In 1989 Alan and his wife Bili visited Venezuela with their Venezuelan friends, Mr and Mrs Caplan. It was through the Caplans that Davie had first encountered Carib petroglyphs, ancient rock carvings, in a book by Jeannine Sujo Volsky. Davie’s interest in petroglyphs was rekindled when, in 1987, he acquired a copy of her later, larger book, ‘El Diseno en los Petroglifos Venezolanos’. In Venezuela the Davies sought out the Carib petroglyphs in the hills, spent time in Caracas, and also visited a number of villages. Davie was particularly impressed by the church graveyards which were full of votive offerings, artificial flowers and messages to the dead – all of which feature in this work.