Description

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This volume is the first summary and synthesis of the rock art of the American High Plains, from Archaic times to the historic period. Even more, it presents an engaging combination of Plains archaeology, rock art sites, and holistic archaeological research. This refreshing approach to rock art studies reminds us that archaeologists glean information from the whole site and everything that may have occurred there, rather than simply focusing on the images on stone. Clues to understanding rock art can be found in other images, in associated artifacts, and in ethnographic analogy. Archaeologists are shown how rock art integrates with other materials available for study. With each page, the reader will be engaged in a compelling, and comprehensive story that focuses equally on the art and the archaeology of the prehistoric plains.

About the Author

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Lawrence Loendorf is an anthropologist and archaeologist whose research focuses on the North American intermountain west, ethnography, traditional cultural properties, and rock art. He currently directs a project to document the petroglyph sites on the hogback at the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado. Recent books include: Ancient Visions: Petroglyphs and Pictographs of the Wind River and Bighorn Country, Wyoming and Montana. University of Utah Press (with Julie Francis); Restoring a Presence: American Indians and Yellowstone National Park. University of Oklahoma Press (with Peter Nabokov); and Mountain Spirit: The Sheep Eater Indians of Yellowstone. University of Utah Press (with Nancy Medaris Stone).

Praise For…

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"If you thought the High Plains lacked rocks and thus rock art, you were wrong. Larry Loendorf's Thunder and Herds is the first major synthesis of an important but previously little known corpus of rock art, and it changes our understanding of the prehistory of the High Plains. It is essential reading for all North American archaeologists and rock art researchers." —David S. Whitley, author of The Art of the Shama: Rock Art of California and Introduction to Rock Art Research, and editor of The Handbook of Rock Art Research.

"Loendorf’s book on the rock art of the High Plains is a well-informed, vivid and highly readable presentation of one of the great rock art regions in the South West. One could not agree more with the author’s opinion that rock art sites are first and foremost archaeological sites and that ethnographic sources—together with archaeology—provide invaluable information on the rock art. This book is a must read both for the archaeological community and for the interested general public." —Jean Clottes, former director of prehistoric antiquities for the Midi-Pyrénées region of France; internationally acclaimed expert on painted cave art

"With Thunder and Herds, Larry Loendorf has put the rock art of the Southwestern Plains into both temporal and archaeological context. As usual, the book evidences one of Loendorf's key strengths--combining the study of the images with evidence from dirt archaeology, often obtained from his own problem-oriented excavations at the rock art sites themselves. This book will be valuable for anyone with an interest in rock art, archaeology, Indians, or the High Plains canyon country of southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico." —James D. Keyser, co-author of Plains Indian Rock Art

"The overall style is informal, with many anecdotes and asides about sites, archaeology, archaeologists, and historic events, which serve as an excellent introduction to the way scientists, especially archaeologists, work. There are numerous illustrations, and the book is well designed to appeal to novices. It could be a good introductory text for classes and collections in archaeology or plains history. Summing Up: Highly recommended."

- M. J. Schneider, CHOICE

"Archaeology is often described as detective work. In this detailed exploration of the High Plains of Colorado and New Mexico, archaeologist Lawrence Loendorf proves as adept as Sherlock Holmes in bringing diverse and often surprising clues to bear on understanding the who, when, where, and why or ancient rock carvings and paintings. Thunder and Herds reads like a good travel guide, with asides about wildlife, fossils, geology, and climate. Via analysis of the images, the archaeological remains associated with them, and oral tradition, the reader is transported between the worlds of modern archaeology and ancient High Plains dwellers." --Linea Sundstrom, Great Plains Research