Excellent reference books on rock drawings and petroglyphs of the Southwest. Packed with line drawings and photographs, the book is divided into subjects (lizard, clouds, spiral) in alphabetical order.

Each tribal meaning is also listed, so one symbol can mean different things to different tribes. And some of the pictographs have never been assigned a meaning.

It's a thoroughly researched book, well done and clear. It belongs in every hikers shelf and every historians reference list.

Given the prevalence of rock art in the Southwest (USA), it’s striking how little is known about its meaning. As with Schaafsma’s comprehensive work on rock art, this book is mainly a descriptive cataloging of symbols (arrows, horns, flute players, family, rain, corn, etc), arranged alphabetically. The descriptions offer plausible explanations, with the caveat that these are, at heart, best guesses. It could be that a good part of these symbols have no meaning other than that they are representations of important aspects of Indian life - water, animals, the hunt, and various food sources. In that regard, it could be - for its time - a peek into the life and times of Indians and it is not more complicated than that. Still, there are clues that some of the symbols seen are more complex, especially when it comes to Shamanism that this book references throughout.

There is Rock Art all around Tucson. I've actually interpreted at least one by using this book!

Incoherent. A genuine mess.

Great guide to carry when hiking, if your looking to start to understand petroglyphs.

I think this is a classic read, no longer published, for those interested in native americans, writing, communication, symbols, non-textual literacy, the American West, and pre-history for the Americas. He was a thinker, not an "educated" author and in a place that ivy anthropologists and archeologists came to dominate, this is a varied approach from a non-traditional authority.

Interpreting rock art is always difficult but at least there are some good illustrations in here.