Rock Art Studies: A Bibliographic Database A Bibliographic Database is a work in progress which was begun in March, 1993. Currently the database contains 35,000 citations to the world’s rock art literature.. More than 11,687 citations are held in the compiler’s personal library. These and many others were reviewed for annotation. The
RAS database first became available with free and open access on the
internet through a joint partnership between the Bay Area Rock Art
Research Association (BARARA) and the Bancroft Library, University of
California, Berkeley in 2003. That partnership enjoyed fourteen years of
service to the rock art research community. In the fall of 2016 a new
partnership was forged between the Museum of Northern Arizona
(Flagstaff) and BARARA. With its new web interface and searchable data
platform, the Rock Art Studies Database project is poised for many more
years of continuing literature updates and relevancy. URL: https://musnaz.org/search_rock_art_studies_db/
In Memoriam Dwight Russel Micnhimer 
June 26, 1948 ~ July 22, 2017 It
is with deep regret that we announce the passing of an ARARA member.
Dwight Russel Micnhimer passed this past July at the age of sixty-nine.
Dwight
was an Oregon native, former U.S. Marine, avocational archaeologist,
life-long poet, and world traveler. He also pursued a variety of
eclectic interests ranging from 3-D photography to collecting Star Trek
memorabilia. His contributions to the world of Rock Art are without
question, especially in his local region and in the Pacific Northwest.
He held memberships with the Oregon Archaeological Society, ARARA, and
the Global Fraternity of Poets, amongst others. He was also the author
of many publications, most of which are listed on his websites and
available via them or commercial vendors, or the Societies [not ARARA]
mentioned above. His
accomplishments in life were myriad. He held a degree in English from
the University of Oregon. His book Notes to Be Left with the Gatekeeper
by The Global Fraternity of Poets, India, won him the title of Poet
Laureate at the Dr. Yayati Madan Gandhi International Poetry Awards in
2014. He
had a lifelong interest in prehistory and history and has traveled
extensively exploring ancient civilizations, notably in Mexico and South
America. For the last few decades of his life he traveled throughout
the Western United States exploring ruins, rock art and other evidence
of pre-contact habitation. The meaning and purpose of rock art, both
pictographs and petroglyphs, is one of the many facets of rock art that
added a layer of interest to his research. His avocational work
regarding rock art lead him to pursue and receive several Loring grants
regarding rock art research, and his subsequent results, including
photography, articles, and books, were presented to the Oregon
Archaeological Society. He also has work showcased at the Bradshaw
Foundation. He
resided in central Oregon, enjoying his home, private library, and the
panoramic vista of 11 snow capped peaks in the Cascade Range. He is
the creator of oregonrockart.com where his extensive catalogue of about 11,000 pictures of rock art he has visited and photographed are show-cased. http://www.oregonrockart.com http://meaningofrockart.com/ http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/oregon/index.php A memorial service may
be planned by the family, service details were unannounced by the
family at the time of this publication. Please refer to the Funeral
home website and contact information for updates. The Memorial home
website is listed below and the guestbook and condolences can be left
online.
Rock Art Preservation - Raising Awareness, and new Scientific Discoveries The California Rock Art Foundation (CRAF) The
California Rock Art Foundation (CRAF) is a scientific and educational
organization dedicated to research, understanding, and conservation of
the rock art resources created by the Native peoples of California (both
Alta and Baja California). URL: http://www.carockart.org/ Recently the The California Rock Art Foundation (CRAF) has been very busy! Dr. Alan Gold - their president - has been creating some wonderful podcasts regarding Rock Art in California. They have an amazing Facebook page, and have some great field trips coming up, if your in
the area. Please check them out!
A few of the podcasts to get you started. California Rock Art Foundation (CRAF) Podcasts The Rock Art of the Coso Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYvSCPIzjWI The Rock Art of the Coso Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjZpDMSeV2M The Rock Art of the Coso Part 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo3RpIZ1L-k This is an ongoing series ... The California Rock Art Foundation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDbdBNgMtiQ A short explanation of the organization Newberry Cave - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PrarL8YA7A These are presented via the (where you can find more archeology podcasts!) Archaeology Podcast Network - https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com
Please note: The Podcast URLs have been deactivated to stop the podcasts from being attached to the newsletter.
you can manually copy and paste them into your browser or device to view the podcasts.
_____________________________________________
Shumla archaeologists gather data at fading Texas rock art sites
Archaeologists work to gather data from fading rock art sites
Shumla’s Alexandria Project will digitally preserve information from more than 300 South Texas murals. By: Pam LeBlanc - American-Statesman Staff
Highlights
~ Archaeologists say rain, humidity and flooding are erasing ancient rock art murals.
~ Shumla researchers are gathering baseline information from more than 300 sites, many on private property.
~ The data will be stored digitally, so scholars can study the murals even after they have deteriorated.
~ The project will cost $3 million.
COMSTOCK
— High above the Pecos River, archaeologist Jessica Lee points out the
muted colors of human, animal and otherworldly creatures that make up a
faded mural spanning 24 feet along a rocky overhang.
A
white-robed figure with arms stretched wide, a deer with a full set of
antlers, and elaborately squiggled lines in black, red, yellow and white
all brighten the stony recess within view of the Highway 90 bridge west
of Del Rio. This detailed panel, which experts believe was painted
2,000 years ago, is one of more than 350 known examples of rock art in
Val Verde County. Another, the Fate Bell Shelter at nearby Seminole
Canyon State Park and Historic Area, depicts elaborately dressed
figures, some holding darts, sticks and atlatls.
But like all of
the ancient artwork in the area, rain and high humidity are slowly
erasing these murals. Floods in 2008 and 2014 washed tree branches and
debris into some of the sites. Receding muddy water left silt lines on
others. Everywhere, limestone is gradually flaking away, taking with it
stories of the ancient people who lived here.
That’s
why the Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center in
Comstock has launched a four-year effort, dubbed the Alexandria Project,
to gather baseline data about the artwork before it disappears.
Researchers are working with private land owners to gain access to sites
to snap detailed photos, record GPS coordinates and gather information
for three-dimensional models that can be studied by scholars long after
the artwork has deteriorated. They are creating an online library of
rock art.
Article continues at the website.
URL: http://www.mystatesman.com/travel/archaeologists-work-gather-data-from-fading-rock-art-sites/mjOmLz7LTT2d2mV2BYtGcN/
Special Note: Tour information via the Witte Museum in San Antonio, and Seminole Canyon State Park are at the bottom of the article, as are further instructions regarding them. To donate to Shumla’s Alexandria Project, go to the organization’s website at shumla.org
_____________________________________________
Sound-reflecting shelters inspired ancient rock artists Acoustic data suggest early European painters preferred echo chamber
Ancient
rock artists were drawn to echo chambers. Members of early farming
communities in Europe painted images in rock-shelters where sounds
bounced off walls and into the surrounding countryside, researchers say. Rock-shelters
lacking such sound effects were passed up, at least in the central
Mediterranean, report archaeologist Margarita Díaz-Andreu of the
University of Barcelona and colleagues in the July Journal of
Archaeological Science. In landscapes with many potential rock art
sites, “the few shelters chosen to be painted were those that have
special acoustic properties,” Díaz-Andreu says.
Full article continues at website. URL: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/sound-reflecting-shelters-inspired-ancient-rock-artists
Academic Article at Science Direct (paywall) [above article is based on this] Title: Echoing Landscapes: Echolocation and the Placement of Rock Art in the Central Mediterranean Authors: Tommaso Mattiolia, Angelo Farinab, Philippe Hameaud, Margarita Díaz-Andreua Journal: Journal of Archaeological Science Edition: Volume 83, July 2017, Pages 12–25 Published: Received 20 August 2016, Revised 17 April 2017, Accepted 29 April 2017, Available online 27 May 2017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2017.04.008 URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440317300626 Highlights • Rigorous, objective and standardized methodologies by acoustic engineers are the only reliable way to do archaeoacoustic.
• The Ambisonics technique is used to investigate the relationship
between sound-reflecting surfaces and the location of rock art. • Acoustic equipment highly adapted to open-air acoustic fieldwork in remote areas is devised. • A visual format to represent sound reflections in the landscape is proposed.
Abstract
Many societies give special importance to places where echoes
are generated, and often these places receive special treatment
including the production of rock paintings in them. The identification
of the exact places where echoes come from, or echolocation, is an
ability only shared by a few individuals in each community.
Unfortunately for archaeologists, however, their activity
leaves no trace in the archaeological record. In this article we propose
that the Ambisonics technique, a method developed in the field of
acoustical physics, can be applied to identify the likely use of
echolocation among societies for which no ethnographic information
remains, such as most of those who lived in prehistoric Europe. A
description of how this method has been applied in two case studies, the
rock art landscapes of Baume Brune (Vaucluse, France) and Valle
d’Ividoro (Puglia, Italy), is provided. In these two echoing areas only a
few shelters were chosen to be painted with Schematic art, leaving
around them many others undecorated.
In the description of the fieldwork phase of the test, issues
related to the sound source, the sound recorder, and spherical camera
and how the Impulse Response (IR) measurement was made are discussed.
The processed results indicate that there was a positive relationship
between sound-reflecting surfaces and the location of rock art. This
leads us to propose that in both areas there is a strong probability of
echolocation having been employed by Neolithic people to select the
shelters in which to produce rock art.
The results obtained in our study also have wider implications
in our understanding of how prehistoric peoples perceived the landscape
in which they lived in, understood not only on the basis of tangible
elements but, perhaps more importantly, because of intangible aspects
such as sound and, in particular, echoes.
Keywords: Archaeoacoustics; Echolocation; Rock art landscapes; Echo; Ambisonics technique; Acoustic equipment _____________________________________________
Chaco Canyon petroglyph may represent ancient total eclipse by Jim Scott - August 9, 2017
As
the hullabaloo surrounding the Aug. 21 total eclipse of the sun swells
by the day, a University of Colorado Boulder faculty member says a
petroglyph in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon may represent a total eclipse
that occurred there a thousand years ago.
CU
Boulder Professor Emeritus J. McKim "Kim" Malville said the
petroglyph—carved in a rock by early Pueblo people—is a circle that
resembles the sun's outer atmosphere known as its corona, with tangled
protrusions looping off the edges. Discovered in 1992 during a Chaco
Canyon field school for CU Boulder and Fort Lewis College students led
by Malville and then-Fort Lewis Professor James Judge, the object may
illustrate the total eclipse of the sun that occurred over the region on
July 11, 1097 Article continues at website URL: http://www.colorado.edu/today/2017/08/08/chaco-canyon-petroglyph-may-represent-ancient-total-eclipse or https://phys.org/news/2017-08-chaco-canyon-petroglyph-ancient-total_1.html Journal Article (Free PDF) [above article is based on this] Title: On The Solar Corona Petroglyph In The Chaco Canyon Authors: José M. Vaquero & J. McKim Malville Journal: Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry Edition: Vol. 14, No 3 pp. 189 - 196 Published: 2014 URL: http://maajournal.com/Issues/2014/Vol14-3/Full18.pdf Abstract
Piedra del Sol is a free-standing rock in Chaco Canyon that marks
June solstice sunrise. The petroglyph on the south face of Piedra del
Sol in Chaco Canyon may depict the solar corona observed during the
total solar eclipse of July 11, 1097 CE The southwest area of the rock
contains features consisted with a sun watching station and faces
December solstics sunset. During the 19th century, coronal mass
ejection appears to have been observed during two total solar
eclipses. The petroglyph on the south face appears to show a
configuration of the solar corona that is consistent with a coronal mass
ejection (CME).
The hypothesis that a CME is depicted at Piedra del Sol is testable
and can be disproven if the maximum of solar activity did not occur
near 1097 CE. Recent studies indicate that 1097 CE was indeed close to
solar maximum. Miyahara et al. (2010) locate the maximum in 1098 CE
based upon cosmogenic-isotopes. Vaquero and Trigo (2012) also found that
1098 CE was a maximum of solar cycle using a combination of
documentary sources. The eclipse of 1097 CE occurred during a period
of high solar activity, consistent with the interpretation of the
petroglyph as a representation of solar corona during the solar eclipse
of that year.
Keywords: Chaco Canyon, petroglyph, solar eclipse, coronal mass ejection _____________________________________________
Soaring spirits: rock art, initiation and the Sor secret society of spirit mediums of Karamoja, Uganda by Catherine Namono
Journal Paper (paywall) Title: Soaring spirits: rock art, initiation and the Sor secret society of spirit mediums of Karamoja, Uganda Author: Catherine Namono Journal: Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa Pages: 1 - 22 Published: Received 03 Oct 2016, Accepted 04 May 2017, Published online: 10 Jul 2017 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2017.1343432 URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0067270X.2017.1343432 Abstract
This paper challenges two ideas in understanding the naturalistic
rock art of Karamoja, Uganda, namely: 1) that its authors were probably
the Iworopom or Later Stone Age (LSA) hunter-gatherers; and 2) that it
depicts warriors holding bows and shields. In the absence of any
knowledge of the meaning and authors of the rock art amongst present
communities some suggestions are drawn from an analysis of the images
depicted. A new rock art site at Kanamuget provides the opportunity to
draw on an ethnographically contextualised approach to propose a
probable Sor (Tepeth) authorship for it and to suggest that its
symbolism was associated with secret society spirit mediums.
Keywords: Rock art, Sor, Tepeth, Ik, secret society, spirit mediums, Karamoja, Uganda, initiation
_____________________________________________ Bears Ears Update
June 12, 2017
Trump Administration Wants To Shrink Bears Ears National Monument (NPR)
URL: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/12/532605964/trump-administration-wants-to-shrink-bears-ears-national-monument
Interior Secretary Recommends Shrinking Borders of Bears Ears Monument (New York Times)
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/us/interior-secretary-public-lands-utah-bears-ears.html?mcubz=3
Sept 17, 2017
Utah quietly tells feds: Trim Bears Ears monument by 90 percent
By Brian Maffly ~ 17 September 2017 The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
If
maps Utah has submitted to the Interior Department are a guide, Bears
Ears National Monument will be drastically cut in size.
The
state’s vision, shared with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, is to shrink
Bears Ears to one-tenth its current 1.35 million acres, scaling the
southeastern Utah monument down to about 120,000 acres surrounding Mule
and Arch canyons west of Blanding, according to maps and other documents
prepared by Gov. Gary Herbert’s office and obtained by The Salt Lake
Tribune through records requests.
With the Trump administration’s
final decision on Bears Ears and 26 other monuments still pending,
Herbert’s top public-lands lawyer argues the state’s proposal — which
would carve out archaeologically rich Cedar Mesa and Elk Ridge and other
key features — will do more to preserve the region’s countless
archaeological sites and ensure the sanctity of its scenic and fragile
lands.
Article continues at website (Article has maps and other links)
URL: http://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2017/09/17/utah-quietly-tells-feds-trim-bears-ears-monument-by-90-percent/
Rock Art Events & Meetings Monthly Meeting of the Southern Nevada Rock Art Association Date: Sept 25th 2017 Location: The REI store -- 710 S Rampart Blvd, Las Vegas 89145 (in the Boca Park shopping center near the intersections of Rampart and Alta Drives) Time: 6:45 to 8:30 pm. Speaker: David Valentine speaking on Rock Art in Western Idaho For further information on this speaker and the topic, please visit the SNRAA website nearer the meeting date, as speaker and topic details were not avaliable at time of publication. The SNRAA event website is located at at http://snraa.org/snraa.org/EVENTS.html Upcoming SNRAA Meetings: Oct 23rd — Rick Bury speaking on Ancient Chumash Astronomers' Nov 27th — Diane Winslow speaking on Parowan Rock Art Dec — No Meeting _____________________________________________
CAS Annual Meeting 2017 (Colorado Archeologial Society) When: October 27th to 29th2017 Where: Denver, CO (hosted by the Denver Chapter) Registration Details at the Denver Chapter website -- Register Online, or through Mail Denver Chapter website: http://cas-denver.org/annual-meeting/ CAS Website: www.coloradoarchaeology.org (has meeting details) _____________________________________________ Island of Jersey – Archaeological Tour When: March 23-26 2018 Where: Island of Jersey, Channel Islands, UK Local Transport: Airport transfers and day visits by coach Group Size: Up to 18 Email Info: info [at] siragusatours.co.uk Tour Details and pricing: http://www.siragusatours.co.uk/23-26-march-2018 Phone: 01604 859491
The Channel Islands, in particular the island of Jersey has some of
Europe’s most important archaeological sites that include the
Neanderthal site of La Cotte de St Brelade, dating to 250,000 BC and the
6,000 year old Neolithic passage grave site of La Hougue Bie. In
addition to this rich prehistoric heritage that Jersey has to offer,
there are also a number of remarkably-reserved medieval castles and a
unique World War II heritage in the form of the German occupation’s
Atlantic Wall. This layered history provides the visitor with an
almost continuous chronology from the dawn of time to up until the
present day. This short tour, looking at some of Jersey’s most
spectacular archaeological sites will offer something for everyone.
The tour is lead by Dr. George Nash, a specialist in contemporary
and prehistoric art [Rock Art] and is currently a Research Fellow within
the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol
and Associate Professor at IPT (Tomar), Portugal. Over the past 25 years
George has undertaken a number of field projects around the world
including Chile, Israel, Norway and Sardinia, resulting in the
publication of many papers and books. George is currently involved in
the research and conservation of cave sites in South Wales.
Conferences & Symposiums 2017 Annual URARA Symposium (Utah Rock Art Research Association) When: October 5th to 9th 2017 Where: Green River, Utah Green River High School and John Wesley Powell Museum 400 North 455 West Green River, UT URL: https://urara.wildapricot.org/page-18212
Keynote Speakers: Dr. Carol Patterson David S. Whitley Glade Hadden (Speaker topics and further details at website)
The
annual URARA symposium will be held in Green River, Utah October 5-9,
2017. The city is located on the Green River, a major tributary of the
Colorado River. The event includes one day of workshops, two days of
field trips, two days of fabulous speakers and the business meeting.
There will a dinner, auction, delicious Green River watermelons, lots of
fun, time to renew of old friendship and make new ones.
You might have skipped over that part about "one day of workshops."
That's right, we've added a day to the symposium! The workshops take
place on Thursday, one day prior to our normal Friday field trips. There
are only five workshops with limited seating availability.
The
rock art in the Green River is among the best in the state. The
beautiful canyons of the San Rafael Swell are located to the west,
Canyonlands National Park is to the south and the Bookcliffs to the
north. The 2010 census indicates the town has about 900 residents. It
was originally located along the Old Spanish Trail. There is history,
rock art and many, many interesting places to visit (including Crystal
Geyser). _____________________________________________
Rock Art Worldings - Chronologies, materialities and ontologies When: 23-26 October 2017 Where: Linnæus University Conference in Kalmar, Sweden Conference Details and Registration: https://lnu.se/en/research/conferences/RockArtWorldings
Linnæus
University welcomes you to a three-day conference focused on the
Post-Paleolithic rock art of northern Europe and beyond, and
specifically, the relationship between chronologies, materialities and
ontologies. Building on recent advances in the development of rock art
chronologies, we wish to investigate how these new understandings can be
put to use in exploring aspects of prehistoric materialities and
ontologies. In the wake of works by Viveiros de Castro, Ingold and
Descola, among others, and their reconsideration of humankind's
ontologies, we hope to address how rock art and related categories of
material culture can contribute to our understanding of the prehistory
of northern Europe and connected regions. Given that ontology is
intimately intertwined with social aspects, this conference focuses not
only on the 'conceptual world', but on a broad range of lived
experiences and how these are expressed, manifested and challenged
through the use of rock art media.
The
keynote lecture for the conference – Art beyond the Cave: rock art
ontologies – will be presented by Professor Andrew Meirion Jones,
University of Southampton (UK).
Calls for Papers / Proposals
2018 ARARA Conference - Call For Papers Presenters must register for the conference, they are not required to be members. Submission process: Online and Paper Deadline: Online: 1 March 2018 Paper: 1 February 2018 (application avaliable via call for papers webpage) Format: Powerpoint (ppt or pptx) Further Submission details and specifics: http://www.arara.org/2018_call_for_papers.html Special note - Please disregard the location in the headline, it states the location of the 2017 conference. This is a typographic error. _____________________________________________
20th International Rock Art Congress - IFRAO2018 - Call For Papers Proposals should have title of the presentation, author's name, abstract, affiliate, and preferential session Language: English Abstract Word limit: 200 Keywords: 5 to 6 Images (high-resolution): (2) Two (300 dpi) minimum resolution in .jpg or .tiff format Deadline: 30 November 2017 Submit to: Please fill out the form for the proposal or send an email to ifrao2018 [at] ccsp.it Call for Papers URL: In English - http://www.ccsp.it/web/Ifrao2018/IFRAO2018_eng.html In Italian - http://www.ccsp.it/web/Ifrao2018/ifrao2018_it.html Submission URL: https://form.jotformeu.com/71362408932355 Session List URL: http://www.ccsp.it/web/Ifrao2018/programma%20e%20pdf%20vari/PDF_sito%20web/rationale%20of%20the%20sessions.pdf Standing on the Shoulders of Giants / Sulle Spalle dei Giganti 20th International Rock Art Congress IFRAO 2018 VALCAMONICA Darfo Boario Terme (BS) Italia 29 August - 2 September 2018
This
major event takes place 50 years after the first “Valcamonica
Symposium”, marking 30 years since the foundation of IFRAO and the 30th
anniversary of the Footsteps of Man Archaeological Cooperative Society.
The
congress will cover a range of topics relevant to rock art,
archaeology, culture and society, from its first appearance to current
forms. During five days, leading experts in the field, researchers along
with young scholars and enthusiasts, will gather and present the latest
results and studies on rock art, rupestrian archaeology and other
relevant research fields on Paleolithic and Post-Paleolithic art from
all over the world.
More
than 40 sessions (the complete list of the sessions approved
by the scientific committee is available on the website (see above),
workshops, key lectures, exhibitions, visits with live streaming of
certain events are being planned. Excursions before and after the
congress in Valcamonica and to others areas of the Alps are also being
programmed. _____________________________________________
NeandertART 2018 ~ International Conference -- Call for Preliminary Proposals (1st Call) "Is There Paleoart before Modern Humans? Did Neanderthals or other Early Humans create Art?" Deadline: 30 April 2018 Conference Location: Turin Italy Submission Method: Email ONLY Submission Address: segreteria [at] cesmap.it Information and registration: https://www.homoneanderthalensis.org/authors/ The NeandertART Scientific Committee welcomes your abstracts for papers and posters. First Announcement: CALL FOR SUBMISSION OF PRELIMINARY PROPOSALS. Alternative suggestions are invited, as well as expressions of interest in organising specific sessions or symposia. Further announcements will be made progressively. Please refer to website for updates.
Abstracts for regular sessions are invited in the following topics: 1. Changes in environment and human adaptations. 2. Changes in the utilitarian and non-utilitarian productions in two million years of human history. 3. The dawn of art-like productions and behaviours.
Abstract Guidelines Every abstract must contain: title, possibly subtitle, author(s)’s name, affiliation, up to five key words A maximum of 1800 characters. Participants are encouraged to submit a.s.a.p. the abstracts in English. All abstracts will appear in the Pre-conference publications and Programme. The payment of registration fees is the condition sine qua non for the publishing of abstract papers and posters. All papers and posters suitable for publication will appear in post-conference Proceedings.
Technology
Labstretch2 An app for the Iphone to assist rock art researchers in the field is available for free download. See http://www.rupestrian.com/labstretch.html or https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/labstretch/id1049040326 Labstretch is still available for the IPad.
iDStretch Now available for Ipad and Iphone! A mobile version of DStretch. Use your iPhone or iPad in the field to see faint or invisible rock art images. iDStretch is simple to use, fast, and you can save the enhancements. It does not need wifi or phone connection to work. See the web page for more information: http://www.dstretch.com/iDStretch/index.html
|
