Dr. John Bellezza on Exploring Pre-Buddhist Tibet and Its Rock Art - Rock Art 164

Host Dr. Alan Garfinkel interviews Dr. John Bellezza about his path from traveling in India and Tibet in the 1980s to focusing on Tibetan prehistory, archaeology, cosmology, and rock art, later earning a PhD at the University of Kent based on prior publications. Bellezza stresses learning Tibetan languages and working in the field as Tibet opened to travelers in 1984, then turning to pre-Buddhist traditions often erased or absorbed by Buddhism and long neglected by scholars. He describes discoveries at Lake Namtso, evidence for high-altitude pastoralism and hunting, and key finds in rock art and monuments, including chariots and standing-stone complexes. He previews ongoing rock art volumes and future work on bronze talismans and Old Tibetan texts.