Rock Art in the Casas Grandes Region: Report of Seven New Sites and a Review of the Literature

A significant advancement in the documentation of rock art in the Casas Grandes region, Mexico, has been made with the identification and description of seven new sites. This study builds upon early observations by Adolph Bandelier in 1884 and Carl Lumholtz in 1891, who first recorded rock art in northern Chihuahua. The research combines historical literature review with fieldwork to contribute previously unknown pictographs and petroglyphs to the regional record. Bandelier's original sketches, unpublished until now, provide the earliest visual evidence of rock art in this area. The study also highlights the role of local knowledge, such as that shared by Mormon families with Lumholtz, in locating these sites. While earlier expeditions, including the 1958 Casas Grandes Joint Expedition, noted some rock art sites, this work expands the catalog significantly and sets a new benchmark for understanding the cultural significance of rock art in the region.

O’Connor, R. D., & Parks, W. P. (2012). Rock Art in the Casas Grandes Region: Report of Seven New Sites and a Review of the Literature. Journal of the Southwest, 54(1), 9–46. https://doi.org/10.1353/jsw.2012.0012