David S. Whitley is one of the leading North American experts on rock art. A former member of the Council of Directors of the ICOMOS Committee on Rock Art and head of a contract archaeology firm, he has published extensively on the subject both at an academic and more popular level. His key books on this topic include Art of the Shaman and Handbook of Rock Art Research. Whitley has done field work in the US, Guatemala, France, and South Africa, and has taught at the University of Witwatersrand and UCLA.