Ancient Ruins and Rock Art of the Southwest: An Archaeological Guide

by David Grant Noble

This fourth edition of David Grant Noble's indispensable guide to archaeological ruins of the American Southwest includes updated text and many newly opened archaeological sites. From Alibates Flint Quarries in Texas to the Zuni-Acoma Trail in New Mexico, readers are provided with such favorites as Chaco Canyon and new treasures such as Sears Kay Ruin. In addition to descriptions of each site, Noble provides time-saving tips for the traveler, citing major highways, nearby towns and the facilities they offer, campgrounds, and other helpful information. Filled with photos of ruins, petroglyphs, and artifacts, as well as maps, this is a guide every traveler needs when exploring the Southwest.

Genres: History, Native American, Science, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2015

About the author

David Grant Noble was raised in rural Massachusetts, attended Yale University, and began photographing seriously in 1962 while serving in army counterintelligence in Vietnam. In the 1960s, while living in New York City, he wrote and photographed for the weekly newspaper, Manhattan East, covering anti-Vietnam war rallies in New York and Washington, D.C. among other assignments. He also documented Mohawk iron workers (Mohawk Steelworkers), a project which led to photographing the Ojibwe wild rice harvest. (The Ojibwe and wild rice)

After moving to New Mexico in 1971, he was the photographer on the School for Advanced Research's archaeological excavations at Arroyo Hondo Pueblo, a 14th-century site near Santa Fe. He remained on the SAR staff until 1989. He has long studied the Southwest's deep history and archaeology and traveled widely to photograph ruins, rock art (Rock Art), and landscape. His first book was Ancient Ruins of the Southwest: an Archaeological Guide, a fourth edition of which is in process. A selection of his other books can be seen on this web site, as well as selected photographs from In the Places of the Spirits.

David has been represented by photography galleries in New York City, Santa Fe, San Francisco, Dallas, and other cities. His pictures have been widely exhibited, published in magazines and books, and won awards. They can be found in the collections of the Museum of New Mexico, Yale University's Beinecke Library, New York City Public Library, the City of Phoenix, Museum of Art, Dallas, as well as corporate and private collections.

In 2003, David received the Victor Stoner Award from the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society for his "outstanding efforts to bring historical and archaeological awareness of the Southwest to the general public." In 2011, he received the Emil Haury Award from the Western National Parks Association's for "outstanding contributions in scientific research or other activities that advance the understanding and interpretation of the natural and cultural resources of western national parks

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and understand guide to ruins in the Southwest, what they are, how to get there, etc. There is a wonderful push throughout the book to be respectful regarding these ruins and the artifacts and rock art.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent guidebook. Bought my own copy to mark it up and check things off that I've seen.

[James F · Rating 3 out of 5]

A guidebook to the ruins of the early Indian cultures, primarily architecture with a few examples of rock art. It is organized by sites, grouped more or less by different cultures; but since more than one culture may have inhabited a particular site, often there is mention of a culture before it has been dealt with in the introduction to a section. The book really needs a general introduction to explain the history of the various cultures before the specific sites are dealt with; there are many maps, but a general map with the areas of all the cultures would have been helpful, as would a timeline. Despite these shortcomings, the book does provide information about the earliest known cultures (Clovis and Archaic), the Mogollon, the Hohokam, the Salado, the inhabitants of the Mesa Verde region, Chaco Canyon, the Kayenta, the Sinagua, the Fremont, and the region around the Rio Grande, and something of their history. It is well illustrated. The author has intentionally limited coverage to well-known publicly accessible sites to avoid encouraging the vandalism which is destroying many of the ancient sites; he is more optimistic about preservation than the second book which I am reading now.

[Michael Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those who know me understand that sussing out what humankind was up to in the pre-historic period is my thing. David Noble's book came highly recommended by another amateur enthusiast who works a V-Bar-V petroglyph heritage site. It does not disappoint, offering succinct directions, useful descriptions, and thoughtful analysis of "ruins and rock art" found in my neighborhood.