Stephen Alvarez

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Pictograph panel in Buckhorn Wash
Pictograph 3D Model on the San Rafael Swell
by Stephen Alvarez|January 3, 2022|Barrier Canyon Style, Emery County, Native American, North America, pictograph, Rock Art, Rock Art Styles, Utah, Virtual Reality
Meta optimized virtual reality model of Barrier Canyon Style pictograph rock art on the San Rafael swell in Emery County Utah
The handprint pictograph is the universal symbol for humanity
by Stephen Alvarez|January 3, 2022|Bears Ears, cave art, pictograph, Rock Art, San Juan County, Utah
Handprints are the universal symbol of humanity. We have seen them across all of human history and on 6 continents
Shooting the Milky Way and Rock Art
by Stephen Alvarez|December 20, 2021|Great Basin, Nevada, Photography
How do you shoot the Milky Way and rock art at the same time?
Picture Cave Missouri Sold at Auction
by Stephen Alvarez|September 15, 2021|news, pictograph, Rock Art
Picture Cave Missouri, the Mississippian era ceremonial cave near St Louis, containing some of the most incredible pictographs in North America has sold at auction for $2.2 million to bidders who wish to remain anonymous. There is no word on what plans the new owners have for this cultural masterpiece. Details about the Picture Cave sale are in this NPR story here. The 43-acre parcel was sold on September 14 by Selkirk Auctions. We are of course disappointed that the cultural asset was not moved to public or tribal hands. Picture Cave relates significantly to Cahokia and the red horn story. Red Horn in the form of the Falcon Warrior makes an appearance in Devilstep Hollow cave in Tennessee (see our 360 degree VR video with narration by Dustin Mater here). For anyone who would like more information on the art and significance of Picture Cave we recommend Carol Diaz-Granados...
New Age of the Cerne Abbas Giant Geoglyph
by Stephen Alvarez|August 8, 2021|age, geoglyph, news, Rock Art
An article in Sapiens lists the age for the Cerne Abbas Giant geoglyph in Dorset, England. The 180 foot long image is now thought to have been made between AD 700 and AD 1100 -the early medieval period. There are 30 or more chalk geoglyphs in Southern England, no word on their age.
Rochester Rock art Fremont Panel
Rochester Rock art panel vandalized!
by Stephen Alvarez|June 10, 2021|Barrier Canyon Style, Emery County, news, petroglyph, Rock Art, San Juan County, Utah
The Rochester Rock art panel in Utah has been vandalized
Two acts of vandalism in Moab, Utah
by Stephen Alvarez|April 29, 2021|news
Two acts of vandalism happened to rock art near Moab last week. Birthing Rock before the vandalism, Image by Alan Cressler Near Moab a climber intentionally bolted through a rock art panel. This has been widely reported on social media and in the outdoor recreation world. The climb is called the Sunshine Slabs. The bolts were removed by other climbers, but the holes that remain and will hasten erosion of the rock art panel. The offender’s defense was that he was trying to make the very easier (5.3) climb even more accessible. It is important to note that even though this happened on public land, it is illegal make permanent changes to the public land without permits. It’s the same as mining for gold or building a road without permits, its illegal. The culprit is known and is presumably being dealt with by the BLM who manages the site. Read...
“Irreplaceable” 1,000-year-old rock art vandalized in Georgia
by Stephen Alvarez|April 7, 2021|news, petroglyph, Rock Art
The Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia is reporting that the Track Rock Gap rock art site has been vandalized (USA Today). Track Rock Gap is one of 3 heavily engraved soapstone petroglyph sites in the mountains of Georgia and North Carolina. The sites are tied to the Cherokee and Creek nations. The best known of these soapstone sites is Judaculla Rock, seen here as a 3D model. https://sketchfab.com/models/ebfc3ec3eb3947ea92a7abb2d13060cb/embed Judaculla Rock, Jackson County, North Carolina by Ancient Art Archive on Sketchfab All pre contact story written on the landscape are irreplacable. Vandalism at Track Rock Gap is deeply sad. Rescources: Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Track Rock Gap page Judaculla Rock, NC Alan Cressler's photos of Track Rock Gap
Altamira Cave, Spain
Altamira Cave, Spain
by Stephen Alvarez|April 2, 2021|1400BP, Altamira, cave art, Europe, How Old Is It?, Magdalenian, Painting, Paleolithic, pictograph, Rock Art, Spain, Virtual Reality
Altamira cave is Spain is one of the most pristine examples of paleolithic cave art, but the pictographs discovery is rooted in controversy
The New York Times says we are one of five accounts you should follow on Instagram
by Stephen Alvarez|March 4, 2021|news
The 36,000 year old Horse Panel of Chauvet This week, New York Times arts critic Martha Schwendener called the Ancient Art Archive one of the 5 instagram accounts that you should follow right now. “…the Ancient Art Archive journeys to caves, mesas, buttes and other sites around the world, documenting the paintings and marks made by our ancient ancestors.” She called out two of our posts in particular, one from Chauvet Cave in France and another from the Maze Panel in Arizona. The Maze Panel in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. It is an honor to be featured in the Times. The explosive growth of our Instagram feed shows what we have long known, people are hungry for these images from the past.