Stone Heritage Research Alliance, LLC

Rock decay knowledge is key for advising management decisions but all too often research resources are not always promptly available or critical information is lost in the translation of technical jargon. This is when RASI becomes such a powerful tool. If cultural resource management is included in RASI training, then not only will they better understand the research being presented to them but it will also empower them to analyze the site themselves if research teams are inaccessible or management resources are severely limited.

Likewise, anthropology, archeology, and other liberal sciences benefit from RASI training. While these fields are often more interested in the subjects and motifs of rock art, their physical condition is also vitally important. The ease of RASI training allows even the most inept researcher to gain basic understanding of rock decay and weathering conditions. Once determined, the physical status of an artifact tells its own story and can offer even more information on previous conditions and active processes that have affected it. The rapid application of RASI also help determine differential impacts of moisture, aspect, etc. on not just the rock art but for the site as a whole. This kind of information is another piece of the puzzle that is often too readily dismissed–RASI is the tool to rediscover it.

Though RASI is intimately tied to rock art, its applications are not constricted to that. If rock art is merely seen as the example used to teach methods of rock decay analysis then RASI can suddenly be modified to fit every discipline dealing with stone or materials. Physicist can use RASI to understand the different ways stone exhibits weakness or how it responds to different pressures. Chemistry can quickly identify forms of chemical decay and how those impact physical reactions within and without the stone. RASI is also valuable to mathematics and statistics as an example of representing qualitative data with quantitative results.

Specific to applications in the hard sciences, the most exciting fields of expansion are engineering and architecture in the form of a modified version of RASI: the Cultural Stone Stability Index (CSSI). Developed over the last two years by RASI co-founder Dr. Casey Allen, the CSSI is designed to employ the same methods as RASI to analyze the physical condition and decay of historic buildings, monuments, and other stone constructs. To this date CSSI has been used to evaluate several historic buildings in downtown Denver, Colorado, hewn monuments in Jordan, and stone edifices in Cicely – applications are as numerous as RASI. It also serves testimony to the adaptability of the RASI model to fit any stone or educational purpose.

Even non-science fields can gain meaningful knowledge from applying RASI. From a purely observational standpoint, RASI allows anyone the ability to visually recognize and distinguish a variety of weathering forms regardless of understanding process. In the disciplines of physical reproduction, such as theatrical set design or construction, RASI training would allow designers the insight to accurately create the appearance of authentically weathered surfaces. While in some areas of the fine arts don’t require such levels of detail and accuracy, there are some cases when it is vital, such as settings for film, both physical and computer generated, and theme parks.

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The educational strength of RASI also lies in its structure and inclusion of all three of the primary learning styles. The auditory and visual components are experienced during training when detailed descriptions of weathering forms are paired with photography and other visual aides. Then, students are given the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the field to stimulate kinetic, are active, learning. RASI’s promotion of progressing levels of understanding and diversity of learning styles make it a powerful educational tool for traditional earth sciences as well as a new and exciting way of implementing rock decay in other science and non-science programs.