The Rock Art Podcast

In this episode, Alan speaks with Dr. David Bruner about the connections between cultural beliefs, symbolism, and the interpretation of the archaeological record. They explore the Bakongo cosmogram and its possible expression in African American burial traditions, including reversed writing on grave markers and pipes placed in graves. The conversation also draws parallels between street art in New...

In this episode, Alan speaks with author James W. Graham about his book Where the Moon Stands Still , exploring the remarkable geometry and possible lunar alignments of the ancient Hopewell earthworks in Newark, Ohio. They discuss how researchers Ray Hively and Robert Horn investigated the relationship between the earthworks and the Moon’s 18.6-year cycle, and what these discoveries reveal about I...

In this episode, Alan speaks with previous guest, Shefa Salem, and her colleague Mohamed Al-Trhuoni, about the remarkable rock art of Libya and their efforts to document, preserve, and interpret it. They explore similarities between Libyan rock art and imagery from other parts of the world, including rain symbolism, animal figures, altered states of consciousness, and shamanic imagery. The convers...

In this episode, Alan speaks with Dr. George Nash about Ice Age archaeology and rock art in South Wales. They explore the remarkable discoveries at Bacon Hole and Cat Hole, including a painted cave panel rediscovered after disappearing beneath calcite for decades, and a stylized reindeer engraving dated using uranium-thorium dating. They also examine Ice Age hunter-gatherer movement, the changing...

In this episode, Alan speaks with Stephen Alvarez about his new book, Rock Art: An American Story , exploring the enduring significance of rock art across North America. They discuss Indigenous perspectives, the sacredness of rock art sites, and how ancient imagery continues to connect people with place, culture, and history. The conversation also considers the challenges of interpreting and datin...

Dr. Alan Garfinkel talks with archaeologist Robert Yohe about their long collaboration and new insights from Yohe’s work at the Rose Spring site. Yohe describes using many radiocarbon dates from a deep, stratified deposit to refine local chronology and estimate the bow-and-arrow’s introduction around 1,600 years ago, along with a rare ritual feature involving a bighorn sheep skull. They also discu...

In this episode of the Great Plains Archaeology Podcast, Carlton is joined by John M. Lambert and Thomas J. Loebel to discuss their recent article with Dr. David Easterla, “Addressing a Gap in the Late Pleistocene Record of the Midwest: Fluted Points in Northwest Missouri and Southwest Iowa.” The conversation explores why this region has long been underrepresented in Paleoindian research and how t...

In this episode, Alan speaks with Jens Notroff about the groundbreaking discoveries at Göbekli Tepe, one of the world's oldest monumental archaeological sites. They explore what its remarkable stone architecture, animal imagery, and material culture reveal about the social organization, ritual practices, and symbolic lives of hunter-gatherers more than 12,000 years ago. The conversation also exami...

In this episode, Alan speaks with Jose Battello about his Indigenous Nahua heritage, his journey into anthropology, and the role of Indigenous knowledge in archaeological interpretation. They explore decolonial approaches to research, Nahua cosmology as a lens for understanding Coso rock art, and the importance of Indigenous self-representation, language, and ceremonial traditions in preserving cu...

In episode 167, Dr. Alan Garfinkel interviews author and conservationist Alan Ehrgott about his recent book, The Elusive Conquest of Queen Califa: California History Revisited . The discussion explores the Indigenous peoples of Baja California, the arrival of Spanish explorers and missionaries, and the role of rock art as a visual record of history, belief, and cultural survival. Ehrgott describes...

In episode 166, Dr. Alan Garfinkel continues his discussion of a major Coso rock art panel, focusing on recurring symbolic elements and their possible cosmological meanings. He examines prominent figures depicted with snakes and distinctive staff-like wands, drawing on insights from researcher Bernard Jones and Hopi ceremonial traditions to explore connections between rock art, the winter solstice...

In episode 165, Dr. Alan Garfinkel interviews Dr. Meenakshi Dubey-Paik about her decades of research on India’s rock art, including extensive work on painted rock shelters. She describes how some tribes treat certain sites as sacred for vows, offerings, and festivals, using signs/symbols, animal imagery, dance, and music-induced trance, while noting cultural change from relocation and the addition...

Host Dr. Alan Garfinkel interviews Dr. John Bellezza about his path from traveling in India and Tibet in the 1980s to focusing on Tibetan prehistory, archaeology, cosmology, and rock art, later earning a PhD at the University of Kent based on prior publications. Bellezza stresses learning Tibetan languages and working in the field as Tibet opened to travelers in 1984, then turning to pre-Buddhist...

In this episode, Alan speaks with Dr Jayc Sedlmayr about his research into indigenous theology and animal ceremonial traditions. Drawing on interdisciplinary backgrounds, Sedlmayr discusses his “Embodied Essence” project, which explores how many cultures understood spiritual essence as residing in bodily substances—especially bone marrow. He explains how this perspective helps interpret ritual pra...

In this episode, Alan speaks with Dr Christian Bentz and Dr Ewa Dutkiewicz about their research on early systems of conventional signs. They explore how recurring symbols in rock art and mobile artifacts may reflect shared visual communication as far back as 40,000 years ago, and what this reveals about early human cognition and culture. Transcripts For a rough transcript head over to: https://www...

In this special episode, I sit down with Dr. Todd Surovell, professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming, to discuss new research that re-examines Monte Verde using modern geoarchaeological methods. The results suggest that the famous site may actually be much younger than previously believed, dating to the Holocene rather than the Ice Age. If true, this would mean that Monte Verde is no...

In episode 161, Chris Webster and Dr. Alan Garfinkel discuss decolonization in archaeology and rock art studies, arguing that researchers must take Indigenous perspectives seriously as Native communities gain more political and intellectual influence. They emphasize that Indigenous cosmologies often frame rock art meaning through interconnected energy, reciprocity, and life-death cycles rather tha...

In this episode, Alan welcomes back Dr George Harold Nash to the podcast to discuss his article on Serra da Capivara National Park, one of the most important archaeological regions in South America. Together, they explore the park’s extraordinary rock art, controversial early dates, and what the evidence might mean for long-standing models of migration into the Americas. Transcripts For a rough tr...

In this episode, Alan speaks with Dr Joakim Goldhahn about his journey through archaeology and rock art, from Scandinavia to Australia. Together, they explore the cosmology of Scandinavian burials linked to rock art, as well as the living traditions of rock art in Kakadu National Park and the lifeways of Indigenous Australians. Central to the discussion is a reflection on archaeological responsibi...

Episode 158 of the Rock Art Podcast steps beyond rock art to explore “obsidian conveyance systems”—how volcanic glass moved through travel, trade, and social ties, and what that reveals about prehistoric lifeways. Host Dr. Alan Garfinkel is joined by co-host Chris Webster for a conversation on obsidian sourcing, chemical fingerprints, and why big datasets can reconstruct connections even when stra...

In this episode, Alan is joined by Dr. Maria Guagnin (Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology) and Dr. Ceri Shipton (Australian National University) to explore how human societies adapted to environmental change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Maria and Ceri examine prehistoric settlement, mobility, and monumental rock art in northern Arabia, showing how symbolic expression and landsc...

As the APN takes a break this holiday season we are taking this opportunity to make you aware of other great shows on the network. This episode is from the Ethnocynology Podcast with David Ian Howe. Ethnocynology Podcast Ep 15: Direwolf Science with Dr. Shield-Chief Gover In this episode of Ethnocynology, David chats with friend, colleague, and former A Life in Ruins host, Dr. Carlton Shield Chief...

In this episode, Alan is joined by Dr. James Dodd, a researcher at Aarhus University and board member of the Scandinavian Society for Prehistoric Art. James uses digital tools such as GIS and high-performance computing to document and analyse rock art across Scandinavia. His work reveals how prehistoric communities expressed ideas through imagery and symbolism and how modern technology can uncover...

In this episode, Alan is joined by Joseph Williams, founder of Seven Fires Corporation, to explore how Indigenous knowledge, AI, and 3D imaging intersect in the study of rock art. They discuss applications from Göbekli Tepe to Native American sites, and examine the House of the Sun pictographs in Southern California, exploring how they reflect Native American cosmology and celestial traditions. Tr...

In this episode, Alan is joined by Douglas Beauchamp, an arts consultant and photographer based in Oregon, whose work explores the enduring power of rock art in shaping cultural landscapes. Douglas examines how ancient engravings and visual imagery continue to speak to contemporary audiences, bridging archaeology, public art, and the study of visual memory. Through his photography and field docume...