10 Apr 2025 How Ten Steps began with Lawrence Loendorf

In preparation for the upcoming Society for American Archaeology 2025 conference, University of Utah Press is sharing more about Ten Steps for Recording Pictographs and Petroglyphs, designed to accommodate both the hobbyist and scholar archaeologist. Use code SAA35 on our website for 35% off! Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Loendorf has worked the Press, previously having published Ancient Visions: Petroglyphs and Pictographs of the Wind River and Bighorn Country, Wyoming and Montana and Mountain Spirit: The Sheep Eater Indians of Yellowstone. Enjoy this Question and Answer with Larry. Ten Steps for Recording Pictographs and Petroglyphs is now available.

Click on the book cover to learn more.

What inspired you to embark on this project? Was there a particular moment when you realized “I need to write this book,” or was it instead a gradual development?

Over the course of my work as a rock art researcher, I have been asked many times to give presentations about the techniques that archaeologists use to record pictograph and petroglyph sites. One such request came from the Texas Archaeological Society, which sponsors a rock art workshop for members who want to learn on-site how to record the images present there. Sacred Sites Research, Inc. collaborated with Versar Inc. to teach two of these workshops at Hueco Tanks, Texas, where I presented a lecture series that I called “Ten Steps for Recording a Rock Art Site.” After one presentation, someone suggested that I write a book about the topic. Since books require a large amount of work, Nancy Stone agreed to take on the role of co-author and the book was underway.

Who do you envision reading this book and learning from it? What kind of impact do you hope it has on their work or understanding of pictographs and petroglyphs?

Unfortunately, very few archaeologists receive training in the techniques and methods used to record pictograph and petroglyph sites. Nancy and I hope that the book will be helpful to field archaeologists who encounter these sites in their work.

We also know that avocational archaeologists often search for petroglyph and pictograph sites with the intention of recording them. We hope that they will discover that the book is an informative and helpful reference that will guide their approach to recording projects.

What advice would you give a tourist who encounters a pictograph or petroglyph, especially regarding preservation and respect for these cultural sites?

The most important advice for a person who encounters a rock art site is to treat it with respect. Native Americans consider the places where pictographs and petroglyphs occur sacred sites. Visitors can take photographs at sites, but they should never touch or augment the images by, for instance, outlining drawings with charcoal or using chalk to fill in faded places. And the rule prohibiting visitors at any archaeological site from removing pot shards or other artifacts applies to rock art sites as well.

Of course, sitting and studying the images and wondering what they might mean and why they are there can be the most enjoyable part of visiting a pictograph or petroglyph site.

Why is it critical to record these sites meticulously? What risks do we face if they aren’t documented properly?

Acid rain, increased fire risk, and heavy dust storms are now a reality in the American West and these conditions significantly affect the long-term survival of pictograph and petroglyph sites. Fortunately, new tools like DStretch enable the visualization of formerly faded images, but these technologies are only useful if the sites are being recorded properly.

For many years, American archaeologists did not consider rock art sites useful resources, mostly because of the difficulty in dating them. That has changed in recent years, partly because Native Americans who consult with federal land-managing agencies consider rock art sites traditional cultural properties and recommend that they be recorded.   

What is your most memorable experience of you recording a site? In what way (if any) is that experience reflected in the themes of your book?

At least twice while I was visiting sites with American Indians, I was told to “pay attention to the plants.” It finally hit home when I found myself standing knee deep in wild tobacco at a pictograph site in southern New Mexico. We have subsequently discovered several medicinal plants that are associated with rock image sites.

Paying attention to a site’s surroundings, including the plants, is one of the pieces of advice offered in the book.   

Enjoy Larry Loendorf’s presentation “The Archaeology of Rock Art” for Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.

Da Quanisha Parks who currently works for the University of Utah Press as a graduate research assistant for marketing while earning an MS in Environmental Humanities.