Rock Art Research Program: to enhance international scholarship through emplacement of geographical perspectives on the analytical study and conservation of rock art.

Key Personnel:

Dr. Dave Whitley

Lead Scientist
Adjunct Professor of Geographical Sciences and W&S Consultants / / Dr. Whitley’s leadership as an internationally renowned scholar in rock art research rests at the heart of this research program

Dr. Niccole Cerveny and Dr. Steve Gordon

Weathering Science Team Leaders
Mesa Community College and Air Force Academy / /

Dr. Ron Dorn and Dr. Niccole Cerveny

Chronometry Science Team Leaders

Professor of Geographical Sciences and Mesa Community College

/ /
Brandon Vogt and Dr. Rob Edsall
Geovisualization Science Team
Ph.D. Candidate and Assistant Professor in Geographical Sciences / /

Case Allen, Douglas Frink and Dr. Niccole Cerveny

Education Evaluation Team Leaders
Ph.D. Candidate in Geographical Sciences and Mesa Community College / /

Synopsis of Recent Research Projects

Project / Title / Synopsis / Recent Papers
Dating Project / Holocene Dating with Varnish Microlaminations (VML) / Of the eleven different methods proposed to date rock varnish, VML has moved beyond the experimental stage. VML is based on analyses of over ten thousand sedimentary deposits (varnish microbasins). VML has been thoroughly calibrated at sites with numerical age control from multiple methodologies (e.g. radiocarbon, uranium-series, cosmogenic nuclide, and others), and most importantly it has has been subjected to a rigorous blind test properly adjudicated by the editor of the journal Geomorphology. There exists a commercial laboratory to assist data acquisition http://www.vmldatinglab.com. The key paper is:
Liu, T., and Broecker, W.S., 2006. Holocene rock varnish microstratigraphy and its chronometric application in the drylands of western USA. Geomorphology, in press. / Cerveny, N.V., Kaldenberg, R., Reed, J., Whitley, D.S, Simon, J. and Dorn, R.I. 2006. A New Strategy for Analyzing the Chronometry of Constructed Rock Features in Deserts. Geoarchaeology v. 21, No. 3: 281-303.
Dorn, R.I. 2006. Petroglyphs in Petrified Forest National Park: Role of rock coatings as agents of sustainability and as indicators of antiquity. Bulletin of Museum of Northern Arizona 63: 52-63 [W. G. Parker and P. A. Thompson, eds., 2006, A Century of Research at Petrified Forest National Park: Natural and Cultural History]
Whitley, D.S. In Preparation. Varnish microlamination dating and rock art chronology in the Great Basin, North America.
RASI Project / Rock Art Stability Index (RASI): ‘triage’ and GIS strategy for evaluating panel stability / Existing strategies to characterize the stability of stone require more time, expertise and cost than can be given to surveys of the thousands of rock art sites potentially in danger. In order to identify those petroglyph and pictograph panels most susceptible to erosion, this project uses a field-friendly index including various elements of existing strategies. RASI's is a triage strategy to evaluate cultural resource sustainability, and this method includes the use of Geographic Information Science to store, display and analyze rock art. / Cerveny, N.V. A weathering-based perspective on rock art conservation. Ph.D. Arizona State Univ, 2005
Cerveny, N.V., Dorn, R.I., Gordon, S.J. and Whitley, D.S.(2006) Atlas of Petroglyph Weathering Forms used in the Rock Art Stability Index (RASI). http:// alliance.la.asu.edu/ rock art/stabilityindex/RASIAtlas.html
Dorn, R.I., Cerveny, N.V., Gordon, S.J., Whitley, D.S. In Preparation. A non-invasive field triage strategy to assess rock art stability.
GLS Project / Geovisualization of Laser Scanning: Development of expert systems for a detailed and non-destructive evaluation of panel stability / This project explores the development of new geovisualization techniques that include multiple linked views (MLV) and conditioned choropleth maps (CCMaps), applied to terrestrial-based lidar data of rock art and surrounding weathering forms. The goal of this projects rests in facilitating non-destructive extraction of detailed new insight of rock instability associated with rock art panels. / Vogt, B.J. 2006. Geovisualization, rock weathering, and terrestrial lidar in the context of rock art. Ph.D. Project, in progress.
CCLI Project / Community College Students Conduct Field-Based Rock Art Research with GIS / In a proposed National Science Foundation project, community college students carry out field-based research in the learning process. Student research generates new data on local societal problems involving the preservation of ancient cultural remains. / Cerveny, N.V. and Allen, C. In preparation. Is it possible to analyze petroglyph stability without having a technical background in weathering? Evaluation of field-based education strategy for introductory college science courses

Petrified Forest National Park’s Long Tradition

Great Basin Rock Art at the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition Analyzed With VML
Llama

Bighorn Sheeep
/ Bighorn Sheep


Continuity of Holocene Bighorn Petroglyphs Throughout the Late Holocene

Bighorn ~2800 Cal BP
/ Bighorn – less than 300 Cal BP

Bighorn ~500 Cal BP
/ Bighorn – less than 300 Cal BP

Rectilinear Abstract Extends Throughout The Holocene in the Great Basin

X-motif (rectilinear abstract)
/ Circle and Cross ~ 2800 Cal BP
Circle and Cross – younger than 300 Cal BP

Using the Rock Art Stability Index to “Triage” Rock Art Sites


Geovisualization of Laser Scanning to Provide More Detailed Analysis of a Problematic Panel Identified by RASI