Representations and Communications: Creating an Archaeological Matrix of Late Prehistoric Rock Art [Paperback]

In this volume, which is the outcome of the four-year long collaboration project SARA (Scandinavian and Atlantic Rock Art) between the archaeology department at University of Gothenburg and the Laboratory of Heritage of Spanish National Research Council, nine papers summarize new excavation and survey results, advanced studies of iconography and intriguing landscape studies. It addresses topics such as human activities in the vicinity and surroundings of rock-art panels, movement and communication, ritual and symbolism, and finally representations and constructions of landscapes. The book is a sophisticated study of the rock art of two major regions of prehistoric Europe, but one with implications for research over a much wider area. It is wide-ranging, topical and will no doubt also be controversial. Contributors include Per Nilsson, Manuel Santos Estévez, Yolanda Seoane Veiga, Johan Ling, Åsa C. Fredell, Marco García Quintela, Kristian Kristiansen, Lasse Bengtsson and Felipe Criado Boado.

1. A Life Aquatic? Looking at the relationships between settlements, rock art and sea levels in the Himmelstalund region of eastern Sweden (Per Nilsson)
2. Rock Art and Archaeological Excavations in Campo Lameiro, Galicia: A new chronological proposal for the Atlantic rock art (Manuel Santos Estévez And Yolanda Seoane Veiga)
3. Elevated Rock Art: Maritime images and situations (Johan Ling)
4. A Mo(ve)ment in Time? A comparative study of a rock-picture theme in Galicia and Bohuslän (Åsa C. Fredell)
5. Bodily Attributes and Semantic Expressions: Knees in rock art and Indo- European symbolism (Åsa C. Fredell And Marco V. García Quintela)
6. Rock Art and Religion: The sun journey in Indo-European mythology and Bronze Age rock art (Kristian Kristiansen)
7. To Excavate Images: Some results from the Tanum Rock Art Project 1997–2004 (Lasse Bengtsson)
8. Perspectives in European Rock Art: The archaeology of glance (Felipe Criado Boado)
9. The Spaces of Representation and the Domestication of Landscape in Rock Art Societies (Manuel Santos Estévez)

"'an interesting and stimulating book for any researcher working on rock art in general and Bronze Age Europe in particular. After all, it is a vivid expression of the plurality of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches that exist and are being applied to gain knowledge about past societies using their rock art as a point of departure.'"
Marta Diaz-Guardamino
European Journal of Archaeology (15 (2012))