Rock Art

Painted and engraved marks and images on rock surfaces represent the oldest and most widespread form of human expression. Found globally in its original landscapes, with some images dating back fifty thousand years or more, the world's rock art constitutes the most important body of latent knowledge about our deep past. Today, however, mass tourism, vandalism, theft, land development, and climate change are posing increasingly dire threats to this irreplaceable heritage.

This richly illustrated volume, the ninth to appear in the Getty Conservation Institute's award-winning Readings in Conservation series, is the first interdisciplinary anthology to focus on the conservation and management of rock art sites. Its 133 readings survey the arc of published writings on the subject, ranging from early academic theories and oral narratives of Traditional peoples to an abundant selection of recent scholarship covering current best practices and advances in portable instrumentation that can be used in the field. The book is divided into nine parts. Initial sections probe the origins and significance of these often-enigmatic forms, then survey scientific and technological methods of dating, monitoring, and documenting them. Subsequent readings discuss rock art's physical characteristics and weathering, its importance to Indigenous communities, the decolonization of site management, the role of governments, the value of public outreach, and climate change. The volume closes with a selection of case studies drawn from major sites worldwide.