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.
Five Pilgrims and a Lunar Spirit: A Panel Deconstruction - Ep 166
In episode 166, Dr. Alan Garfinkel continues his discussion of a major Coso rock art panel, focusing on recurring symbolic elements and their possible cosmological meanings. He examines prominent figures depicted with snakes and distinctive staff-like wands, drawing on insights from researcher Bernard Jones and Hopi ceremonial traditions to explore connections between rock art, the winter solstice, and beliefs about maintaining cosmic balance. Alan discusses Indigenous concepts of the sun and moon as opposing yet complementary forces, including Nahua and broader Uto-Aztecan traditions that explain celestial cycles through mythic conflict and renewal.
A podcast about rock art with Dr. Alan Garfinkel, president of the California Rock Art Foundation.
Search the Rock Art Podcast above.
Podcast Archive
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2026
- Jun 4, 2026 Five Pilgrims and a Lunar Spirit: A Panel Deconstruction - Ep 166
- May 21, 2026 The Rock Art of India with Dr. Meenakshi Dubey-Pathak - Ep 165
- May 7, 2026 Dr. John Bellezza on Exploring Pre-Buddhist Tibet and Its Rock Art - Ep 164
- Apr 23, 2026 Dr Jayc Sedlmayr and Supernatural Gamekeepers - Ep 163
- Apr 9, 2026 Mobile Artifacts and Conventional Signs with Dr Christian Bentz and Dr Ewa Dutkiewicz - Ep 162
- Mar 26, 2026 PROMO - BREAKING NEWS - Monte Verde is no longer a pre-Clovis site, with Dr. Todd Surovell - Ethno 33
- Mar 12, 2026 Decolinization and Understanding Cultural Perspective - Ep 161
- Feb 27, 2026 America's Oldest Rock Art? with Dr George Harold Nash - Ep 160
- Feb 13, 2026 The Living Traditions of Rock Art with Dr Joakim Goldhahn - Ep 159
- Jan 30, 2026 Obsidian Conveyance Systems of the Pacific Northwest - Ep 158
- Jan 15, 2026 Pleistocene-Holocene transition and rock art with Dr Maria Guagnin and Dr Ceri Shipton - Ep 157
- Jan 1, 2026 PROMO: Ethnocynology Podcast Ep 15
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2025
- Dec 4, 2025 Scandinavian Rock Art with Dr James Dodd - Ep 156
- Nov 20, 2025 Joseph Williams and AI, 3D Mapping, and Celestial Pictographs - Ep 155
- Nov 7, 2025 Dr Douglas Beauchamp and the Rock Art of Oregon - Rock Art 154
- Oct 25, 2025 The Portuguese Bench Panel Deconstruction - Ep 153
- Oct 10, 2025 Recreating Rock Art with Stephen Townley Bassett - Rock Art 152
- Sep 28, 2025 Re-imaging Libyan Rock Art with visual artist Shefa Salem al-Baraesi - Ep 151
- Sep 12, 2025 Māori Rock Art with Dr Gerard O'Regan - Ep 150
- Aug 15, 2025 Social Stories In Stone! Community Archaeology and Rock Art with Dr Tertia Barrett - Ep 148
- Aug 1, 2025 Sexual Dimorphism and Human Hand Prints in the Upper Palaeolithic with Dr Dean Snow - Ep 147
- Jul 18, 2025 ENCORE - Pacific Rim Rock Art with Rachel Hoerman and the Huliaupa'a Community - Ep 136
- Jul 5, 2025 Gender and Expression in Prehistoric Art with Dr Leslie Van Gelder - Ep 146
- Jun 20, 2025 Palaeolithic Rock Art of the Côa Valley with Dr Thierry Aubry - Ep 145
- Jun 6, 2025 Kimberly Rock Art with Dr Damien Finch - Rock Art 144
- May 23, 2025 Discussing a Creation Story Panel at Little Petroglyph Canyon - Ep 143
- May 9, 2025 World Rock Art with Dr Benjamin Smith - Ep 142
- Apr 25, 2025 Palaeolithic Cave Art with Dr Angharad Jones and Hannah Andrews from Creswell Crags Archaeological Museum - Rock Art 141
- Mar 28, 2025 The Mistress of Animals - Ep 140
- Mar 14, 2025 Quantum Consciousness - Ep 139
- Feb 28, 2025 The Ancient Art Archive with Stephen Alvarez - Ep 138
- Feb 14, 2025 Dr Aaron Wright, Archaeology Southwest - Ep 137
- Jan 3, 2025 Encore: Signs and Iconicity with Dr. Tirtha Mukhopadhyay - Ep 108
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2024
- Dec 20, 2024 Encore: Evidence for the Peopling of the Americas - Ep 111
- Dec 6, 2024 Pacific Rim Rock Art with Rachel Hoerman and the Huliaupa'a Community - Ep 136
- Nov 22, 2024 Pictish Rock Art with Hamish Findlay Lamley - Ep 135
- Nov 8, 2024 Atlantic Rock Art with Clare Busher O'Sullivan - Ep 134
- Oct 25, 2024 Rock Art with Dr. George Harold Nash - Rock Art 133
- Oct 11, 2024 Nigerian Rock Art with Salisu Aminu - Ep 132
- Sep 27, 2024 Dance and Cosmology with Jose Botello - Ep 131
- Sep 13, 2024 The Supernatural Gamekeeper with Dr. Tirtha Mukhopadhyay - Ep 130
- Aug 30, 2024 The Supernatural Gamekeeper with Dr. Richard Chacon - Ep 129
- Aug 16, 2024 Fossil Falls and the Coso Range with Katie Olsen - Ep 128
- Aug 2, 2024 Nevadans for Cultural Preservation - Rock Art 127
- Jun 21, 2024 Discussing Rock Art with Director and Producer Chris Finefrock - Ep 126
- Jun 7, 2024 Analyzing Rock Art with Tony Prekis - Ep 125
- May 24, 2024 Analyzing Rock Art - Ep 124
- May 10, 2024 Amazonian Shamanism With Cinematographer Paul Goldsmith - Ep 123
- Apr 26, 2024 The Origins of Religion in Rock Art - Ep 122
- Apr 12, 2024 Ecstatic Postures and Altered States of Consciousness with Laura Lee - Ep 121
- Mar 29, 2024 The Rock Art of Little Lake, California - Ep 120
- Mar 1, 2024 Deconstructing a Complex Panel from Eastern California - Ep 119
- Feb 16, 2024 Amerindian Perspectivism - Ep 118
- Feb 2, 2024 Native American Perspectivism; Part 2 with Johnney Valdez - Ep 117
- Jan 19, 2024 Native Cosmology with Johnney Valdez - Ep 116
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2023
- Dec 29, 2023 The Archaeological Conservancy with Linsie Lafayette - Ep 115
- Dec 1, 2023 Gender and Sex in Rock Art - Ep 114
- Nov 17, 2023 Rock Art and Native Indigenous Perspectives - Ep 113
- Sep 22, 2023 Understanding and Appreciating Rock Art with Tim Waag - Ep 112
- Sep 8, 2023 Evidence for the Peopling of the Americas - Ep 111
- Aug 11, 2023 Native Californian Cultural Values with Willie Pink, advocate for Native heritage preservation - Ep 110
- Jul 28, 2023 Jakarda Wuka (Too Many Stories - Ep 109
- Jul 14, 2023 Signs and Iconicity with Dr. Tirtha Mukhopadhyay - Ep 108
- Jun 30, 2023 The Encapsulated Cross - Ep 107
- Jun 16, 2023 A Study in Mexican Rock Art with Dr. Elena Mateos Ortega - Ep 106
- Jun 2, 2023 Game Drive Fences and Desert Kites in Rock Art - Ep 105
- May 19, 2023 Understanding the Meaning of the Sierra de San Francisco Rock Paintings with Artist Elanie Moore - Ep 104
- May 5, 2023 Dating the Oldest Rock Art in North America - Ep 103
- Apr 21, 2023 The Archaeology of Emotions, Part 2 with Tirtha Mukhopadhyay - Ep 102
- Apr 7, 2023 100 Mule Trips to the Great Murals of Baja California with Eve Ewing - Ep 101
- Mar 24, 2023 The Archaeology of Emotion with Tirtha Mukhopadhyay - Ep 100
- Mar 10, 2023 Dating Desert Varnish and Rock Art with Meinrat Andreae - Ep 99
- Feb 24, 2023 PROMO Ancient Chinese Oracle Bones and other Ancient Writing - Ep 98
- Feb 10, 2023 Understanding Big Horn Sheep with Carlos Gallinger - Ep 97
- Jan 27, 2023 A Discussion with Linda Hylkema, Editor of La Pintura - Ep 96
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2022
- Dec 30, 2022 Michael Adonts and Rock Art Cinematography - Ep 95
- Dec 16, 2022 Ancestory: A children's book about rock art - Ep 94
- Dec 2, 2022 Bringing Local Tribes and Performers to the Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival with Alexis Zubia - Ep 93
- Nov 18, 2022 2022 Petroglyph Festival - Ep 92
- Nov 4, 2022 Indexical Animals: Quail and Eagle - Ep 91
- Oct 7, 2022 PROMO: Sacred Pools, Badass Prehistoric Women, and Giant Cave Art - TAS 171
- Sep 23, 2022 The Tehachapi Museum - Ep 90
- Sep 9, 2022 Virtual Reality Experiences with Rock Art and Cultural Heritage with Blue Planet and Eric Hanson - Ep 89
- Aug 26, 2022 Petroglyph Education Foundation with Matt Zubia - Ep 88
- Aug 12, 2022 Preserving an Important Rock Art Site with Joseph Williams - Ep 87
- Jul 29, 2022 Continuing with Pointed Petroglyphs - Ep 86
- Jul 15, 2022 Revisiting the Pointed Petroglyphs of the Coso Range - Ep 85
- Jun 17, 2022 Perspectives on Rock Art with Ann Norman - Ep 84
- Jun 3, 2022 Little Petroglyph Canyon and Rock Art Dating - Ep 83 (5)
- May 20, 2022 Chumash Rock Art and Other Trips with Stephen Bryne - Ep 82
- Apr 29, 2022 Shamanism and Rock Art: A Current View - Ep 80
- Apr 22, 2022 National Park Archaeology with David Nichols - Ep 79
- Apr 15, 2022 Shamanism and Cognitive Anthropology with Kevin Stein [Encore] - Ep 78
- Apr 8, 2022 Rock Art in Southeast Asia and the World, an Online Course with Noel Hidalgo Tan - Ep 77
- Apr 1, 2022 Teaching Native American Culture with Gloria Brooks - Ep 76
- Mar 25, 2022 ArchaeoAcoustics With Steve Waller [Encore] - Ep 75
- Mar 18, 2022 Writing about History with Cynthia Waldman - Ep 74
- Mar 11, 2022 Semotics and Rock Art with Trace Fleeman Garcia - Ep 73
- Mar 4, 2022 Reflections on Rock Art with Dr. Chester Liwosz - Ep 72
- Feb 25, 2022 Rock Art of the Sierra de San Francisco with Trudi Angell - Ep 71
- Feb 18, 2022 Middle American Archaeology with John Hoopes - Ep 70
- Feb 11, 2022 New methods for dating rock art with Kirk Astroth - Ep 69
- Feb 4, 2022 Uto-Aztecan Iconisity with Dr. Tirtha Mukhopadhyay - Ep 68
- Jan 28, 2022 Making a City Known for Petroglyphs with Kari Crutcher - Ep 67
- Jan 21, 2022 Resource Depletion and Religious Intensification - Ep 66
- Jan 14, 2022 Touring Baja California with Ryan Gerstner - Ep 65
- Jan 7, 2022 New methods for dating rock art with Kirk Astroth (ARCHIVE) - Ep 64
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2021
- Dec 31, 2021 Serpent Imagery in Rock Art - Ep 63
- Dec 24, 2021 ENCORE Rock Art, Science, and Religion with Dr. Tirtha Mukhopadhyay - Ep 62
- Dec 10, 2021 Religious Significance with Virginia Gonzales - Ep 61
- Dec 3, 2021 Preserving and Protecting Rock Art with Joe Williams - Ep 60
- Nov 26, 2021 Southeast Asian Archaeology with Dr. Noel Hidalgo Tan - Ep 59
- Nov 12, 2021 Creating Petroglyph Park in Ridgecrest, CA with Olaf Dowd - Ep 58
- Nov 5, 2021 A Private Tour of Little Petroglyph Canyon with Dick Dickson - Ep 57
- Oct 29, 2021 Linking the Sun and Animal Habits with Bernie Taylor - Ep 56
- Oct 8, 2021 Great Mural Rock Art and Travel Adventures - Ep 55
- Oct 1, 2021 Rock Paintings of Sierra de San Francisco - Ep 54
- Sep 17, 2021 Religion and Science with Bernie Taylor - Ep 53
- Sep 10, 2021 Ethnobotanicals and Religion with Jose Botello - Ep 52
- Sep 3, 2021 The Origins of Religion with Dr. Mukhopadhyay - Ep 51
- Aug 20, 2021 Hmong Ethnic Identity with Pakou Yang - Ep 50
- Aug 13, 2021 The Ridgecrest, CA Petroglyph Festival - Ep 49
- Aug 6, 2021 The Rock Art of Los Angeles County with Albert Knight - Ep 48
- Jul 30, 2021 Histories and Rock Art of the Juaneno of San Juan Capistrano, CA - Ep 47
- Jul 23, 2021 Venus figurines with Stephanie Haro - Ep 46
- Jul 16, 2021 Obsidian studies and Coso rock art with Sandy Rogers - Ep 45
- Jun 25, 2021 Living in a Pre-Contact Society with Dr. Richard J. Chacon - Ep 44
- Jun 18, 2021 Shooting a Documentary at Skinwalker Ranch - Ep 43
- Jun 11, 2021 Interview with David Hurst Thomas of the American Museum of Natural History - Ep 42
- Jun 4, 2021 Linguistic Prehistory with Dr. Alan Garfinkel - Ep 41
- May 28, 2021 Migration Patterns and Habits of Big Horn Sheep with Carlos Gallinger - Ep 40
- May 21, 2021 Animal-Human Headdresses with Dr. Alan Garfinkel - Ep 39
- May 14, 2021 Bighorn Sheep and Shamanism in Rock Art with Dr. Alan Garfinkel - Ep 38
- May 7, 2021 Revolutionary Interpretations of Coso Rock Art with Dr. Alan Garfinkel - Ep 37
- Apr 30, 2021 Ghost Dance Rock Art and Theology - Ep 36
- Apr 23, 2021 Projectile-Pointed People in Rock Art - Ep 35
- Apr 16, 2021 New methods for dating rock art with Kirk Astroth - Ep 34
- Mar 26, 2021 La Rumarosa and the Kumeyaay with Dr. Don Liponi - Ep 33
- Mar 12, 2021 Numic Scratched - Ep 32
- Mar 5, 2021 Barrier Canyon Style Rock Art of Utah with David Sucec - Ep 31
- Feb 12, 2021 Rock Art Dating with Dr. Alan Garfinkel - Ep 30
- Jan 8, 2021 Dr. Arthur Cushman - Ep 29
- Jan 1, 2021 Rock Alignments and Geoglyphs - Ep 28
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2020
- Dec 25, 2020 Figurines from Pakistan and Rock Art with Shane Davis - Ep 27
- Dec 18, 2020 Mojave National Preserve Park Archaeologist David Nichols - Ep 26
- Dec 11, 2020 Rock Art Definitions and Techniques - Ep 25
- Nov 27, 2020 Tribal Cultural Resource Management with Danielle Flowers - Ep 24
- Nov 20, 2020 The Lakota Sioux Standing Rock Tribe with Jeremy Freeman - Ep 23
- Nov 13, 2020 The Eastern Mojave: A Conversation About Adventure and Science with Dr. Alan Garfinkel - Ep 22
- Nov 6, 2020 The Basketry Boom of the early 20th Century with Gene Meieran - Ep 21
- Oct 30, 2020 PCNs and Rock Art Study with Donna Gillette and Linda Hylkema - Ep 20
- Oct 23, 2020 Gaining Purpose Through the Supernatural with L. Frank Manriquez - Ep 19
- Oct 16, 2020 Shamanism and Cognitive Anthropology with Kevin Stein - Ep 18
- Oct 9, 2020 Indigenous People and Relating to the Cosmos with Dr. Ed Krupp of the Griffith Observatory - Ep 17
- Oct 2, 2020 Astral Photography and Rock Art with Jerman Cervera - Ep 16
- Sep 25, 2020 Photographing and Interpreting Rock Art with Eric Lawton - Ep 15
- Sep 18, 2020 Rock Art, Science, and Religion with Dr. Tirtha Mukhopadhyay - Ep 14
- Sep 11, 2020 La Rumorosa Rock Art with Don Liponi - Ep 13
- Sep 4, 2020 Photographing Rock Art and Geoglyphs with Rick Colman - Ep 12
- Aug 28, 2020 A Lifetime of Rock Art Study with Peter Merlin - Ep 11
- Aug 21, 2020 Petroglyph Research with Dr. Chester Liwosz - Ep 10
- Aug 14, 2020 CRAF and ArchaeoAstronomy with Christine Grimaldi Clarkson - Ep 9
- Aug 7, 2020 Bighorn Sheep of California with Carlos Gallinger - Ep 8
- Jul 31, 2020 Filming Rock Art with Eran Barnea - Ep 7
- Jul 24, 2020 Virtual Reality and Rock Art with Eric Hanson - Ep 6
- Jul 17, 2020 Little Petroglyph Canyon and Rock Art Dating - Ep 5
- Jul 10, 2020 Bill Hyder on the Chumash of Southern California - Ep 4
- Jul 3, 2020 ArchaeoAcoustics With Steve Waller - Ep 3
- Jun 26, 2020 Dr. Alan Garfinkel Part 2 - Ep 2
- Jun 26, 2020 Dr. Alan Garfinkel Part 1 - Ep 1
- Jun 16, 2020 Introducing the Rock Art Podcast - Ep 0