A Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest

This took a few more days to receive than the Himalayan Salt Lamp I bought at the same time. It was in good condition. So far I've only glanced through it. The illustrations are very good and very clear. I believe it will be very helpful.

This was a gift but I did look through it to make sure it was what I wanted my friend to have. Good concepts, interesting subject matter, well written and yes, an interesting read.

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.

I’ve been interested in rock art for some time and have become a steward for some sites. This book has a a good description of hundreds of sites and interpretations. It’s easy to follow, and while no one really knows what the pictures mean, the author has presented enough samples and cites expert research to allow the reader some clues.

all about iconology and the meanings ! cool!

What are petroglyphs and pictrographs telling us?How about a staff with a hook and a large circle toward the bottom...? After describing this "atlatl" or "spear" with charms tied to the shaft, Patterson explains: "In rock art the weights or charm stones are much exaggerated in size, due probably to the magic they supposedly contained--magic to guide the spear to its target." In addition to illustrating variations of the charmed spear, he adds historical information: "The use of the atlatl began before 1,000 B.C., continuing to about 500 A.D. in the southwest, when it was supplanted by the bow and arrow."Patterson cites the technical literature to provide these interpretations, allowing the curious reader of rock art to dig deeper.The guide is organized into humanlike, animallike, and abstract symbols, making it easy to find the meanings you're looking for. Essentially, it's a comprehensive dictionary for rock art, complete with background information whenever possible.Great illustrations. Numerous variants of each symbol. Easy to navigate. Alex Patterson's guide to rock art symbols translates the myriads of images found in the American Southwest into something we can understand.We used Patterson's field guide to create and interpret an imagined wheel of pictographs in our recent novel: Ophelia's Ghost.

I have a degree in anthropology, with two minors in art. I am interested in art history and archaeology and am specifically interested in prehistoric art and history. I did my undergraduate research on prehistoric rock art and want to do my PhD research on prehistoric petroglyphs found in the US, so that's the reason I bought this book. It's interesting and I liked it, however I thought there could have been a lot more included in the book - more pictures, more explanations, but there are a lot of books on the subject, so that's probably why. Regardless, if you are seriously interested in the subject, I recommended buying it.

This is an excellent book for those of you who are interested in The American Indian and their history in the American Southwest. A writen history in/on stone. I think this book, along with "A History of the Ancient Southwest," by Leakson; "The Fourth World of the Hopis," by Courlander; "Pumpkin Seed Point," by Waters; "Book of the Hopi," by Waters; "Hopi - Stories of Witchcraft, Shamanism, and Magic," by Malotki/Gary; "Hopi," by Page/Page and "Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest," by Plog are also must reads.

Great book to have!