Dr. Bostwick will take us on a journey among the deep canyons in the rugged mountains of Baja California where there are some of the most spectacular rock art sites in the Americas. These sites contain both petroglyphs and pictographs, but the latter are especially impressive for their vivid polychrome colors depicting large anthropomorphs and bighorn sheep, rabbits, birds, sea turtles, whales, fish, manta rays and occasional mountain lions, coyotes and snakes. Created by unknown hunter-gatherer groups, these pictographs date back 7,500 years ago and have been named the Great Murals of Baja. Located mostly in wilderness areas where there are no roads, many of the sites can only be reached by mules and burro caravans. Dr. Bostwick will share his recent experiences visiting the UNESCO designated sites during two mule trips into the canyons and will discuss current ideas about what these incredible pictograph panels may represent.

 

Dr. Bostwick has been a professional archaeologist for 43 years. He holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Nevada-Reno, an MA in Anthropology and a PhD in History from Arizona State University (ASU). He was the Phoenix City Archaeologist for 21 years at the Pueblo Grande Museum and National Historic Landmark. After retiring from the City in 2010, Dr. Bostwick then served as the Director of Archaeology at the Verde Valley Archaeology Center for 9 years and is now the Director Emeritus of Archaeology.

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Dr. Bostwick was also a Faculty Associate at ASU and Northern Arizona University for 7 years teaching anthropology, archaeology and history. He has written numerous books and articles on Southwest archaeology and history. Dr. Bostwick has received awards from the National Park Service, the Arizona Governor's Archaeology Advisory Commission, the City of Phoenix, the Arizona Archaeological Society and the Society for Cultural Astronomy of the American Southwest.