Meet Ruth Alter, author of The Painted Rocks

Ruth Alter is an archaeologist with a background in museum education. Early in her career, as head of the Education Department at the San Diego Museum of Man, Ms. Alter designed and taught archaeological programs for students. She also developed a love of ethnic arts and lore-- "You can see into people's souls when you look at the things they create and listen to the stories that they tell," she says.

A native San Diegan, Piedras Pintadas is one of Ms. Alter's favorite archaeological sites. Writing about it gave her an opportunity to learn more about the people who lived there and to share this with others.

Ms. Alter is the grandmother of two young grandsons, Noah and Graeme. She hopes that they will enjoy reading The Painted Rocks when they are older.