Welcome to Rock Art in Arkansas

Welcome to the new expanded and redesigned Rock Art in Arkansas Website. If you have used this Website before, please update your bookmarks, and take a few moments to browse. We have edited and improved all our existing content, and added many new features. The Quick Facts, Articles, and Technical Papers have all been updated. There is now an Advanced Search option for the greatly expanded Database. A new Interpretations menu contains short articles offering our views on how to understand Arkansas rock art. More will be added as research continues.

The archeological heritage of Arkansas includes one of the most remarkable concentrations of American Indian rock art in eastern North America. Human, animal, geometric, and abstract motifs were rendered as carved and pecked petroglyphs, painted pictographs, and combination forms. These images provide a fascinating glimpse of the world as viewed by the Indians who inhabited Arkansas prior to European and American exploration and settlement.

The earlier version of this Website was created as part of a project called "Drawing on the Past: Educational Resources for the Study of Arkansas Rock Art," funded in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. The current version was produced in connection with a three-year research project titled "Arkansas Rock Art and the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex," funded by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The resources you will find here are intended for use by archeologists, educators and students, and the general public. We hope you find these materials interesting and useful. Check back often, as we are constantly adding new information and features. Please contact us at arkarch@uark.edu to let us know what you think about this Web site and what else you wish to see.