Department of Physics and Physical
Oceanography Colloquium
“Sunlight & Shadow Interactions on
Petroglyphs”
Brian F. Davis
Professor, Physics and Physical Oceanography
UNC Wilmington
Before the European discovery of the New World, the desert Southwest was already occupied
by subsistence farmers with rich cultures. These prehistoric inhabitants created numerous
rock art sites with enigmatic petroglyphs (rock carvings). The interpretation of these
petroglyphs is not well understood. We have carried out an extensive multi-decade study
of about 30 rock art sites spanning the Southwest, and have deduced that some of the
petroglyph types were constructed to interact with sunlight and shadow images in a precise
manner on the winter and summer solstices. We find that these interactions can be
classified into just a few interaction types. This represents a consistent ancient
tradition that spanned a large geographic region, encompassing many different cultural and
language groups. An overview of this research, including examples of these interactions,
will be presented.
Friday, March 2, 2012
2:00 PM
DeLoach Hall, Room 212
Refreshments will be served at 1:45 PM