Cave Paintings Of Baja California: Discovering the Great Murals of an Unknown People (Hardcover)

by Harry W. Crosby (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Crosby spent a large part of the 1960s and 1970s doggedly ferreting out prehistoric rock art sites in the mid-peninsula region of Baja. This complete revision of a shorter work first published in 1975 reveals that it was not only a labor of love, but perhaps an obsession as well. Produced by an as-yet-unknown culture Crosby quaintly calls "The Painters," these cave paintings are stunning pictographs that rival the finest rock art and cave paintings in the world. But the text is a plodding, repetitious litany of every back country foray he undertook for some 20 years to discover those neglected sites. Not until the last chapter, "The Practices and Puzzles of the Painters," do we receive anything approaching speculation as to who it was that created these marvelous images. Crosby seems too interested in explaining the difficulty in reaching every cave and how disappointed he was by the woefully deteriorated condition of many of the murals. The photographs, too, tend to be similarly weighted toward the process rather than the outcome: too many of the 71 color photos are given over to man-with-mural, where mural alone might have been clearer. Without better pictures, or more thorough analysis of findings, this book becomes a sort of unsatisfying anthropological travelogue. 11 b&w photos; 108 color illustrations.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This revised and expanded edition of The Rock Art of Baja California is one of a series that focuses on the natural and historical heritage of unique regions. Crosby conveys a great sense of adventure and discovery while highlighting the beauty and spirituality of the landscape and its art. His discovery of the rock paintings and some of the history of Baja California itself are skillfully woven into descriptions of the sites and interpretations of the art. Included are discoveries of rock art by early explorers, Jesuit missionaries, archaeologists, and one of the more famous aficionados, adventure writer Earl Stanley Gardner. Crosby himself covered hundreds of miles of rugged sierra trails and photographed over 200 open caves painted in the Great Mural style. Excellent maps, beautiful photographs both of the rock paintings and the people of the area, and illustrations clarifying the paintings enhance the text. Highly recommended for collections with an interest in art, archaeology, prehistory, or Southwest studies.?Sylvia Andrews, Indiana State Lib., Indianapolis
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: Sunbelt Publications; Revised and expanded edition (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932653235
• ISBN-13: 978-0932653239
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 9.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #678,318 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Baja has nice Pictographs!, January 8, 1999

By	Christopher Earle "TSME" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Crosby has an encyclopedic knowledge of the area. Based on many years of travel in the peninsula, this magnificently illustrated volume not only provides information on visiting the primary pictograph sites of central Baja, but also provides memorable insights to the contemporary human culture of the area. Highly recommended for anyone interested in prehistoric art of Southwestern America, particularly the Cochiti peoples.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STUNNING...BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS, January 5, 1998

By A Customer

A MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN PREHISTORIC ROCK ART. SUPERBLY DOCUMENTEDWITH EXCELLENT MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. PEOPLEUNFAMILIAR WITH BAJA CALIFORNIA WILL BE AMAZEDBY THE SHEER NUMBER OF PAINTED SITES AND THE MONUMENTAL SCALE OF MANY OF THEM. A SURE AWARD WINNER.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars read the book found many of the sites, November 21, 1997

By	[e-mail] (port angeles wa usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The cave paintings of Baja California (Hardcover)

for three winters my wife and i searched for and found many of the painted sites crosby catalouged.some of the sites were disappointing but some were outstanding. without crosbys book a good spanish dictionary and atlas of baja it would be impossible to find any of these exciting paintings. this was a quest fulfilled thanks harry.......