November 3, 2011 — The University of Utah Press is pleased to announce that Steven Simms received the Utah Book Award in the nonfiction category for Traces of Fremont: Society and Rock Art in Ancient Utah (University of Utah Press, 2010). Although it was long thought to be a simple sociopolitical system, Fremont culture has recently been reassessed as a more complex society. This volume places Fremont rock art studies in this contemporary context, offering an innovative model of Fremont society, politics, and worldview using the principles of analogy and current archaeological evidence. Simms’s prose is accompanied by François Gohier’s spectacular photographs of rock art and artifacts in this full-color book.

The Utah Center for the Book held their annual awards ceremony on Saturday, October 15, at Westminster College to honor the finalists and announce the winners of the 2010 Utah Book Award in five categories. The Utah Book Award was established to honor exceptional achievements by Utah writers and to recognize outstanding literature written with a Utah theme or setting. Winners in each category receive $100 and a framed certificate.

The University of Utah Press Director Glenda Cotter stated, “We are very proud of Traces of Fremont and couldn’t be more pleased that Steve received this honor. Publishing works of significance to Utah and our region is an important part of our mission, and having the Utah Center for the Book recognize our contribution in this way is most gratifying.”

Traces of Fremont: Society and Rock Art in Ancient Utah may be purchased through the University of Utah Press by calling 800-621-2736, by ordering online at www.UofUpress.com, or by visiting your local bookstore.

Traces of Fremont: Society and Rock Art in Ancient Utah
Published 2010
University of Utah Press
144pp., 122 illus.
paper, $24.95
ISBN 978-1-60781-011-7

Steven R. Simms is a professor of anthropology at Utah State University. He is also the author of Ancient Peoples of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau.