The rock art of Utah is extremely varied and there are hundreds of sites.  I am hoping that this little "tickler" summary of Volume One of Kenneth B. Castleton's book will inspire more people to become interested in the rock art of Utah.  Perhaps if more people were to take an interest then some of the controversy concerning the rock art of Utah may eventually be resolved.

The prehistoric rock art cultures of Utah are divided into three major groups:  The Archaic, the Anasazi, and the Fremont.  The Anasazi and the Fremont cultures are each further divided into variants or divisions.  Due to overlapping, there is still some confusion concerning the characteristics of the three cultures.  Therefore, what is known of each of them is not always clear-cut or distinct.  There is still much to be learned about each of these cultures.  The styles described below are simply for a means of discussion and not a definitive subdivision of Utah rock art.

Note:  The dates that I have given below are approximate and will no doubt change as new discoveries are made and as new dating methods are employed.

Definitions:
Petroglyphs ----- images that were carved, scraped or pecked into stone walls or rocks.
Pictographs ----- painted images on stone walls or rocks.  The paints were made from pulverized minerals.
Anthropomorph - a stylized human figure
Zoomorph ------- having the form of an animal
Ocupation site -- a rock art site that contains evidence of human occupation in   the form of structures and/or artifacts.  By knowing the culture that produced the structures and/or artifacts the researcher then assumes that the same culture produced the rock art.

The Archaic Culture - 9000 BC to 20 A.D.
This culture is the oldest and it is considered as part of the Archaic Tradition that once extended across the entire continent.  The Archaic Culture styles of rock art are usually petroglyphs.  They are abstract elements rather than representational figures such as anthropomorphs or zoomorphs.  The oldest known petroglyph from the Archaic culture is that of an incised stone found at a place called Cowboy Cave.  It dates to about 8700 years ago.

The divisions of the Anasazi culture are separated by time.  To further complicate matters the Anasazi are further divided into three divisions or "branches" that are largely geographical.  Two of which are the San Juan or Mesa Verde and the Virgin-Kayenta.  I have yet to find out what the third branch is.  The San Juan or Mesa Verda branch includes the southeastern corner of Utah, the southwestern corner of Colorado, northeastern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico.  The Virgin-Kayenta area extends west from the Escalante River and lower Glen Canyon across southern Utah and northern Arizona, and includes a strip of southeastern Nevada.  For example:  there are the Anasazi Culture of the Pueblo II period in both the Mesa Verde branch and the Virgin-Kayenta branch.  Most of the Anasazi rock art of Utah is associated with the Pueblo II and Pueblo III sites.  I have provided only the timeline of the divisions of the Anasazi here.  Most of the rock art of the Anasazi is covered in Volume Two of Kenneth B.  Castleton's book.

Basketmaker (Anasazi)
Basketmaker I - pre 1 A.D
Basketmaker II - 1 A.D.  to 500 A.D
Basketmaker III - 500 A.D.  to 750 A.D.

Pueblo (Anasazi)
Pueblo I - 750 A.D.  to 900 A.D.
Pueblo II - 850 A.D.  to 1100 A.D.
Pueblo III - 1100 A.D.  to 1300 A.D.
Pueblo IV - 1300 A.D.  to 1700 A.D.
Pueblo V - 1700 A.D to the present

The Fremont Culture
The variants of the Fremont culture are mostly separated by region.

The Fremont Culture is almost exclusive to and covers most of the state of Utah.  A man named Morss was exploring the Fremont River region of Utah for the Peabody Museum in 1928-29.  He recognized that some artifacts that were found had traits that were different from the Anasazi.  He introduced the name of Fremont for this culture.  Only the rock art of the Uinta and the San Rafael Fremont are discussed in Volume One of the book.  I have only provided the names and dates of the remaining Fremont Culture which Volume Two of Kenneth B.  Castleton's book will cover extensively.

Uinta Fremont - 650 A.D.  to 950 A.D.
Uinta Fremont rock art is almost exclusively petroglyphs.  The Uinta Fremont rock art is done in what is called the Classic Vernal Style.  This style is where we find a dominant, carfully executed anthropomorph sometimes as tall as six feet.  They usually have large trapozoidal bodies and large square heads.  The extremeties are usually very thin and often the feet and hands are missing completely.  If they are present then they are usually exagerated.  The characteristic adornments consist of headdresses of horns, feathers or "antennae".  Most also have decorations of shields, necklaces, earbobs and waist ornaments.  The anthropomorphic figures sometimes are accompanied by zoomorphs (sheep are most common) and abstract figures of circles, mazes and spirals.

San Rafael Fremont - 700 A.D.  to 1200 A.D.

Northern component of the San Rafael Fremont
These differ from the Classic Vernal Style in that the dominant anthropomorph is not present.  The anthropomorphs of the Northern component of the San Rafael Fremont are often numerous, small and tightly packed, as are the zoomorphs and the abstracts.  Often they have been carelessly executed and haphazardly placed.  Some of the figures are simple stick figures.  We also find that pictographs in this area are almost as numerous as the petroglyphs.

Southern component of the San Rafael Fremont
The Southern component again takes up the typical Fremont style similar to the Classic Vernal Style.  The anthropomorphs, once again are somewhat large, have elaborate decoration and dominate the panels.  Again we see such things as round hairbobs and large-scale elaborate shield firgures.  The zoomorphs and the abstracts are still small and sometimes appear on a completely separate panel but close by the dominate anthropomorph.  They are also not as plentiful as in the Northern component of the San Rafael Fremont.

(The following three Fremont regions are covered in Volume Two)
Sevier Fremont - 780 A.D.  to 1260 A.D.
Parowan Fremont - 900 A.D.  to 1350 A.D.
Great Salt Lake Fremont - 400 A.D.  to 1350 A.D.

Barrier Canyon Style Rock Art
To further complicate matters concerning Utah rock art, there is a type of rock image called the Barrier Canyon style that so far has caused much controversy in associating it with any of the three cultures previously mentioned.  The only Barrier Canyon site known to be an occupation site shows evidence of three separate cultures.  (1)A non-ceramic culture (probably Archaic) that predated the other two occupants of (2)Fremont and (3)Anasazi cultures.  The three culture occupation is the reason for the controversy as there is no way to determine which one produced the images.

All Barrier Canyon sites are characterized by pictographs of huge ghost-like anthropomorphic figures.  They are long dark figures with plain torsos and sometimes display large round staring eyes.  Sometimes there are no arms or legs depicted at all.  The arms and hands, if depicted, are usually very small and skinny and will sometimes be carrying something that looks like a plant or a snake.  Small zoomorphic pictographs appear in groups at these sites.

See B.C.S. Project: Barrier Canyon Style Rock Art