Stories in Stone: Rock Art Pictures by Early Americans
Gr. 4^-6. From the author and photographer who countThe Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde(1992) among their successful collaborations comes another book about ancient Native Americans. Here they focus on the rock art found in the Coso Range of eastern California, which, with more than 100,000 examples, "is the richest concentration of rock art in the Western Hemisphere," and some of the drawings are at least 6,000 years old. Explaining that the termrock artrefers to drawings that are carved or engraved into stone or are painted on rock surfaces, Arnold describes the various methods that were used to create the designs. She also discusses climatic changes in the area, beginning with the last Ice Age, and surmises what life might have been like for those ancient people. Unfortunately, her citations consist of "archaeologists call" or "experts agree," and she provides no sources of further information. Hewitt's wonderful full-color photographs show the landscape as well as a profusion of the ancient images and may inspire a sense of wonder in kids when they see the images and consider their age. The photos will draw browsers; their curiosity will lead them into the text. Glossary.Sally Estes