Online Rock Art Lectures

September 9,2023
Brazilian Rhapsody Part II: Nordeste and São Francisco Styles Continued By Anne Stoll – photography by George Stoll    Register

In four guided trips over six years the Stolls have focused on the painted rock imagery of northeastern Brazil. Its earliest expression, dating to some 12,000 years ago, is dominated by “realism and dynamism.” Nordeste rock art is generally defined by detailed scenes of small, animated figures showing movement. Humans seem to dance in chorus lines while waving sticks; sometimes they appear to fight battles, have group sex, perform acrobatic feats, hunt animals or line up in processions.
A revised classification system for rock imagery was created during archaeological surveys conducted along the Rio São Francisco, as part of the mitigation for construction of the Xingo Dam. São Francisco Tradition rock imagery is primarily geometric and sometimes vibrantly painted on a large scale thus making it visible at some distance. The Stolls will share images of both these rock art styles from several sites, while discussing recent archaeological research in the area.
Anne Q. Stoll received a B.A. from U.C. Santa Barbara and an M.A. in anthropology from Cal. State Fullerton. She is a Research Associate at Statistical Research Inc., Redlands, California, where she joined the staff in 1999. For eight years she participated in more than a dozen major and uncounted minor archaeological undertakings for private and government clients.  Previously Anne enjoyed a professional career as a field director, writer, instructor, and lecturer in archaeology and anthropology beginning in 1984. Anne currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Rock Art Research Association (ARARA).
George Stoll, Ph.D., emeritus professor of Chemical and Materials Engineering at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, has pursued an avid interest in outdoor photography for over 45 years. Together with his wife, Anne, George has photo-documented many hundreds of rock art sites in the American West and around the world, most recently in Zimbabwe, Colombia and Brazil.