Details
Discussion focuses on material agency as a means to understanding the role of rock art within society. Two main theories are developed. The first is that the sea was fundamental to the purpose and meaning of rock art, especially in the Bronze Age and, therefore, that sea-level/shoreline changes would have inspired a renegotiation of the relationship between the rock art sites and their intended purpose. The fundamental question posed is: would such changes to the landscape have affected the purpose and meaning of rock art for the communities that made and used these sites? Various theories from within and outside of archaeology are drawn on to examine environmental change and analyse the rock art, led to second theory: that the purpose of rock art might have been altered to have an effect on the disappearing sea. The general theory that rock art would have been affected by environmental change was discussed in tandem with existing interpretations of the meaning and purpose of rock art. Imbuing rock art with agency means that it could be intertwined in an active web of relations involving maritime landscapes, shoreline displacement and communities.
Though created in stone and fixed in time and place, rock art images have propagated belief systems that would have changed over time as they were re-carved, abandoned and used by different groups of inhabitants. In the thousands of years rock art was created, it is likely that shoreline displacement would have inspired a renegotiation of the purpose and meaning of the imagery situated alongside the Scandinavian seas. This journey through a prehistoric Scandinavian landscape will lead us into a world of ancient beliefs and traditions revolving around this extraordinary art form.
Table of Contents
Cosmology and religionShamanismTrade, connections and social organisation
Landscapes as sacred placesLandscapes embodiedSeascapes
Fund og Fortidsminder (F/DK)Askeladden (A/NO)Fornsök (F/SE)
Distance to present-day coastline
Methodology
Motif distributions in ScandinaviaMotif occurrences in ScandinaviaMotifs and water in Scandinavia
Environmental change and chronology in UpplandMotif distributions in UpplandMotif occurrences in UpplandMotifs and water in Uppland
Environmental change and chronology in North and South TrøndelagMotif distributions in North and South TrøndelagMotif occurrences in North and South TrøndelagMotifs and water in North and South Trøndelag
Environmental change and chronology in Østfold and BohuslänMotif distributions in Østfold and BohuslänMotif occurrences in Østfold and BohuslänMotifs and water in Østfold and Bohuslän
Environmental change and chronology in Hordaland and RogalandMotif distributions in Hordaland and RogalandMotif occurrences in Hordaland and RogalandMotifs and water in Hordaland and Rogaland
Environmental change and chronology in Denmark and SkåneMotif distributions in Denmark and SkåneMotif occurrences in Denmark and SkåneMotifs and water in Denmark and Skåne
Motif distributionsMotif occurrencesMotifs and water
Reviews & Quotes
"...exceptionally precise, lucid, easily read, critical and interesting."
Christer Westerdahl
International Journal of Nautical Archaeology
(16/10/2017)
"In short, the major contribution of this volume, for which it can be highly recommended, is the presentation of the pan-Scandinavian rock art data."
Paul G. Bahn
Antiquity
(13/04/2017)