People often ask why we selected the sites we did for Rock Art: An American Story. There isn't a single answer to that question – and usually it's a combination. Sometimes it’s the grandeur or location of a site, sometimes it’s the site’s intriguing imagery, sometimes it’s because we have interesting insights into the site’s significance, sometimes it’s because the image I made evokes exactly the emotion I wanted it to. The reasons for selecting the Great Serpent Mound in Peebles, Ohio are particularly compelling. Not only is it one of North America’s most significant archaeological sites, Serpent Mound is the largest effigy earthwork in the world. It tells us a great deal about the beliefs and practices and capacities of the community that built it. And right now is a landmark moment in its history, because, after almost two centuries of forced removal, the descendants of those who built...
Earlier this year I had the privilege of being interviewed by Dr. Alan Garfinkel on the Archaeology Podcast Network. It was a wonderful conversation and fun to relive on the podcast. https://youtu.be/Yl8twQ5Q3gQ?si=7xGL9pqssgzWYWRA Thanks Alan for being such a wonderful host. Find more about the Archaeology Podcast Network HERE -Stephen Alvarez November 2025
There are two groups of engravings on the west bank of the Connecticut river at Kchi Pôntegok (the Great Falls). The images are deeply carved into the bedrock of the riverbank. The petroglyphs have survived periodic flooding of the river channel because of the hardness of the rock and the depth of the engravings. The North Group of the Bellows Falls Petroglyphs. The engravings are associated with Abenaki culture. It is impossible to say how old they are but there has been a Native American presence along the Connecticut River since the receding of the last glacial maximum. The South Group of the Bellows Falls Petroglyphs The north group of images resemble Abenaki and Iroquois corn masks. The images have been known since historic times and adorn the narrowest point of the Connecticut River. They likely mark that spot as a place of spiritual importance and a place of...
A "digital twin," a detailed 3D model of Notre Dame became the blueprint for rebuilding the gothic cathedral after the devastating 2019 fire. In 2010 the late Andrew Tallon set out to make a 3D scan of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. His purpose was pure research, a way to look at the construction and planning of the gothic masterpiece. The craftsmen left no record of why they made decisions about construction, no records of technique, no firsthand accounts. In interviews Tallon said that looking at the details of construction was like looking into the mind of the builders. The best way to take in those details as a whole was to build the cathedral digitally. He used state of the art 3D scanners to collect billions of datapoints. Tallon built a digital twin of the Cathedral. LUX has an excellent post about this (here). And a podcast for those...
It was an honor to present my work on the Mural of America at the National Geographic Storytellers Summit in Los Angeles in February. It was an inspiring 2 days
The Rochester Creek Rock Art Site is an extraordinary Fremont site in Emery County, Utah. With a story telling team of Native American descendants, land managers and archaeologists we have put together this 3 minute film that imagines the site from the point of view of Ute spiritual leader Larry Cesspooch.
Dustin Mater and I were invited to the National Geographic Storytellers Summit in LA. The Summit is a gathering of National Geographic grantees who come together annually for a few days of inspiration and presentations
