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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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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Nahua Cosmology and Decolonizing Rock Art with Jose Botello - Ep 168
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Nahua Cosmology and Decolonizing Rock Art with Jose Botello - Ep 168

In this episode, Alan speaks with Jose Battello about his Indigenous Nahua heritage, his journey into anthropology, and the role of Indigenous knowledge in archaeological interpretation. They explore decolonial approaches to research, Nahua cosmology as a lens for understanding Coso rock art, and the importance of Indigenous self-representation, language, and ceremonial traditions in preserving cultural knowledge.

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Alan Ehrgott and The Elusive Conquest of Queen Califa - Ep 167
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Alan Ehrgott and The Elusive Conquest of Queen Califa - Ep 167

In episode 167, Dr. Alan Garfinkel interviews author and conservationist Alan Ehrgott about his recent book, The Elusive Conquest of Queen Califa: California History Revisited. The discussion explores the Indigenous peoples of Baja California, the arrival of Spanish explorers and missionaries, and the role of rock art as a visual record of history, belief, and cultural survival. Ehrgott describes how his work blends historical research, memoir, adventure travel, and historical fiction, drawing from a 1,200-mile backpacking journey along Baja California’s Camino Real and decades of study of California history and conservation. The episode examines Indigenous lifeways, missionization, colonial encounters, cave paintings, and the enduring cultural landscapes of Baja California, while reflecting on how archaeology, oral traditions, and rock art help illuminate the complex history of California and its first peoples.

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Five Pilgrims and a Lunar Spirit: A Panel Deconstruction - Ep 166
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

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.

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


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