cover image Native American Rock Art: Messages from the Past: Native American Rock Art

Native American Rock Art: Messages from the Past: Native American Rock Art

Yvette La Pierre. Legacy Words, $17.95 (48pp) ISBN 978-1-56566-064-9

This handsome book offers a lively introduction to an unlikely topic-petroglyphs and pictographs, images carved into and painted onto stone surfaces by early Native Americans. La Pierre explains how paints were made and used, identifies common symbols found in rock art and demonstrates the importance of art to Native American culture. While some of the scientific information may leave younger readers cold, the text is neatly organized and unusually clear, whether outlining the technological processes involved in dating rock art, discussing the effects of natural erosion or speculating why rock art is often overlooked in the study of early American peoples. The graceful design incorporates rock art images, and amply captioned photographs provide plenty of examples of the pictographs and petroglyphs La Pierre describes. Attractive ink-and-watercolor studies of Native Americans producing or studying rock art open each chapter and add to the overall sense of exploration. An appendix lists public sites in 26 states where rock art can be viewed. Ages 8-up. (Oct.)