Since the early days of Southwestern archaeology explorers and anthropologists alike have been fascinated with the rock-art imagery in the South Mountains. Today, South Mountain Park, a large preserve within these mountains, is best known as a recreational refuge from the hustle and bustle of modern life around Phoenix. While hiking along the numerous trails within South Mountain Park visitors commonly spot petroglyphs on boulders and outcrops. Archaeologists believe that most of these petroglyphs were produced by people living amongst the numerous Hohokam villages along the Salt and Gila rivers, and as a visual medium of expression, the images provide a rare glimpse into how these early farmers perceived themselves and their world. The vast majority of these petroglyphs, however, have yet to be documented. Moreover, the park's boundaries are becoming increasingly encroached upon by urban development.

Realizing that the preservation of the South Mountains' petroglyphs is important to both the public and archaeologists, the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department has partnered with the Center for Desert Archaeology and Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change to conduct a large archaeological survey of the park intended to aid in developing a management plan. Known as the South Mountain Rock Art Project (SMRAP), this collaboration is an ongoing effort to record the archaeological materials within the park with the intent of nominating it to the National Register of Historic Places. SMRAP is also pioneering methods in rock-art recordation and generating research regarding the prehistory and cultural legacies of the Salt River valley.

Rock art is intimately related to the physical and social landscapes around it, and these relationships are evidenced by the topographic placement of rock art and the distribution of associated archaeological materials. One of the unique aspects of the South Mountain petroglyphs is that they are associated with a diverse array of archaeological features and artifacts. Ceramic and lithic artifacts dot the landscape, as do an assortment of features such as masonry structures, agriculture-related activities, trails, resource procurement areas, and rockshelters. Although less prevalent, proto-historic and historic artifacts and features are also located within the 17,000-acre preserve.

Center Preservation Fellow Aaron Wright, a member of SMRAP, is researching the place of the South Mountain rock art within the Hohokam world, primarily how the rock art was used to transform a purely physical landscape into one full of social meaning. To address this question, SMRAP is developing a GIS database of all archaeological materials identified during surveys. Although the placement of rock art may appear random while on the ground, our efforts, aided with geographic technologies, are revealing spatial patterns in the distribution of archaeological materials across the landscape. These patterns allow us to analyze how rock art was integrated into a larger system of landscape interaction. Further, the spatial relationships of petroglyphs with artifact and features permit examinations of similarities and differences in the production and viewing of rock art between social groups.

One of SMRAP's primary goals is to engage the public and develop awareness of the importance of the South Mountain petroglyphs to past, present, and future peoples. As a community-based preservation initiative, volunteers play a critical role to SMRAP fieldwork and research. Likewise, the project provides volunteers with opportunities to learn and participate in archaeological surveys and rock-art recording.