Legacy on Stone

Book excerpt: 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.