ARARA 2025 Field Trips

Workshops and Special Events

Rock Art Recording Workshop: Friday, May 23^rd  8 a.m. - Noon. Cost: $25
Larry Loendorf (Sacred Sites Research), Laurie White (Sacred Sites Research), Karen Steelman (Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center)

Join a stellar crew of instructors with over 100 combined years of rock art recording experience. In this workshop you can expect a comprehensive experience from dealing with logistics at the beginning of a project, basic survey and mapping, photographic techniques, measured drawing, chemical analyses and age estimation, and ending with lab analysis and preparing a site report.  This workshop is based off of a new book, "Ten Steps to Recording a Pictograph or Petroglyph Site: Methods and Technologies" written by Larry Loendorf and Nancy Medaris Stone. Participants will receive a copy with their registration fee.

Exploring Native Californian Heritage in VR: An Immersive Research Experience Workshop: Friday, May 23^rd  2-4 p.m. and Monday, 3-5 p.m. (free with registration)
Adam Appleton (PhD Candidate, University of Central Lancashire)

You are invited to a cutting-edge workshop that brings Native Californian heritage into virtual reality. Step inside Pleito Cave and immerse yourself with its vivid color palette and multi-layered composition. The real location is difficult and restricted to access, with this digital recreation, we can let you get a close look at one of the most impressive rock art sites in the Americas. There is also the opportunity to interact with fragile Chumash artefacts discovered in Cache Caves around the Santa Barbara backcountry.

This interactive session is part of a research study investigating how people engage with digital heritage and how to keep virtual representations accurate, respectful, and community guided.

Beyond the virtual experience, participants will have the opportunity to share their impressions in short focus group discussions and complete brief questionnaires about their experiences. If you are fascinated by the intersection of technology and heritage, this workshop offers a rare chance to help shape the future of digital storytelling.


Plenary Lecture: Pleito Unravelled: The Making of a Masterpiece; Saturday May 24^th, at 9-10 a.m. (free with registration)
David Robinson (University of Central Lancashire)

Since Campbell Grant's pioneering work in the 1960s, Pleito has been recognized as one of the premier rock art sites in North America. Images of Pleito adorn covers of seminal books on the rock art of California, as well as archaeological books which sometimes have little to do with rock art. Known for its vibrant colour palette, intense superimposition of images, and iconic motifs, Pleito stands as a masterpiece of Native South-Central Californian artistry. Despite its prominence, the sequence of its images has often been underappreciated. Over the course of more than a decade, a dedicated team of archaeologists has employed a variety of innovative techniques to unravel the complex sequence of painting events. This presentation will explore these methodologies and their findings, detailing the intricate layers of paint and imagery, and the broader implications for understanding the artistic achievements involved in the creation of such a significant Native Californian masterpiece.


Public Lecture: California Rock Art of the Archaeological Conservancy; Saturday, May 24^th, at 4-5 p.m. (free to public)
Linsie Lafayette (Western Field Representative), Cory Wilkins (Western Regional Director)

The Archaeological Conservancy (TAC) is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving archaeological resources on private land. During the American Rock Art Research Association (ARARA) conference, TAC representatives Cory Wilkins and Linsie Lafayette will give a presentation highlighting California preserves with rock art, as well as touching on the origins of TAC, how preserves are acquired and managed, detail upcoming tours, and provide an outline on how funding works to achieve the goal of site preservation. There will be time for questions afterwards, and complementary issues of American Archaeology magazine will be available.


Banquet Speaker: Are They Stars?; Sunday, May 25^th, at 6:30 p.m. (free with registration)
E.C. "Ed" Krupp (Griffith Observatory)

We are pattern-seeking creatures, and the apparently symbolic nature of rock art has invited astronomical interpretations of cupule arrangements, dot patterns, and other figures as stars, constellations, and maps of the sky. This offers an opportunity for critical review. What is a star pattern, and how can we tell?

E.C. Krupp is an astronomer and Director of Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and a member of ARARA. Since 1973, he has been active internationally in the study of ancient, prehistoric, and traditional astronomy and on the relationship between astronomy and culture. He is the author and editor/editor of six books on this subject and has published dozens of research papers and hundreds of articles. He has received several prominent awards for public astronomy from the American Institute of Physics, the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Pomona College, and other astronomical and civic organizations. He has personally visited, studied, and photographed nearly 2200 ancient, historic, and prehistoric sites throughout the world, including darkest California.


Traditional Weaving Demonstration: We’re Still Here (Too); Monday, May 26^th, at 11a.m.-Noon (free with registration) Jennifer Malone

Jennifer Malone is a Wukchumni elder, educator, and basket-maker. The Wukchumni are part of the broader Yokuts tribal community of California. Jennifer, whose name in Wukchumni is Hi-el-ic, is a self-described “language weaver” who has made it her life’s mission to save the endangered Wukchumni language while teaching the traditional art of basket weaving.  Malone has been weaving for more than 25 years, having been taught by Beatrice Wilcox, her grandmother who was a renowned Master Weaver.  Malone will talk about her work saving the Wukchumni language and creating a dictionary.  She will discuss traditional Yokuts culture, as her mother taught her.  She will also demonstrate making a yucca utility brush.  This will be an active discussion with the audience, so come ready to learn and ask questions.