Books on Rock Art of North America

This is simply a list of mostly major books grouped by geographic or culture areas, for those wanting a quick start into various areas of North American rock art, or into some general topics. It is not yet polished.

Mostly it does not contain articles. It contains only a few books which are collections of articles, when they share a common areal or cultural focus..
It is no substitute for use of the Bibliographic Database compiled by Leigh Marymor.
There is a separate reading list for topics in Conservation of rock art.

This book list is divided into the following categories:

The order of listing is generally from south to north (Northern Mexico, then the USA, then Canada), and from west to east, but with the Northwest Coast last among the areas. Books which span North America and general books on rock art come at the very end.

Mexico North

Baja California

Chumash

Cosos

California

California-Nevada

Nevada

Utah

Southwest, Four Corners, Colorado Plateau

Popular Southwest – attempts to read symbols

Popular Southwest – guidebooks

Arizona

New Mexico

Texas

Plains

Southern Plains and Midwest

Eastern States

Canada
Northwest Coast

North America Surveys

General on Rock Art

Year Title Number of Pages Author Publisher

Mexico North

2004 El Mensaje de las Rocas: Pinturas Rupestres en la Región Pima

Aguilar Valenzuela, Bertha Alicia ; Beaumont Pfeiffer (O.F.M.), Padre David Joseph

Hermosillo: Instituto Sonorense de Cultura

2007 Arte Rupestre del Noreste

Murray, William Breen Monterrey: Fondo Editorial de Nuevo Le√≥n

2006 Espejo de Piedra, Memoria de la Luz. El Arte Rupestre de Chihuahua

Mendiola, Francisco México: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua

1998 Boca de Potrerillos 149 pp.

Lozano de Salas, Ernestina ; Valadez Moreno, MoiseÃÅs

Monterrey, Mexico: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León / Museo Bernabe de las Casas

2005 Gráfica Rupestre y Paisaje Ritual: la Cosmovisión de los Recolectores-Cazadores do

Querétaro México: INAH

1993 El Arte Rupestre en México

Casado López, María del Pilar ; Mirambell Silva, Lorena

2005 Arte Rupestre en México: Ensayos 1990-2004

Casado López, María del Pilar ; Mirambell Silva, Lorena México: INAH

Baja California

1998 Cave Paintings Of Baja California: Discovering the Great Murals of an Unknown People 246

Crosby, Harry W. Sunbelt Publications

1978 Seven rock art sites in Baja California 236 pp.

Meighan, Clement W. ; Pontoni, V. L. Ballena Press

1969 Indian Art and History. The Testimony of Prehispanic Rock Paintings in Baja California 79 pp.

Meighan, Clement Woodward Dawson's Book Shop, Los Angeles CA

1974 Rock Art of Baja California.
With Notes on the Pictographs of Baja California by Léon Diguet (1895) 146 pp.

Grant, Campbell Dawson's Book Shop, Los Angeles CA

1976 Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly. 56 pp.

1994 Arte Rupestre. Guía Baja California Sur 96 pp.

Gutiérrez Martínez, Ma. de la Luz Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Historia

Chumash

1993 Rock Paintings of the Chumash 163 pp.

Grant, Campbell Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

1984 Papers on Chumash Rock Art 102 pp.

Alioto, Joseph T. San Luis Obispo County Archaeological Society

1992 The Rock Art Lithographs of Lala Eve Rivol 108 pp.

Freeman, Paul ; Rival, Lala Eve Marin Museum of the American Indian

1989 Rock Art and Archaeology in Santa Barbara County, California 50 pp.

Hyder, William D San Luis Obispo County Archaeological Society

1982 Guide to Painted Cave 28 pp.

Hudson, Travis McNally & Loftin, Santa Barbara

1979 The Painted Rock of California. A Legend. 107 pp.

Angel, Myron Padre Productions

Cosos

1987 Rock Drawings of the Coso Range, Inyo County, California 147 pp.

Grant, Campbell Maturango Press

1998 Coso Rock Art 182 pp.

Younkin, Elva Maturango Press

1996 Stories in Stone. Rock Art Pictures by Early Americans 48 pp.

Arnold, Caroline ; Hewett, Richard Clarion Books

1982 Pictographs of the Coso Region. Analysis and Interpretation of the Coso Painted Style 111 pp.

Schiffman, Robert A. Bakersfield College

2000 The Art of the Shaman. Rock Art of California 138 pp.

Whitley, David Univ. of Utah Press

1998 Following the Shaman's Path: A walking guide to Little Petroglyph Canyon, Coso Range, California 66 pp.

Whitley, David S. Maturango Press

California

1981 Messages from the Past. Studies in California Rock Art 185 pp.

Meighan, Clement Woodward Univ. of California Los Angeles Institute of Archaeology

1975 Indian Rock Art of Southern California with Selected Petroglyph Catalog 150 pp.

Smith, Gerald A San Bernardino County Museum Association

1994 Fading Images. Indian Pictographs of Western Riverside County 91 pp.

Freers, Steven M. ; Smith, Gerald A. Riverside Museum Press

1988 The Forgotten Artist. Indians of Anza-Borrego and Their Rock Art 117 pp.

Knaak, Manfred Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association

1983 Ancient Images on Stone. Rock Art of the Californias 128 pp.

Bock, Frank ; Van Tilburg, Jo Anne Univ. of California Los Angeles Institute of Archaeology

1986 Rock Art North of Bishop . A Graphic Record 248 pp.

Raven, Christopher

1965 Rock Art of Owens Valley, California (Reports - University of California Archaeological Survey) 128 pp.

von Werlhof, Jay C. Univ. of California Archaeological Facility, Dept. of Anthropology

1991 The Halloran Spring Petroglyphs 45 pp.

Turner, Wilson G San Bernardino County Museum Association

1994 The Rock Art of Black Canyon 278 pp.

Turner, Wilson G San Bernardino County Museum Association

California and Nevada

2007 Archaeology and Rock Art of the Eastern Sierra and Great Basin Frontier 186 pp.

Garfinkel, Alan P. Maturango Press

1929 Petroglyphs of California and Adjoining States 238 pp.

Steward, Julian H. Univ. of California Archaeological Facility, Dept. of Anthropology

1984 Prehistoric Rock Art of Nevada and Eastern California 430 pp.

Heizer, Robert F. ; Baumhoff, Martin A. Univ. of California Press

1996 A Guide to Rock Art Sites: Southern California and Southern Nevada 224 pp.

Whitley, David S. Mountain Press Publishing Company

Nevada

2007 Great Basin Rock Art: Archaeological Perspectives 184 pp.

Quinlan, Angus R University of Nevada Press

1998 Rock art studies in the Great Basin 124 pp.

Ritter, Eric W Coyote Press

1993 An Annotated Petroglyph and Pictograph Bibliography of Nevada and the Great Basin 99 pp.

McLane, Alvin R. Desert Research Institute

Utah

2002 Rock Art Of Utah 170 pp.

Schaafsma, Polly Univ. of Utah Press

2000 Guide to Rock Art of the Utah Region 245 pp.

Slifer, Dennis Ancient City Press, Santa Fe, NM

1984 Petroglyphs and Pictographs of Utah. The East and Northeast 232 pp.

Castleton, Kenneth B., M.D. Utah Museum of Natural History, Salt Lake City

1987 Petroglyphs and Pictographs of Utah. The South, Central, West and Northwest 356 pp.

Castleton, Kenneth B., M.D. Utah Museum of Natural History, Salt Lake City

1972 Prehistoric Petroglyphs and Pictographs in Utah. 70 pp.

Siegrist, Roland Utah Museum of Fine Arts

2004 New Dimensions In Rock Art Studies 244 pp.

Matheny, Ray Utah Museum of Peoples & Cultures

1999 Rock Art of Clear Creek Canyon in Central Utah 180 pp.

Baker, Shane A. ; Billat, Scott E. Museum of Peoples and Cultures, BYU

2003 Horned Snakes & Axle Grease 196 pp.

Spangler, Donna K. ; Spangler, Jerry D. Uinta Publishing

1979 Survey of Rock Art in the Central Portion of Nine Mile Canyon Eastern Utah 153 pp.

Hurst, Winston ; Louthan, Bruce D. BYU Dept. of Anthropology and Archaeology

1992 The Complete Guide to Rock Art Panels at the Mouth of Butler Wash Site
on the San Juan River, Utah 124 pp.

Marcus, Deborah ; Noxon, John

1963 Petrographs of the Glen Canyon Region 74 pp.

Turner, Christy G Northern Arizona Society of Science and Art

1996 Sacred Images. A Vision of Native American Rock Art 112 pp.

Kelen, Leslie ; Sucec, David Gibbs-Smith Publisher, Salt Lake City

1994 Shamanism and Rock Art in North America 137 pp. [San Juan &&]

Turpin, Solveig A. Rock Art Foundation, Inc., San Antonio

Southwest, Four Corners, Colorado Plateau

1986 Indian Rock Art of the Southwest 393 pp.

Schaafsma, Polly Univ. of New Mexico Press

2002 Stone Chisel and Yucca Brush: Colorado Plateau Rock Art 240 pp.

Malotki, Ekkehart ; Weaver, Donald E. Kiva Publishing

1990 Legacy on Stone. Rock Art of the Colorado Plateau and Four Corners Region 279 pp.

Cole, Sally J. Johnson Publishing

1989 Rock Art of the Western Canyons 184 pp.

Day, Jane CAS with Denver Museum of Natural History

1982 Canyon Country Prehistoric Rock Art 304 pp.

Barnes, F. A. Wasatch Publishers

1994 Rock Art of the American Southwest 128 pp.

Hirschmann, Fred ; Thybony, Scott Graphic Arts Center Publishing

1998 Art on the Rocks: Rock Art of the Southwest 32 pp.

Hucko, Bruce Sierra Club Books for Children

1993 Images on Stone: The Prehistoric Rock Art of the Colorado Plateau 32 pp.

Weaver, Donald E. Museum of Northern Arizona

1992 Ancient Walls. Indian Ruins of the Southwest 112 pp.

Place, Chuck Fulcrum Publishing

1996 On the Edge of Magic 96 pp.

Mancini, Salvatore Chronice Books, San Francisco CA

1988 Terra Incognita 31 pp.

Mancini, Salvatore Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown Uni

Popular Southwest – attempts at reading meaning into symbols

1992 A Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest 256 pp.

Patterson, Alex Johnson Books

1973 The Rocks Begin to Speak 210 pp.

Martineau, LaVan KC Publications

Popular Southwest – mostly guide books

2000 Rock-Art of the Southwest 167 pp.

Welsh, Liz ; Welsh, Peter Wilderness Press

2005 Rock Art Savvy. The Responsible Visitor's Guide to Public Sites of the Southwest 240

Sanders, Ronald D. Mountain Press Publishing Company

2006 Rock Art Along the Way 159 pp.

Farnsworth, Janet Webb Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson AZ

2001 Rock Art and Ruins for Beginners and Old Guys 206 pp.

Scholl, Albert B., Jr. Rainbow

2005 Roadside Guide to Indian Ruins & Rock Art of the Southwest 240 pp.

Sullivan, Cathie ; Sullivan, Gordon Westcliffe Publishers

1998 Petroglyphs. Ancient Language / Sacred Art 183 pp.

Moore, Sabra Clear Light Publishers

1974 Suns and Serpents. The Symbolism of Indian Rock Art 64 pp.

Packard, Gar ; Packard, Maggy Self-published

1979 Canyon Country Prehistoric Indians. Their Cultures, Ruins, Artifacts and Rock Art 256 pp.

Barnes, F. A. ; Pendleton, Michaelene Wasatch Publishers

1995 Stone Magic of the Ancients. Petroglyphs, Shamanic Shrine Sites, Ancient Rituals 188 pp.

Cunkle, James R. ; Jacquemain, Markus A. Golden West Publishers

Arizona

2007 The Rock Art of Arizona: Art for Life's Sake 194 pp.

Malotki, Ekkehart Kiva Publishing

1994 Tapamveni. The Rock Art Galleries of Petrified Forest and Beyond 194 pp.

Malotki, Ekkehart ; McCreery, Patricia Petrified Forest Museum Association

2002 Landscape of the Spirits. Hohokam Rock Art at South Mountain Park 252 pp.

Bostwick, Todd W. ; Krocek, Peter Univ. of Arizona Press

1986 Petroglyphs of the Picacho Mountains, South Central Arizona 243 pp.

Holmlund, James P ; Wallace, Henry D Institute for American Research

1978 Canyon de Chelly, Its People and Rock Art 290 pp.

Grant, Campbell Univ. of Arizona Press

1992 Katsina Iconography in Homol'ovi Rock Art 168 pp.

Cole, Sally J. Arizona Archaeological Society

1971 Rock art in the Navajo Reservoir District 74 pp.

Schaafsma, Polly Museum of New Mexico Press

1981 Rock Art of the Zuni-Cibola Region 44 pp.

Bartman, Nancy L ; Young, M. Jane Pueblo of Zuni

New Mexico

1992 Rock Art in New Mexico 175 Kernberger, Karl ;

Schaafsma, Curtis F. ; Schaafsma, Polly Museum of New Mexico Press

1998 Signs of Life. Rock Art of the Upper Rio Grande 273 pp.

Slifer, Dennis Ancient City Press, Santa Fe, NM

1993 Petroglyphs & Pueblo myths of the Rio Grande 136 pp.

Patterson-Rudolph, Carol Avanyu Publishing Inc.

1995 Sentinels on Stone 75 pp.

Lilienthal, Betty ; Hoard, Dorothy Los Alamos Historical Society

1989 Rock Art of Bandelier National Monument 156 pp.

Ferguson, Lisa ; Ferguson, William ; Rohn, Arthur H. Univ. of New Mexico Press

1993 Petroglyph National Monument 15 pp.

Lamb, Susan ; Foreman, Ron ; Bean, Tom Southwest Parks and Monuments Association

1996 San Cristóbal. Voices and Visions of the Galisteo Basin 260 pp.

Singleton Mednick, Christina Museum of New Mexico Press

1987 San Luis Valley Rock Art 183 pp.

Kessler, Ron Adobe Village Press, Monte Vista CO

Texas

1996 The Rock Art of Texas Indians 239 pp.

Kirkland, Forrest ; Newcomb, William W Univ. of Texas

2003 Rock Art of the Lower Pecos 139 pp.

Boyd, Carolyn E. Texas A&M University Press

1996 Life in a Rock Shelter. Prehistoric Indians of the Lower Pecos 108 pp.

Acker, G. Elaine Hendrick-Long Publishing

1991 Pecos River Rock Art 72 pp.

Turpin, Solveig A. ; Zintgraff, Jim Sandy McPherson Publishing, San Antonio TX

1997 The Lewis Canyon Petroglyphs 39 pp.

Bass, Joel ; Turpin, Solveig A Rock Art Foundation

1938 Picture-Writing of Texas Indians 490 pp.

Jackson, A. T. Univ. of Texas

Shields

2000 Warrior, Shield, and Star: Imagery and Ideology of Pueblo Warfare 224 pp.

Schaafsma, Polly Western Edge Press

1976 Pueblo Shields from the Fred Harvey Fine Arts Collection 96 pp.

Wright, Barton Northland Press

Plains

2008   Thunder and Herds: Rock Art on the High Plains
                        Loendorf, Lawrence.           Left Coast Press (in June 2008 available for pre-order at 15% discount)
                        http://www.lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=140
2001    Plains Indian Rock Art           346 pp.

Keyser, James D. ; Klassen, Michael A. Univ of British Columbia Pr

1983 Indian Rock Art in Wyoming 239 pp.

Hendry, Mary Helen Self-published

1969 The Rock Art of Dinwoody, Wyoming; 78 pp.

Gebhard, David Univ. of California Santa Barbara Art Galleries

2002 Ancient Visions. Petroglyphs and Pictographs of the Wind River and Bighorn Country,
Wyoming and Montana 239 pp.

Francis, Julie ; Loendorf, Lawrence L

1971 Rock Art of the Montana High Plains 67 pp.

Conner, Betty Lu ; Conner, Stuart W Univ. of California Santa Barbara Art Galleries

1990 Rock Art of the Southern Black Hills 422 pp.

Sundstrom, Linea Garland Publishing Inc.

1980 Story on Stone. A photographic record of rock art in the Southern Alberta area surrounding the
City of Lethbridge 76 pp.

Archaeological Society of Alberta

Southern Plains and Midwest

2005 Rock Art in Arkansas 146 pp.

Sabo, Deborah ; Sabo, George Arkansas Archaeological Survey

1994 Petroglyphs of Southeast Colorado and the Oklahoma Panhandle 118 pp.

McGlone, Bill ; Leonard, Phil ; Barker, Ted Mithras, Inc., Kamas UT

1981 Kansas Rock Art 33 pp.

O'Neill, Brian Kansas State Historical Society

2000 The Petroglyphs and Pictographs of Missouri 331 pp.

Diaz-Granados, Carol ; Duncan, James Richard Univ. of Alabama Press

2001 The Jeffers Petroglyphs: Native American Rock Art on the Midwestern Plains 115 pp.

Callahan, Kevin L. Prairie Smoke Press

Eastern States

2004 The Rock-Art of Eastern North America 426 pp.

Diaz-Granados, Carol ; Duncan, James Richard Univ. of Alabama Press

2002 Picture Rocks. American Indian Rock Art in the Northeast Woodlands 280 pp.

Lenik, Edward J. University Press of New England

2001 Petroglyphs (Rock Carvings) in the Susquehanna River near Safe Harbor, Pennsylvania 59 pp.

Cadzow, Donald A. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Canada

1967 Indian Rock Paintings of the Great Lakes (Quetico Foundation) 202 pp.

Dewdney, Selwyn ; Kidd, Kenneth E. Univ. of Toronto Press

1970 Dating Rock Art in the Canadian Shield Region 71 pp.

Dewdney, Selwyn H Royal Ontario Museum

1965 Stone Age Paintings, 32 pp.

Dewdney, Selwyn Manitoba Dept. of Mines and Natural Resources

2000 Magic on the Rocks. Canoe Country Pictographs 182 pp.

Furtman, Michael Birch Portage Press

1991 Spirits on Stone: The Agawa Pictographs 87 pp.

Conway, Julie ; Conway, Thor Heritage Discoveries

1995 Reading Rock Art: Interpreting the Indian Rock Paintings of the Canadian Shield 191 pp.

Rajnovich, Margaret Grace Natural Heritage

1973 Sacred Art of the Algonkians. A Study of the Peterborough Petroglyphs 164 pp.

Vastokas, Joan ; Vastokas, Romas Mansard Press

Northwest Coast

1992 Columbia Plateau Rock Art 116 pp.

Keyser, James D Oregon Archaeological Society

1982 The Ancient Painted Images of the Columbia Gorge 94 pp.

Woodward, John A Acoma Books

1994 Indian Petroglyphs of the Columbia Gorge: The Jeanne Hillis Rubbings 24 pp.

Keyser, James D. J.Y. Hollingsworth Co.

1950 Petroglyphs of Central Washington. 57 pp.

Cain, Harvey Thomas Univ. of Washington Press

1993 They Write their Dreams on the Rock Forever: Rock Writings of the Stein River Valley of
British Columbia 320 pp.

Arnett, Chris ; Daly, Richard ; York, Annie Talonbooks

1992 Indian Rock Art of the Columbia Plateau 139 pp.

Keyser, James D.

1968 Pictographs (Indian Rock Paintings) in the Interior of British Columbia 131 pp.

Corner, John J. Corner, R.R. 4

2004 Preliminary Results of the 2002 Rock Art Recording Project, Kosciusko Island, Southeast Alaska 30 pp.

Keyser, James D ; Poetschat, George U.S. Forest Service

1998 Gabriola: Petroglyph Island 152 pp.

Bentley, Mary Sono Nis Press

1998 Spirit in the Stone 111 pp.

Inglis, Joy Horsdal & Schubart

1975 Indian Petroglyphs of the Pacific Northwest 320 pp.

Hill, Beth ; Hill, Ray Univ. of Washington Press

1975 Guide to Indian Rock Carvings of the Pacific Northwest Coast 49 pp.

Hill, Beth Hancock House Publishers

1971 Indian Rock Carvings of the Pacific Northwest, 96 pp.

Meade, Edward F Gray's Publishing

2004 Echoes of the Ancients. Rock Art of the Dalles-Deschutes Region 114 pp.

Keyser, James D ; Taylor, Michael W. ; Poetschat, George Oregon Archaeological Society

2000 The Serpent and the Sacred Fire: Fertility Images in Southwest Rock Art 208 pp.

Slifer, Dennis Museum of New Mexico Press

North America Surveys of Rock Art

1979 A Survey of North American Indian Rock Art 461 pp.

Wellmann, Klaus F ; Arndt, Ursula Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt

1992 Rock Art of the American Indian 178 pp.

Grant, Campbell Vistabooks

1983 The Rock Art of the North American Indians 124 pp.

Grant, Campbell Cambridge University Press

1993 Painted Dreams 157 pp.

Conway, Thor NorthWord Press

1988 Marks in Place 133 pp.

Conner, Linda ; Dingus, Rick ; Fitch, Steve ; Davis, Keith; Pfahl, John ;
Roitz, Charles ; Schaafsma, Polly

General books on Rock Art

2006 Talking With the Past. The Ethnography of Rock Art 380 pp.

Keyser, James D ; Poetschat, George R ; Taylor, Michael W Oregon Archaeological Society

2005 Discovering North American Rock Art 334 pp.

Chippindale, Christopher ; David S Whitley ; Lawrence L. Loendorf Univ. of Arizona Press

1999 The Archaeology of Rock-Art 392 pp.

Chippindale, Christopher ; Paul S. C. Taçon Cambridge University Press

2004 The Figured Landscapes of Rock-Art: Looking at Pictures in Place 420 pp.

Chippindale, Christopher ; Nash, George Cambridge University Press

2005 Introduction to Rock Art Research 215 pp.

Whitley, David S. Left Coast Press

2001 Handbook of Rock Art Research 863 pp.

Whitley, David S. AltaMira Press

1990 Discovering Prehistoric Rock Art: A Recording Manual 237 pp.

Meighan, Clement W. ; Sanger, Kay K. Wormwood Press

2005 Aesthetics and Rock Art 316 pp.

Clegg, John ; Heyd, Thomas Ashgate Publishing