ABSTRACT
The last three decades have been a particularly exciting time for rock art research and researchers, with significant changes occurring in all its aspects. Indeed, the 1980s and 1990s witnessed the movement of this traditionally marginalized subdiscipline into the mainstream of research and management, if not to the cutting edge of the discipline; in the 2000s, rock art research has become a standard practice. In part, this occurred because the quality of this research improved markedly, proving that we can rigorously study and interpret prehistoric rock art. Acceptance was also promoted by breakthroughs in technical areas of research, such as chronometric dating. But rock art research is still a work in progress, and there are areas that require improvement and problems that need resolution. It is worthwhile to conclude by considering where the need for improvement is greatest, and what research might best be emphasized in the near future.
