Ozark Rock Art
JB: This is Earth and Sky, on one of the richest concentrations of rock art in eastern North America.
DB: Centuries ago, before Europeans reached the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Missouri, native Americans created images on sandstone cliffs and boulders. Some of these fragile images are petroglyphs – carved into stone. Others are pictographs – painted on stone.
JB: The images depict humans, animals and plants – stars and sunbursts – as well as abstract forms, such as nested squares and circles. Archaeologists with the Arkansas Archaeological Survey and University of Arkansas recently began a three-year project to catalog and understand Ozark rock art. The archaeologists find, photograph, and excavate rock art sites. They record the location of the rock art and use computers to help understand its context. They believe that context is the key to getting inside the minds of the ancient rock artists.
DB: If rock art is hidden in a secluded area of great natural beauty, for example, it might point to a place considered sacred. Images near habitations might have been just decoration. Meanwhile, art on the easiest path between two settlements might have marked a trail.
JB: For information on how you can see this rock art, come to earthsky.org. Thanks today to the Bureau of Land Management and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. We’re Block and Byrd for Earth and Sky.
The following person was interviewed for today’s program. Our thanks to:
Dr. George Sabo III
Archaeologist
Arkansas Archaeological Survey
Professor of Anthropology
University of Arkansas
Where can I see Arkansas rock art? of Arkansas)
Rock Art in Arkansas of Arkansas)
American Rock Art Research Association
Contemporary Approaches to World Rock Art University of New England, Australia)
Additional Teacher Resources
University of Arkansas, Arkansas Archeological Survey: History of Rock Art Research in Arkansas
Arkansas possesses some of the best-preserved and most interesting examples of prehistoric rock art in eastern North America. This review traces the various academic and cultural trends that influenced past studies of Arkansas rock art and summarizes the way in which these trends shaped the information which is available today.
University of Arkansas, Arkansas Archeological Survey: Arkansas Archeological Survey
This is the official website of the Arkansas Archeological Survey. It includes information on the history of the survey, archeological projects of the past and present, educational outreach information, sponsored research, and links to more information on rock art in the Ozark Mountain Range.
