"Rock art is not just a relic, not just a decoration — it is testimony. It tells us who we are, who we have been, and how we might think about our shared future." Stephen Alvarez, photographer

Award-winning National Geographic Explorer and photographer Stephen Alvarez has spent his life documenting the world, publishing more than a dozen feature stories in National Geographic Magazine. His work on the origins of art led him from early human sites along the southern coast of Africa to Paleolithic cave art in France and Spain. Reflecting on standing before the 36,000-year-old paintings of Chauvet Cave, Alvarez recalls, "As I stood there, time collapsed. I felt the artist speaking straight to me across an unimaginable gulf of time." That experience of deep human connection inspired him to found the Ancient Art Archive, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing rock and cave art — humanity's oldest stories — on an international scale.

After witnessing the reverence accorded to rock art sites elsewhere in the world, Alvarez was struck by how little awareness many Americans have of the breadth and depth of rock art in the United States — the petroglyphs, pictographs, and geoglyphs found embedded in the landscape, often close to home. He set out to raise awareness of this cultural inheritance through image-driven storytelling, developed in partnership with Indigenous descendant communities and grounded in respect for the people who first created this art.

Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), former United States Secretary of the Interior, explains that "rock art is a gift handed down through millennia, because the ancestors did everything with future generations in mind." With this book, the Ancient Art Archive proudly offers broad access to that gift.

Infused with insights from Native American tribal members and archaeologists specializing in rock art, Rock Art: An American Story unites striking images with essays that add context, meaning, and voice. These perspectives invite readers to slow down, look carefully, and consider rock art not as a distant artifact, but as living cultural expression. The result is part history lesson, part meditation, and part revelation.

The Archive's Executive Director, Stephanie Welsh, hopes the book's journey through America's rock art serves as "a gentle reminder that, no matter how our ancestors came to this continent, we are part of a single, ongoing human story that binds us all together."

100% of book sale proceeds benefit the Ancient Art Archive.

Stephen Alvarez is an award-winning National Geographic Explorer and photographer who documents exploration, culture, and archaeology around the world. His work has taken him from the Andes' highest peaks to the world's deepest caves and has been featured in National Geographic, TIME, The New York Times, and more. A sought-after speaker, he has appeared on NPR, PBS, and CBS Saturday Morning. In 2016, he founded the Ancient Art Archive, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving humanity's oldest stories through rock and cave art. He lives with his family in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Kate Nelson (Tlingit) is an award-winning independent journalist based in Minneapolis who focuses on amplifying important Indigenous change-makers and issues. She has interviewed such luminaries as chef Sean Sherman, model/activist Quannah ChasingHorse, and Reservation Dogs showrunner Sterlin Harjo, and written for publications including The New York Times, National Geographic, TIME, ELLE, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and many others. A lifelong storyteller, she is a former magazine editor-in-chief, a two-time James Beard Foundation Media Award nominee, and an avid equestrian in her free time.

Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) made history when her appointment to the position of Secretary of the Interior made her the first Native American to serve as a U.S. Cabinet Secretary. She was also one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. A 35th-generation New Mexican, she uses her political platform to champion public lands, cultural protection, and communities that have been left behind. Her work reflects a deep commitment to stewarding cultural landscapes and honoring responsibility to future generations.

Joe Watkins, PhD (Choctaw) is an internationally respected archaeologist whose work has paved the way for the field in establishing respectful partnerships with Indigenous communities. Known for his experience in consultation and cultural heritage stewardship, he has held senior leadership roles with the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Society for American Archaeology. He emphasizes accountability, collaboration, and archaeology's responsibility to living communities as well as ancient places.

Lyle Balenquah (Hopi) is a cultural resource consultant, archaeologist, and guide whose work is inspired by the ancestral landscapes of the American Southwest.

Chief Ben Barnes (Shawnee) has served as Chief of the Shawnee Tribe since 2019 and is passionately committed to reviving and preserving the Shawnee language.

Carolyn Boyd, PhD is an artist and archaeologist specializing in iconographic analysis and serves as the Shumla Endowed Research Professor of Anthropology at Texas State University in San Marcos.

Debra Magpie Earling (Bitterroot Salish), the acclaimed author of Perma Red and The Lost Journals of Sacajewea, is widely recognized for reshaping narratives of the American West.

Sapóoq'is Wíit'as Ciarra Greene (nimiipuu/Nez Perce) is the founder of Sapóoq'is Wíit'as Consulting, a Native-owned firm dedicated to protecting and healing Indigenous communities and homelands through culture, science, and education.

Jamie Hollingsworth (Diné/Navajo) brings nearly two decades of archaeological practice to her work alongside a senior leadership role in the technology sector.

Kevin T. Jones, PhD is an archaeologist with more than 30 years of experience across the Intermountain West, including 17 years as Utah's State Archaeologist.

Dustin Illetewahke Mater (Chickasaw) is an award-winning multimedia artist and designer whose work spans illustration, sculpture, textiles, and graphic arts.

Jan Simek, PhD is a leading archaeologist known for his pioneering research on ancient cave art in the Southeastern United States.

“As you view the images throughout this book, know that you are viewing a profound communication between those who walked this land millennia before us and take in the lessons they are imparting – to stay connected to each other, to care for the land and listen to its teachings, and to consider future generations in every action we take.” - Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), Former United States Secretary of the Interior