Jan F. Simek is Distinguished Professor of Science in the anthropology department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and president emeritus of the University of Tennessee. He has carried out extensive research in Paleolithic caves in Europe. Since 1992, he has directed fieldwork at prehistoric cave art sites in the Southeast as leader of the University of Tennessee Cave Archaeology Research Team. His work at Painted Bluff dates to 2005. He has coauthored numerous articles and book chapters on cave art.

Erin E. Dunsmore is senior archaeological specialist with the Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville. She is involved with site management and protection and is a rock art expert at the agency. She is coeditor of TVA Archaeology: Seventy-Five Years of Prehistoric Site Research.

Johannes Loubser is an archaeologist and rock art specialist at Stratum Unlimited, Alpharetta, Georgia. He was trained in rock art analysis in South Africa, where he has done a substantial amount of basic research. He is expert in the assessment and conservation of damaged rock art sites.

Sierra M. Bow is a PhD student in anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She studies the chemistry and technology of precontact paints in the Southeast.

Alan Cressler is a hydrologic technician at the US Geological Survey and a renowned photographer specializing in natural history and prehistory as well as a cave explorer who has visited more than 5,000 caves worldwide. He has been the principal photographer for the University of Tennessee Cave Archaeology Research Team for two decades.