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University Press of Colorado
The following review appeared in the April 2017 issue of CHOICE. The review is for your internal use only. Please review our Permission and Reprints Guidelines or email permissions@ala-choice.org.
Social & Behavioral Sciences
Anthropology
Normally, one thinks of rock art as the preserve of archaeologists, the religion and culture of the people who fabricated the art being the subject of much speculation. But rock art is also of deep concern to those who believe themselves descended from the original artists. They identify with the symbols used and see in the images left behind a spiritual tie and a basis for contemporary claims to land and self-governance. Because rock art is found not just in parts of Australia and the Americas but also in Thailand and Uganda and among the Bedouin of the Negev, the editors called upon a wide range of scholars to describe and analyze the meanings and uses such rock art has in the lives of contemporary peoples. In a series of case studies, the authors bring rock art out of the realm of prehistory to which it is usually assigned and offer a unique insight into the meanings of these symbolic forms for the present day. This pathbreaking work is written in a highly accessible way and offers excellent illustrations (particularly those in color). For a wide readership.
--L. Rosen, Princeton University