Hawaiian Petroglyphs (Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication)

By Halley J. Cox, J. Halley Cox, Edward Stasack

Book Overview

This bestselling book explores from the points of view of archeology, ethnography, and art all known petrogylph site in the Hawaiian Islands, combining vivid photos, illustrations, and maps with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0910240094
• ISBN13: 9780910240093
• Release Date: January 1970
• Publisher: Bishop Museum Press
• Length: 108 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Hawaiian Petroglyph 101

It is a pleasure to learn from two scholars in drawings, pictures and text to understand native rock art in petroglyphs. The collection is done in volcanic rocks and there is none pictographs. It covers from very ancient and primitive to the modern after the introduction of horses to the islands. It is interesting to find out different animals were drawn except not many fish as in Alaska ones. Page 61 shows the progression of drawing in human figures. The authors point out the man in triangular body and woman in more circular ones. The Hawaiian figures in rock look like the ones in American Southwest, a diffusion? The book ends in a list of sites so that reader can follow their steps to check them out.

Superb Introduction to the subject

A great combination of scholarship and educated speculation. The authors approach the formations in multiple ways -- from describing the qualities of the rocks on which the petroglyphs are drawn, to the similarities of technique and composition of groupings across the islands. They provide an in-depth analysis of the grouping at Puuloa, which involved burying of the umbilical stump to insure long life for the newborn child. The comprehensive listing of petroglyph sites on all the Hawaiian islands is invaluable for those of us who would like to search out multiple sites.