Press

Saturday Night Live
by ancientartarch|December 5, 2022|Press
Comedian Michael Che offered up his opinion about our recent discovery of massive cave art in Alabama during an early May 2022 Saturday Night Live show: “Archaeologists have discovered thousand-year-old drawings in caves in Alabama. Guys, they’re bad,” he joked during his segment of Weekend Update. We appreciate the joke! The laugh line comes in at about 1 minute 15 seconds in the video below.
USA Today
USA Today: Scientists use 3D technology to uncover largest collection of ancient Native American cave art
by ancientartarch|May 7, 2022|Press
Scientists took thousands of high-tech photos to scan the ceiling of the cave in Alabama to create a 3D model. Photographer Stephen Alvarez explains that thanks to 3D modeling, “a story that was laid down a thousand plus years ago and has been invisible can now be seen in its entirety." Read the full USA Today article here
The New York Times
The New York Times: In Alabama’s ‘19th Unnamed Cave,’ a Trove of Ancient Dark-Zone Art
by ancientartarch|May 7, 2022|Press
Researchers using 3-D technology brought to light an array of art in an Alabama cave, including a serpent, flying creatures and humanoid figures in regalia. Read the full The New York Times article here
The Guardian
The Guardian: Largest US cave figures, about 1,000 years old, discovered in Alabama
by ancientartarch|May 5, 2022|Press
In a study published on Tuesday in the journal Antiquity, researchers revealed that a cave in the northern Alabama countryside is home to carvings dating back about 1,000 years.  Read the full The Guardian article here
ARTnews
ARTnews: The Largest Cave Drawings in North America Have Been Found in Alabama
by ancientartarch|May 4, 2022|Press
The five large figures discovered include three anthropomorphs (humanlike figures), one swirling, enigmatic figure, and a snake, most likely an eastern diamondback rattlesnake that was sacred to southeast Indigenous people of the time.  Read the full ARTnews article here
ArtNet
ArtNet: Archaeologists Have Revealed North America’s Largest Cave Paintings in Rural Alabama Through the Magic of 3D Imaging
by ancientartarch|May 4, 2022|Press
The 19th Unnamed Cave “allows a brief glimpse into the genius of these artists,” said Stephen Alvarez, the founder of the Ancient Art Archive and the producer of an animated model of the cave available to view online. Read the full ArtNet article here
Science
Science: Largest Native American Cave Art Revealed by 3D Scans
by ancientartarch|May 4, 2022|Press
The newly described figures share characteristics with other rock art formations in the southeast, like cliff drawings at Alabama’s Painted Bluff, and also in the Southwest, like the humanlike pictographs in Canyonlands National Park. The figures are also similar to those found on Woodland-style pottery.  Read the full Science article here
CNN
CNN: Unexpected discovery of mysterious drawings could change the way scientists look at cave art
by ancientartarch|May 4, 2022|Press
Massive Native American drawings – which remained unseen in an Alabama cave for more than 1,000 years – have been unveiled by a team of scientists. The large artwork was discovered in the 19th Unnamed Cave in Alabama, which has been kept anonymous to protect the site from vandalism. Read the full CNN article here
NBC
NBC News: America’s largest cave figures discovered in Alabama
by ancientartarch|May 4, 2022|Press
The carvings in this Alabama cave, which may show spirits of the dead, are almost invisible. Photographer Stephen Alvarez has revealed them using advanced photographic techniques. Read the full NBC article here
Antiquity
Antiquity: Discovering ancient cave art using 3D photogrammetry: pre-contact Native American mud glyphs from 19th Unnamed Cave, Alabama
by ancientartarch|May 3, 2022|Press
Authors Jan F. Simek, Stephen Alvarez, and Alan Cressler argue that photogrammetry offers untapped potential for not simply the documentation but also the discovery of a variety of archaeological phenomena. Read the full Antiquity article here