Exploring Rock Art or Rock Writing in the Southwest

Note the presentation on Rock Art Etiquette. I have observed several undesirable acts on field trips and feel that those actions need to be corrected - by education.

www.exploringrockart.com and the Coalition to Preserve Rock Art believe that education of the public and governing authorities will aid in the Preservation of Rock Art.

That is our objective. Enthuse the public with the grandeur of Rock Art locations and the possibilities of preserving or protecting the site. The people of the United States can accomplish a lot when they set their minds to it. If a sufficient amount of people become seriously involved (gain an appreciation) and put pressure on fellow citizens and on the government, we can save some of the sites presently endangered. Government projects (particularly Oil and Gas Drilling), industrial expansion, residential growth, and disrespectful citizens are the real problems to the Preservation Process. Let's convert those that we can from problems (enemies) to friends.

Devoted to:

AWARENESS . EDUCATION . PRESERVATION

Native American or Indian - Rock Art or Rock Writing

Ebooks now available at Rock Art Museum, http://www.exploringrockart.com/ebooks.htm

Snake Gulch, AZ http://www.exploringrockart.com/Ebooks.htm

A Conversation in late June 2010 in a Northern Arizona BLM Office (my comments in black):

Do you have any Native American Rock Art sites in the area?

Receptionist - Our Archaeologist does not talk about them.

What's the notebook on the table labeled Petroglyphs?

I don't know - and then she handed it to me - the notebook had a few pictures of petroglyphs but more information about plants, geology, etc. And then a male archaeologist walked into the lobby.

You know there is an ongoing debate on whether more visitation or less visitation to Rock Art sites is better?

We don't talk about Rock Art sites and anybody taking the position of more visitation is just wanting to view the sites.

We recently had significant damage at a local site.

And was the damage at a private BLM site or a publicly known site?

Silence - Silence - Silence - And then a frustrated silent walk away

The point that I get out of this conversation is that some BLM officials don't care as much about Rock Art as we do. There are many others that advocate preservation and we should be in contact with them regularly to discuss site locations and to report damage. However, a few are more interesting in upholding their interpretation of "policy" whether it's right or wrong, and are not interested in getting the right people involved. Also, there are generally no local Educational Programs regarding the correct way to review a site (and the wrong way of handling a site visitation) sponsored by the BLM. The plan of hiding site information, not divulging, does not always work when there is no alternative plan available. Our thoughts are expressed at Rock Art Etiquette on this website.

One day previous we visited a site at Cloride Arizona advertised by and with directions by the Cloride Chamber of Commerce and saw a site with no recent damage. There were many visitors (4 cars while we were there). So again the question - which provided better preservation - more visitation or less visitation?

The answer to the question of more or less visitation is not evident yet. Somebody knows about all the sites (hiker, explorer, ATV'r, horseback rider, etc.), we can only hope that the good guys know about the site. But experiencing the damage that we observe, we know that's not true.

We have also visited many Arizona Rock Art sites which have tremendous signage and sufficient warnings, mostly in Southern Arizona, so this is not knocking Arizona as a whole, just knocking closed mindedness. Many in Arizona believe in, and are proponents of more Education. I wish more were.

Regarding Rock Art, BLM Archaeologist Sarah (Sally) Cunkelman is reported to have said "Ultimately these sites belong to the public, and protection of them is up to the American people."

True. !!!!!!!!!!

And that's the reason for an organization like the Coalition to Preserve Rock Art and for www.exploringrockart.com to exist.

THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO THE PRESERVATION OF ROCK ART. THE PRIMARY NEEDS ARE TO MAKE THE COMMUNITY AWARE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ROCK ART AND THEN TO EDUCATE ON THE WAYS TO PREVENT DESTRUCTION AND DAMAGE TO THE SITE.

THE PRIMARY TOOL TO ACCOMPLISH THIS IS THE COALITION TO PRESERVE ROCK ART. A SECONDARY TOOL IS THE PRESERVATION INITIATIVE OF THE DIXIE ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY LOCATED IN ST. GEORGE, UTAH. IN ADDITION MANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS HAVE A SERIOUS AGENDA TO THE PRESERVATION PROCESS. URARA, THE UTAH ROCK ART RESEARCH ASSOCIATION, IS ONE OF THE MORE EFFECTIVE AND VERY FOCUSED ON THE IMPORTANT ISSUES.

THE COALITION TO PRESERVE ROCK ART REGULARLY GIVES PRESENTATIONS TO GROUPS INTERESTED IN THE ISSUES AND DISTRIBUTES INFORMATION TO THE COMMUNITY TO ASSIST IN THE EFFORT. THE COALITION ALSO IS CURRENTLY ADDING MEMBERS AND SHOULD YOU BE INTERESTED, PLEASE SEE THE MEMBERSHIP FORMS SHOWN UNDER THE COALITION TO PRESERVE ROCK ART PAGE. NO MEMBERSHIP DUES, WE JUST REQUEST YOUR SUPPORT AND YOU WILL BE ADDED TO OUR EMAIL LIST.

You can help us and you by joining the Coalition to Preserve Rock Art. Please get involved.