Full Description
Painted
and engraved marks and images on rock surfaces represent the oldest and most
widespread form of human expression. Found globally in its original
landscapes, with some images dating back fifty thousand years or more, the
world's rock art constitutes the most important body of latent knowledge
about our deep past. Today, however, mass tourism, vandalism, theft, land
development, and climate change are posing increasingly dire threats to this
irreplaceable heritage.
This richly illustrated volume,
the ninth to appear in the Getty Conservation Institute's award-winning
Readings in Conservation series, is the first interdisciplinary anthology to
focus on the conservation and management of rock art sites. Its 133 readings survey
the arc of published writings on the subject, ranging from early academic
theories and oral narratives of Traditional peoples to an abundant selection
of recent scholarship covering current best practices and advances in
portable instrumentation that can be used in the field. The book is divided
into nine parts. Initial sections probe the origins and significance of these
often-enigmatic forms, then survey scientific and technological methods of
dating, monitoring, and documenting them. Subsequent readings discuss rock
art's physical characteristics and weathering, its importance to Indigenous
communities, the decolonization of site management, the role of governments,
the value of public outreach, and climate change. The volume closes with a selection
of case studies drawn from major sites worldwide.
