The Rock Art Podcast

Hosted by Dr. Alan Garfinkel, The Rock Art Podcast explores the fascinating world of Indigenous rock art across North America and beyond. Each episode dives into the cultural, spiritual, and archaeological significance of ancient carvings, paintings, and symbols left on stone. Through interviews with experts and Tribal representatives, the podcast highlights the stories, traditions, and research that bring rock art to life. Whether you're a rock art enthusiast, archaeologist, or simply curious about the past, The Rock Art Podcast offers an in-depth look at one of humanity’s oldest and most meaningful forms of expression.

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Dr George Nash and Bacon Hole, Palaeolithic Art - Ep 172
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Dr George Nash and Bacon Hole, Palaeolithic Art - Ep 172

In this episode, Alan speaks with Dr. George Nash about Ice Age archaeology and rock art in South Wales. They explore the remarkable discoveries at Bacon Hole and Cat Hole, including a painted cave panel rediscovered after disappearing beneath calcite for decades, and a stylized reindeer engraving dated using uranium-thorium dating. They also examine Ice Age hunter-gatherer movement, the changing landscape of the Gower Coast, and how new technologies such as D-Stretch are revealing previously invisible traces of prehistoric art.

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'Rock Art: An American Story' with Stephen Alvarez - Ep 171
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

'Rock Art: An American Story' with Stephen Alvarez - Ep 171

In this episode, Alan speaks with Stephen Alvarez about his new book, Rock Art: An American Story, exploring the enduring significance of rock art across North America. They discuss Indigenous perspectives, the sacredness of rock art sites, and how ancient imagery continues to connect people with place, culture, and history. The conversation also considers the challenges of interpreting and dating rock art, and the importance of respecting and protecting these remarkable records of the past.

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The Legacy of Rose Spring and the Bow and Arrow Transition with Dr Robert Yohe - Rock Art 170
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

The Legacy of Rose Spring and the Bow and Arrow Transition with Dr Robert Yohe - Rock Art 170

Dr. Alan Garfinkel talks with archaeologist Robert Yohe about their long collaboration and new insights from Yohe’s work at the Rose Spring site. Yohe describes using many radiocarbon dates from a deep, stratified deposit to refine local chronology and estimate the bow-and-arrow’s introduction around 1,600 years ago, along with a rare ritual feature involving a bighorn sheep skull. They also discuss challenges and progress in dating rock art, including AMS radiocarbon dating of a South Fork Kern River painting to about 1,000 years old, and Yohe previews a major upcoming Rose Spring monograph that revises earlier views on subsistence, settlement, and stone tool reuse.

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PROMO - Filling the Gap: New Evidence of Paleoindian Life in Northwest Missouri and Southwest Iowa with Dr. Thomas Loebel and John Lambert- Plains 44
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

PROMO - Filling the Gap: New Evidence of Paleoindian Life in Northwest Missouri and Southwest Iowa with Dr. Thomas Loebel and John Lambert- Plains 44

In this episode of the Great Plains Archaeology Podcast, Carlton is joined by John M. Lambert and Thomas J. Loebel to discuss their recent article with Dr. David Easterla, “Addressing a Gap in the Late Pleistocene Record of the Midwest: Fluted Points in Northwest Missouri and Southwest Iowa.” The conversation explores why this region has long been underrepresented in Paleoindian research and how the documentation of 235 fluted projectile points, including dozens of previously unreported specimens, helps illuminate the lives of some of North America's earliest inhabitants. Lambert and Loebel discuss the challenges and value of integrating museum collections, private collections, and published records, as well as what Clovis and Folsom projectile points reveal about technology, mobility, and land use across the Midcontinent and Great Plains. The episode highlights how overlooked collections and regional documentation projects continue to reshape our understanding of Paleoindian settlement, movement, and adaptation during the late Pleistocene.

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Göbekli Tepe with Jens Notroff - Ep 169
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Göbekli Tepe with Jens Notroff - Ep 169

In this episode, Alan speaks with Jens Notroff about the groundbreaking discoveries at Göbekli Tepe, one of the world's oldest monumental archaeological sites. They explore what its remarkable stone architecture, animal imagery, and material culture reveal about the social organization, ritual practices, and symbolic lives of hunter-gatherers more than 12,000 years ago. The conversation also examines how ongoing research is reshaping our understanding of the origins of monumentality, cooperation, and the transition to settled life.

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A podcast about rock art with Dr. Alan Garfinkel, president of the California Rock Art Foundation.


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