Description
Book SynopsisHidden away in the canyons of a highly restricted military base on the edge of the Mojave Desert is the largest concentration of rock art in North America, possibly in the world. Images of animals, shamans, and puzzling abstract forms were peckedand painted on stone over thousands of years by a now long-gone culture.
Talking Stone: Rock Art of the Cosos is a multivocal investigation of this art.
Acclaimed cinematographer Paul Goldsmith takes the reader on a visual journey through this limited access area with more than 160 stunningcolor photographs. The book is structured around Goldsmith’s treks into the remote desert canyons and his meetings with archaeologists, Native Americans, a psychologist, an artist, bow hunters, and the commanding officer in charge of the military base. The result is a visually striking book that gives the viewer a personal and visceral experience of this enigmatic art.
Trade Review“This book does a lovely job of showing the range of variability in rock art in the Cosos and the setting for that rock art. The minimal text keeps the attention on the imagery and photos. One can take great pleasure in simply looking at the rock art.”
—Amy Gilreath, Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc.
“This is a very personal take on the enigmatic rock art of the Coso Range. It’s a book built around images—spectacular pictures of some very sophisticated petroglyphs. The images tell the story.”
—David Hurst Thomas, Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History
“A visual delight. . . . Goldsmith supplements these photos with a narrative that is both personal and well informed. . . . The book will delight everyone with an interest in Native American rock art.”—
American Archaeology
