Written in Rock Collaboration Among Azerbaijani and Pueblo Indian Communities
Gobustan National Historical Artistic Preserve, Baku, Azerbaijan
National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Office of Policy and Analysis, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
working in cooperation with the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM, and Sacred Sites
Participants for the Written in Rock program have been selected and information regarding the progress of the program will be posted online over the coming months. The program will benefit from a strong collection of individuals who have a demonstrated interest in and dedication to the preservation of heritage sites and the dissemination of knowledge to their communities.
Members of the Pueblo Indian communities in Albuquerque and individuals from Azerbaijan will work together with archaeologists and conservationists specializing in the study of petroglyphs—human made carvings on rock surfaces—to tackle preservation challenges, share cultural perspectives, and generate techniques for community outreach to ensure the future of these powerful, yet fragile, monuments of our common human history. In both the United States and Azerbaijan, ancient rock carvings remain significant and sacred to the descendants of their original creators, yet rock carvings are increasingly endangered by environmental change and human activity. Written in Rock participants will seek to learn from each other about efforts to date in each country, implement potential solutions, and share their outcomes in their search for greater understanding and appreciation of petroglyphs and one another’s culture.
