Beth Hill

An updated archaeological survey of Indian rock carvings. Homage paid to Ed Meade's work, plus John Corner's Pictographs in the Interior of British Columbia. The primitive artwork has been given many useful interpretations in Hill's book, based on the traditional stories of the native people, passed down in an oral tradition. Sadly, these unwritten histories have faded as time passed and story-telling diminished.

While the book is invaluable to interested researchers in anthropology, archeology, and art history, it was, in retrospect, a mistake to include precise locations with some detailed maps. Scientific periodicals or a report filed with the BC Provincial Museum would have restricted the onslaught of the amateur public and the accompanying damage that ensued in the 1970's. A case in point was the vandalism that defaced so many excellent petroglyphs at a site near Nanaimo, BC.… (altro)

I really appreciate the authors' research in finding and documenting so many petroglyphs, and it's a great starting point. (So far I have just skimmed through all the pictures and notes, and read or skimmed most of the main chapters.) They also did a great job discussing what we can surmise and can't know about these petroglyphs.

I would love if they added an overall map with locations of petroglyphs. They appear to have assumed everyone would know where each lake and point from Oregon to Alaska is.… (altro)