Books on Arkansas Rock Art

Rock Art in Arkansas, edited by George Sabo III and Deborah Sabo, with contributions by Michelle Berg Vogel and Jerry E. Hilliard, provides an overview of current knowledge about Arkansas rock art, incorporating the findings of ongoing research in a presentation suitable for general readers as well as specialists. The 146-page book has 70 illustrations (most in color), glossary, index, and bibliography. Chapters cover the place of rock art research within archeology, the history of rock art research in Arkansas, descriptive terminology, dating, diversity of site types and imagery, interpretation of rock art sites as part of a cultural landscape, and preservation concerns. Separate chapters are devoted to two of Arkansas’s most important rock art sites, The Narrows and Rockhouse Cave, with an updated assessment of the first rock art style defined within Arkansas, the Petit Jean Painted style. This book summarizes the foundation for new studies that relate Arkansas rock art to the religious and mythological iconography of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. Arkansas has one of the highest concentrations of well-preserved prehistoric and early historic rock art, both pictographs and petroglyphs, in the American Southeast. Rock Art in Arkansas is the first comprehensive treatment of this important cultural resource.

Arkansas Archeological Survey Popular Series 5
2005, 146 pages, 70 illus., ISBN 1-56349-099-4 $10.00 (plus AR sales tax, s&h)
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The Archeology of Rock Art at The Narrows Rock Shelter, Crawford County, Arkansas, by Jerry E. Hilliard (with contributions by Gayle J. Fritz and Eben S. Cooper) is a technical report of 1995 excavations at one of Arkansas’s most important rock art sites. The Narrows is known for its remarkable panel of painted petroglyphs showing at least 15 anthropomorphic figures. The shelter floor deposits contained undisturbed midden rich in botanical and faunal remains, stone tools, and ceramics. Standard archeological analysis suggests occupation by family groups during fall and winter, with an emphasis on food processing activities and manufacture of siltstone hoes. The 1995 excavations produced the first ever in situ association of artifacts connected to rock art production in Arkansas. Radiocarbon dates and ceramics indicate Fort Coffee phase or Spiro phase associations. Fritz performed ethnobotanical analysis. Cooper experimented with photogrammetry to record the petroglyphs.

Arkansas Archeological Survey Research Report 31
2004, 55 pages, 35 illus., ISBN 1-56349-098-6 $6.00 (plus AR sales tax, s&h)
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For questions or problems, please email archpubs@uark.edu or telephone 479-575-3556.