Hi, I'm not an archaeologist but have lately been reading a lot about parietal art. I have also started a book on the excavating process, in which many methods of dating etc. were described, but there was no order in which events should follow one another. Moreover, there was little to no mention of how to excavate in caves and, clearly, I still have not learned much of how these beautiful stories of art and the start of human creativity have come about. I should like to understand the reasoning of an archaeologist in coming to such a conclusion. Are there any books or field manuals or general guides to the excavating of caves and rockshelters? Any other must-read books in the subject are also wlecome.
Hello! I am a geoarchaeologist and happen to work extensively in rockshelter sites. (less so caves because I HATE tight spaces). So, there's not necessarily a systematic excavation protocol that fits for all caves and rockshelters. Each site has its own set of problems that need to be dealt with. Typically, you will establish your excavation grid and assess the areas with the best probability of finding something related to your research questions. Take a look at Jonathan Burns' (2009) dissertation on the ethnoarchaeology of rockshelter use. Turns out while its not a set rule, you do see some trends in rockshelter use among modern horticulturalists and forager groups, so you can make some level of assumptions on where you'll see specific activity areas, although this is by no means universal just a general trend.
Another thing to bear in mind when working in rockshelters is that the change their spatial configuration through time. Its critical to have a handle on how this happened through time to assess patterns of use and activity through time.
I'd recommend reading Burns (2009) as a starter into patterns of behavior and rockshelters. It's really a cool read. If you're interested in sediments and formation processes affecting the archaeological record, and why caves and rockshelters are so critical, if you can get a copy of it Golderbeg and MacPhail's Practical and Theoretical Geoarchaeology (2006) have an excellent chapter on cave and rockshelter sediments.
When it comes to cave/rockshelter art, there's a million different pieces out there looking at stuff globally. Take a look at some of Jan Simek's work in the American southeast and he has spent some time exploring questions of Mississippian rock art and mythology. For the southwest, there's a TON of stuff. Fremont stuff is really cool. For European rock art/caves, take a gander at Solutrean stuff. I know there's a lot written on it, but that's not really my cup of tea so I have not kept up with that literature.