Global Rock Art Research
Discover the World’s Ancient Rock Art
Explore • Discover • Preserve
Global archive
Featured Rock Art Sites
South America
Cueva de las Manos, Pinturas River, Argentina
Handprints in Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands) along the Pinturas River, Argentina; and vicuñas and geometric patterns in the Andes, Peru. (Photo: J. Clottes)
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Asia
Baimiaozi, Chifeng，China
Baimiaozi, Chifeng,China — Desert Petroglyphs Dating Back 7,300 Years(Rock art dating，Photo: Wu. Jiacai)
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Oceania
Kakadu National Park, Australia
Kakadu National Park, Australia. The figures in the painting are shown holding spearthrowers and barbed spears. (Photo: D. Ballereau)
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Rock Art Around the World
Browse the growing research archive by continent and regional context.
Open the Rock Art ArchiveInterdisciplinary study
Research Categories
✦
Ancient Civilizations
Communities, exchange networks, belief systems, and cultural change.
View research →✦Archaeology
Field methods, chronology, material evidence, and archaeological context.
View research →✦Geography
Landscape, environment, spatial analysis, mobility, and place.
View research →✦History
Historiography, archives, oral knowledge, and changing interpretations.
View research →✦Prehistoric Art
Painting, engraving, symbolism, technique, interpretation, and conservation in prehistoric visual culture.
View research →✦Writing Systems
Marks, signs, notation, and the development of visual communication.
View research →Scholarship and fieldwork
Latest Research
Geography
Geographies of Memory and Movement
A spatial approach to rock art, routes, visibility, and place.
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Archaeology
Reading Images in Archaeological Context
How landscape, chronology, and material traces shape interpretation.
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Prehistoric Art
Methods for Recording Fragile Rock Art Landscapes
A practical framework for photography, spatial recording, metadata, and stewardship.
View resource →From the platform
Latest News
Northern Rock Art Research Base
Director Wu Jiacai Accompanies Peter’s Delegation from Bradshaw Foundation Rock Art Archive on a Visit
On September 15, 2026, Professor Wu Jiacai, Director of the Northern China Rock Art Research Institute, accompanied Mr. Peter, Editor-in-Chief of the Bradshaw Foundation World Rock…
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Northern Rock Art Research Base
The Inaugural Symposium on Rock Art and World Civilizations Convenes at Inner Mongolia Hongde University of Arts and Sciences
Other distinguished guests in attendance included:Professor Xiao Xiaoyong, President of the Chinese Rock Art Association;Professor Wang Jianping, Founding President of the Chinese Rock Art Association;Professor Tong…
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Northern Rock Art Research Base
Academic Exchange Between the Northern China Rock Art Research Institute and Bradshaw Foundation Rock Art Archive
On September 15, 2026, an academic exchange event was held in the Academic Lecture Hall of the Prehistoric Academy at Inner Mongolia Hongde University of Arts…
View resource →Watch and learn
Videos
Europe
Digital Preservation from Image to Archive
A guide to creating sustainable research records.
View resource →Asia
Reading Petroglyph Landscapes
A visual introduction to engraved panels in their wider setting.
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Documenting Rock Art in the Field
An introduction to careful field photography and contextual recording.
View resource →Academic output
Publications
Prehistoric Art
Bornholm Rock Carvings: Research Materials
A supplied research PDF and reference screenshots concerning the Bornholm rock carvings.
View resource →Archaeology
Teaching Archaeology Through Cultural Heritage
An educational resource for using rock art to introduce archaeological thinking.
View resource →History
Landscape, Memory, and Visual Culture
An interdisciplinary study of marked places and cultural memory.
View resource →People and institutions
Research Team
Meet the faculty, researchers, students, and international collaborators contributing to the platform.
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