Episode 158 of the Rock Art Podcast steps beyond rock art to explore “obsidian conveyance systems”—how volcanic glass moved through travel, trade, and social ties, and what that reveals about prehistoric lifeways. Host Dr. Alan Garfinkel is joined by co-host Chris Webster for a conversation on obsidian sourcing, chemical fingerprints, and why big datasets can reconstruct connections even when stratigraphy is mixed. Alan draws from a major post-wildfire cultural project in southern Oregon’s North Umpqua River Basin, where cleared forests exposed dense artifact scatters and a surprising pattern: heavy reliance on obsidian despite sources 100+ miles away, including biface caches dated to around 4,000 years ago.

For a rough transcript head over to: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/rockart/158

Dr. Alan Garfinkel

• avram1952@yahoo.com
• Dr. Alan Garfinkel’s Website
• Support Dr. Garfinkel on Patreon

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
• APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
• APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
• APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
• APN Shop

• Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Alan is joined by Dr. Maria Guagnin (Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology) and Dr. Ceri Shipton (Australian National University) to explore how human societies adapted to environmental change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Maria and Ceri examine prehistoric settlement, mobility, and monumental rock art in northern Arabia, showing how symbolic expression and landscape use offer insight into survival, innovation, and cultural continuity. Their research demonstrates the resilience and creativity of early human societies.

For a rough transcript head over to: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/rockart/157

• Dr. Maria Guagnin
• Dr Ceri Shipton
• Monumental rock art illustrates that humans thrived in the Arabian Desert during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition
• 12,000-year-old rock art marked ancient water sources in Arabia’s desert

• Dr. Alan Garfinkel
• avram1952@yahoo.com
• Dr. Alan Garfinkel’s Website
• Support Dr. Garfinkel on Patreon

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
• APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
• APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
• APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
• APN Shop

• Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As the APN takes a break this holiday season we are taking this opportunity to make you aware of other great shows on the network. This episode is from the Ethnocynology Podcast with David Ian Howe.

Ethnocynology Podcast Ep 15: Direwolf Science with Dr. Shield-Chief Gover

In this episode of Ethnocynology, David chats with friend, colleague, and former A Life in Ruins host, Dr. Carlton Shield Chief Gover.

David and Carlton do a brief catch up before diving right into the recent paper released by Colossal Biosciences and a team of researchers regarding newly researched direwolf genetics.

David and Carlton discuss the ethics of release the un-peer reviewed paper only after the huge media push, as well as Carlton gives a an analysis of the statistics in the paper.

Ethnocynology Podcast on the APN

Dire wolves were the last of an ancient New World canid lineage

On the ancestry and evolution of the extinct dire wolf

APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com

APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet

APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet

APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet

APN Shop

Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Alan is joined by Dr. James Dodd, a researcher at Aarhus University and board member of the Scandinavian Society for Prehistoric Art. James uses digital tools such as GIS and high-performance computing to document and analyse rock art across Scandinavia. His work reveals how prehistoric communities expressed ideas through imagery and symbolism and how modern technology can uncover patterns and connections hidden across the landscape.

For a rough transcript head over to: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/rockart/156

• Dr James Dodd Academia Profile
• Scandinavian Society of Prehistoric Art

• Dr. Alan Garfinkel
• avram1952@yahoo.com
• Dr. Alan Garfinkel’s Website
• Support Dr. Garfinkel on Patreon

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
• APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
• APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
• APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
• APN Shop

• Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Alan is joined by Joseph Williams, founder of Seven Fires Corporation, to explore how Indigenous knowledge, AI, and 3D imaging intersect in the study of rock art. They discuss applications from Göbekli Tepe to Native American sites, and examine the House of the Sun pictographs in Southern California, exploring how they reflect Native American cosmology and celestial traditions.

For a rough transcript head over to: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/rockart/155

Transcript

• Seven Fires Corporation Website
• AI in Archaeological Site Conservation

Dr. Alan Garfinkel

• avram1952@yahoo.com

Dr. Alan Garfinkel’s Website

• Support Dr. Garfinkel on Patreon

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
• APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
• APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
• APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
• APN Shop

• Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Alan is joined by Douglas Beauchamp, an arts consultant and photographer based in Oregon, whose work explores the enduring power of rock art in shaping cultural landscapes. Douglas examines how ancient engravings and visual imagery continue to speak to contemporary audiences, bridging archaeology, public art, and the study of visual memory. Through his photography and field documentation, he illuminates the ways ancient art interacts with the landscape and modern viewers.

For a rough transcript head over to: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/rockart/154

• Dr Beauchamp’s Academia Profile
• Rock Art Oregon Blog

• Dr. Alan Garfinkel
• avram1952@yahoo.com
• Dr. Alan Garfinkel’s Website
• Support Dr. Garfinkel on Patreon

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
• APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
• APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
• APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
• APN Shop

• Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s show, Chris Webster joins Dr. Alan Garfinkel to deconstruct a fascinating rock drawing panel at Portuguese Bench near Little Lake in western California. There is so much going on with this panel that they only discuss a few of the more prominent elements and possible a few that you might not notice. Follow along by downloading the images and figure out what you can see and what you think it means.

For a rough transcript head over to: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/rockart/153

Dr. Alan Garfinkel

• avram1952@yahoo.com
• Dr. Alan Garfinkel’s Website
• Support Dr. Garfinkel on Patreon

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
• APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
• APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
• APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
• APN Shop

• Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Alan is joined by Stephen Townley Bassett, a forensic artist dedicated to preserving and recreating San rock art with striking accuracy. Using natural materials like ochre, charcoal, and egg shell, Stephen reconstructs ancient paintings in the same way they were originally made—millimeter by millimeter.

With decades of field experience across Southern Africa, his work highlights the intersection of art, archaeology, and conservation, offering a powerful visual record of a fragile cultural legacy under threat.

For a rough transcript head over to: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/rockart/152

• Stephen Townley Bassett’s Website
• Stephen Townley Bassett’s artist profile
• Stephen’s Sapien’s article on ‘Re-imaginging Rock Art in Southern Africa’
• Stephen Townley Bassett: Saving African Cave Art - Painted Dog Gallery

Dr. Alan Garfinkel

• avram1952@yahoo.com
• Dr. Alan Garfinkel’s Website
• Support Dr. Garfinkel on Patreon

• APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com
• APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet
• APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet
• APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet
• APN Shop

• Motion

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.