Book Description
From Texas to the caves of Santa Barbara, the wealth and diversity of Indian rock paintings and carvings astonish us with their beauty, mystery, and spirituality. This new softbound edition presents a broad range of intriguing work spanning more than 4,000 years.
Book Description
The who, what, where, when, and how of rock-art. This richly illustrated book will guide you to 28 outstanding rock-art sites in seven states, and teach you about art styles and the cultural groups that created them. Includes a resource guide to continue your exploration.
Customer Reviews:
Rock-art--a must for your library.......2001-01-08
An especially well written,comprehensive book on Native American petroglyphs, pictographs and geoglyphs. Detailed sections in clear, uncluttered language explain what Rock-art is and how and by whom it was created. A fine collection of illustrations show the variety of subject matter and the skill of Rock-art artists. Included are helpful listings of special resources and Wed sites. This slim volume is loaded with information. The authors admire Native American Rock-art and express their concern that it be respected and protected. Sensitivity to this art form will be heightened with the reading of this book.
Book Description
In the deep and colorful sandstone canyons west of the Rockies, along river corridors of northern Colorado, and inscribed on rock outcroppings of the Colorado Plateau, the rock art of ancient and historic inhabitants of the West is an enduring record of past ideas and practices. This first integrated analysis of rock art styles throughout the western Colorado region, dating from pre-A.D. 1 to the middle of the twentieth century, bring together information from earlier studies and presents new information to shed light on how various cultures developed and interacted over time and in diverse geographical settings. Sally Cole traces connections between art on canyon walls, rock shelters, and bolders and designs on pottery, basketry, and other artificts, placing the art in cultural context.
This book surveys the cultural history and rock art traditions of Archaic hunters and gatherers, Anasazi, Fremont, Navajo, Eastern Shoshoni, and Ute peoples. regions of special interest include Mesa Verde and the Four Corners area, the Uncompahgre Plateau, Dinosaur National Monument and the canyons of the Green and Yampa rivers, and the Canyonlands of Utah and Colorado. An abundance of drawings, photographs, and maps illustrate the text and reveal the diversity of rock art forms and settings in the West.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent overall guide.......2000-06-21
This book takes a look at many of the different rock ar symbols and their possible meanings. While not a complete guide to all of the sites, I think it's an excellent companion to the Polly Schaafsma books. It's a little light on pictures, but overall, an excellent reference.
Book Description
This comprehensive view of carvings and paintings on stone by Native Americans from 200 B.C. through the nineteenth century surveys the rock art of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, northern Mexico, and west Texas, providing an incomparable visual record of Southwest Indian culture, religion, and society.
Rock carvings and paintings are important sources in the archaeological and historical interpretation of Southwest Indians. Rock art reflects the cosmic and mythic orientation of the culture that produced it, and understanding of prehistoric peoples, both hunters and gatherers and the Hohokam, Anasazi, Mogollon, and Fremont cultures, and the Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache Indians. Culturally significant events such as the shift in prehistoric times from spear and atlatl to the bow, or, in the historic period, the introduction of the horse into the Southwest, are recorded in rock art.
The illustrations--thirty-two color plates, nearly 250 photographs, and numerous line drawings--bring together in one volume petroglyphs and rock paintings that are scattered over thousands of miles of desert and mesa, giving the reader an overview of Indian rock art that would be nearly impossible to achieve in the field.
Indian Rock Art of the Southwest examines from an archaeological perspective the rich legacy of stone drawings and carvings preserved throughout the Southwest. Professional and amateur archaeologists and historians, as well as the general reader with an interest in Indian art, will find this volume a valuable resource.
The comprehensive book on Indian petroglyphs in the Southwest.
Customer Reviews:
Its a great book for the rock art enthusiast........1999-01-19
Polly's book is great in that it tells not only about the rock art and the styles but also tells about the cultures that have created it. I have a small rock art tour company in central Utah, and have read both this book and Rock Art of Utah. They are both great and have been a great help to me in my field.
Average customer rating:
- Good Fortune DOUBLED for Elsa Marston readers . . .
|
Songs of Ancient Journeys: Animals in Rock Art
Elsa Marston
Manufacturer: George Braziller
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ASIN: 0807615633 |
Book Description
Songs of Ancient Journeys: Animals in Rock Art is a collection of fourteen short poems inspired by animals depicted in the rock art of the American southwest. Humans of this region have left innumerable images on rock surfaces, depicting the creatures native to this mystic landscape. The origins of these mysterious drawings are still unknown.
This short book of poetry, illustrated with color photographs of Southwestern rock art, delivers imaginative testimonials in the voices of the depicted animals. The poems are accompanied by a series of notes that describe the possible meanings of the images in Native American mythology.
This project is a melodic blend of poetry, Native American culture, and natural history. Songs of Ancient Journeys will inspire young readers to imagine what these beautiful and mysterious images represented to the people who made them. Illustrated with color photographs.
Customer Reviews:
Good Fortune DOUBLED for Elsa Marston readers . . ........2006-04-26
"Songs of Ancient Journeys" (isbn #0807615587) is a happy 'pairing' of author Elsa Marston with publisher George Braziller. Her readers are doubly fortunate because Braziller also published her 2005 book "Figs and Fate" (isbn #0807615544: see i-10-06 review).
These two books are handsomely presented by the designers and showcase the author's wide interests. She has written extensively for many years about the human condition & politics in the Middle East; has played with fantasy for young readers as, for example, in "The Runaway Gazebo" (isbn #0688102824); and in mystery, "the Cliffs of Cairo" (isbn #0451115309).
"Animals in Rock Art" (subtitle) is a departure, not a lengthy dissertation by any means, but is Marston's effective presentation of her response to exploration of the desert southwest & new experiments with poetry (thus the "Songs" of this title). She salutes many different animals that were depicted in rock carvings and pictographs by ancient artists.
Historians & archaeologists still puzzle over the significance of these images - - as will all the readers of this book. The impressive photographs and the poems each play a part in stimulating our imaginations & will doubtless inspire our own explorations into a wider knowledge of desert ecology and Native American mythology. Reviewer mcHAIKU predicts that most readers will find themselves enlarging upon Elsa Marston's thoughts of our inter-relationships on this planet by taking their own leaps of imagination, humor and whimsy.
The author appears to hold the key to unlocking her thoughts of the universe combined with a beautiful facility for writing these down almost in journal fashion. She must receive a deep satisfaction while delighting her unseen audience at the same time.
Book Description
A comprehensive guide to Kokopelli figures, prehistoric handprints, and other enigmatic symbols featured in Western rock art.
Ancient artists carved and painted their work upon the rocks of Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and California. But how does the inquiring traveler find these mysterious images, which are sometimes tucked away on high cliffs in remote canyons? Rock Art Along the Way guides you to more than 55 outdoor art galleries. Sensitive to legal and environmental regulations, Janet Farnsworth and Bernadette Heath provide all the necessary information needed to visit these public-accessible sites. They include historical and archaeological background on Western rock art, detailed directions to sites, information on fees, and suggestions for many other fun-filled adventures nearby. 180 color photos, maps.
Customer Reviews:
Rock Art.......2006-07-25
I thought this book was very interesting and informative. I would recommend this to anyone interested in native american art.
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