Rock Art of the Grand Canyon Region

Book excerpt: The rich photography and narrative in this book presents an overview of approximately 5,000 years of Native American rock art painted and engraved on the canyon walls and boulders within the greater Grand Canyon region, an area stretching south from the Arizona-Utah border to the Mogollon Rim. The authors and their associates have recorded and documented more than 450 rock art sites within the region over the past 25 years in cooperation with the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon National Park, Bureau of Land Management/Arizona Strip, and the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. Their work presents a preliminary classification of this rock art within a chronological framework and associated cultural affiliations. These enigmatic images are placed within their environmental and archaeological context, essential in deriving potential clues as to their function and significance. Several interpretation theories exist in the literature and these are carefully examined in light of this current research. Importantly, rock art is an endangered cultural heritage and the question of its protection, preservation, and conservation also receives attention. While rock art offers a view into one aspect of the prehistoric cultural landscape, the religious and social importance of these images continues to have relevance to contemporary Native American peoples as well as representing an engaging cultural legacy for all humanity.