Search

Rock art of the Middle and Upper Orinoco River in South America is characterised by some of the largest and most enigmatic engravings in the world, including snakes exceeding 40m in length. Here, the authors map the geographic distribution of giant snake motifs and assess the visibility of this serpentine imagery within the Orinoco landscape and Indigenous myths. Occupying prominent outcrops that were visible from great distances, the authors argue that the rock art provided physical reference points for cosmogonic myths, acting as border agents that structured the environment and were central to Indigenous placemaking along the rivers of lowland South America. Keywords: South America, pre-Columbian, spatial analysis, affordance viewsheds, rock art, petroglyphs, Indigenous myth, Introduction In this article, we report on a unique South American tradition of monumental rock art and link it to the extant archaeological and ethnographic knowledge of the Orinoco River […]

This article presents details of the recent discovery of Palaeolithic cave art in Cova Dones, Valencia. The preliminary results reveal a rich graphic assemblage with features that are unusual for Mediterranean Upper Palaeolithic art and were previously unknown for the Pleistocene in the eastern Iberian coast. Key words: Mediterranean, Pleistocene, rock art, engraving/painting techniques, stylistic analysis, Introduction Traditionally, the distribution of Pleistocene cave art has centred on the Franco-Cantabrian region with a 'periphery' including areas of southern Spain and Italy. More than 70 per cent ofknown [...]

The authors have undertaken a systematic survey of rock art along the Jubbah palaeolake in northern Saudi Arabia and interpret the results using GIS. They conclude that the overwhelming majority of prehistoric rock art sites overlook contemporary early Holocene palaeolakes, and that the distribution of later Thamudic rock art offers insights into human mobility patterns at Jubbah in the first millennium BC. Keywords: Arabia, Holocene, tenth millennium BP, Thamudic, rock art, palaeolakes, landscape, GIS, Introduction In a recent synthesis on rock art interpretation, Chippindale and Nash (2004) emphasised that images and depictions must be interpreted within their landscape setting in order to appreciate why [...]

The authors find a context for the rock art of the central Sahara by excavating and recording examples of engraved stones from circular platforms used to sacrifice animals. The type of rock art known as the Pastoral style, featuring evocative outline drawings of cattle, appears on upright stones incorporated into the platforms in the period 5430-5150 BP, and probably earlier. Furthermore, they show that these places were part of a dense and extensive monumental landscape, occupying a harsh environment, supplying quartzite, but with little settlement, appearing to serve the spiritual needs of hundreds of Neolithic people. Keywords: Sahara desert, Neolithic, rock art, radiocarbon, Pastoral style, cattle sacrifice, ritual landscape, Introduction Rock art was reported from the Sahara in the nineteenth century by Heinrich Barth (1857-58), and since then thousands of rock art representations have been carefully recorded, mapped and [...]

A petroglyph showing a human face found in East Timor is dated to the late Pleistocene. It recalls ancient Australian forms and raises the possibility of connecting early cave art with the better known painted figures of Lapita/Austronesian art ten millennia later. This new discovery at a known cave shows what precious evidence still lies in store even in well-trodden places. Keywords: Southeast Asia, East Timor, rock art, pigment, petroglyph, Austronesians, Lapita, human face, Pleistocene art, Introduction One of the largest and most diverse concentrations of rock art in Island Southeast Asia is found near the small village of Tutuala, at the eastern end of East [...]

Metal projectile points were the earliest non-native made weapons to enter the Plains and would likely have caused significant changes in Protohistoric period warfare. Despite this there has been little effort to identify and study these artifacts in Plains rock art, even though it is almost our only archaeological record of warfare from this period. Recent research at Bear Gulch and Atherton Canyon, located in central Montana, has identified a number of metal projectile points used by shield bearing warriors. Described and discussed along with about 30 other examples from rock art sites across the region, these points provide significant insight into the introduction and earliest use of metal tools on the Plains. Keywords: projectile points, rock art, Protohistoric period

In this ground-breaking study the author looks at three consecutive styles of rock art, placing them in the social context in which they were produced. Although necessarily succinct, the argument shows that as hierarchy increased and functioned over longer distances, rock art could perform as the organ of pastoralist authority, or the badge of marginalised hunters or, most often, as the imagery of consensus masking social inequality. Keywords: Chile, Atacama Desert, Archaic, Early Formative, Late Formative, fifth to second millennia BP, social interaction, rock art, Introduction The Atacama Desert is located in the north of Chile and extends 600km from the Loa River to the Copiapo River (Figure 1). It is the driest desert in [...]

The graphic features and associations of depictions of trees in southern African rock art and their value as an ontological and unifying force at the interface of the animal and human worlds are studied. Their physical form leads to a higher metaphysical status in the folklore and cosmology of hunting-gathering peoples.

The usage of modern digital imaging technology for examining ancient rock paintings is discussed by focusing on Torres Strait paintings found in north eastern Australia.

Rock art in an inland cave on the island of Lifou, New Caledonia, has been radiocarbon dated. A cluster of early paintings date to 2500 years ago, soon after the arrival of the first settlers, who must have quickly gone inland probably in pursuit of fresh water, available near the cave. They left their mark on the cave in the form of numerous hand stencils. During the first millennium AD, later generations of artists used the same cave, drawing birds and a circular sign for water still recognised by the present community. Keywords: Melanesia, New Caledonia, Lapita culture, cave art, hand stencils, AMS dating, Introduction Defining the history of pre-European settlement in the Pacific has been a subject of scholarly concern since Captain James Cook sailed these oceans in the eighteenth century. Archaeological research [...]

A recent study has suggested that the decorated Bronze Age metalwork of South Scandinavia depicted the path of the sun through the sky during the day and through the sea at night. At different stages in its journey it was accompanied by a horse or a ship. Similar images are found in prehistoric rock art, and this paper argues that, whilst there are important differences between the images in these two media, they also signal some of the same ideas. Keywords: metalwork, rock art, landscape, cosmology, Scandinavia, Introduction: Cosmology and landscape Ideas about prehistoric landscapes have changed during recent years as part of a more general concern with studying meaning and experience in the past. Today the [...]

We extracted carbon from a sample removed from a small, non-descript, solid monochrome pictograph at Painted Indian Cave site on the Pedernales River, Blanco Count, Texas (41BC1). It contains red iron oxide pigment and is approximately 10-20 cm in size. The sample was taken with a surgical scalpel with a new blade. Plasma-chemistry was utilized to extract the organic carbon, without getting contamination from inorganic carbon-bearing minerals, calcite and calcium oxalate. Because the background of organic carbon in nearby unpainted rock (limestone) was negligible, the age should be reliable. Further, it is supported by archaeological inference. However, as always with only a single radio-carbon date, especially with minimal carbon extracted, caution is advised pending further study. Radio-carbon analysis at the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory indicated an age of 770 [+ or -]50 years BP. The age is consistent with the image of a bison within the small cave. The depiction of the bison probably corresponds with the earliest Late Prehistoric sightings of bison as they re-entered the south Plains of Texas in larger numbers. Keywords: rock painting; plasma-chemical extraction; radiocarbon dating; Late Prehistoric bison; central Texas Plains

Much rock art worldwide was traditionally interpreted in terms of "hunting magic," in part based on the related concept of "sympathetic magic." In the last forty years, these interpretations were disproven in many regions and now are largely ignored as potential explanations for the origin and function of the art. In certain cases this may be premature. Examination of the ethnographic and archaeological evidence from western North America supports the origin of some art in sympathetic magic (often related to sorcery) in both California and the Plains and provides a case for hunting magic as one of a series of ritual reasons for making rock art in the Columbia Plateau. Both case studies emphasize the potential diversity in origin, function, and symbolism of shamanistic rock art. Mucho arte rupestre mundial se ha interpreto tradicionalmente en terminos de "la magia de caza, "basada en el concepto relacionado de "la magia por imitacion." En los ultimos cuarenta anos, esta interpretacion ha sido rechazada en muchas regiones y ahora es ignorada en gran parte como explicacion potencial para el origen y la funcion del arte. En ciertos casos este rechazo puede ser prematuro. Datos etnograficos en California y la Grande Llanura sostienen un origen de algun arte en magia por imitacion, associado con brujeria, mientras que la etnografia y la evidencia arqueologica de la Meseta de Columbia, norteamerica, muestran an caso a favor de la importancia de la magia de caza como razon para hacer algunos ejemplos del arte rupestre. Ambos casos acentuan la diversidad potencial en el origen, la funcion y el simbolismo del arte rupestre chamanistico., The origin and meaning of North American rock art have been discussed for almost 300 years, at least since Cotton Mather first investigated the petroglyphs of Dighton Rock, Massachussetts (Molyneaux […]

A recent paper by Truncer (2004) perpetuates the recalcitrant misconception that soapstone vessel technology uniformly predates the inception of pottery across eastern North America. Whereas soapstone vessels indeed preceded the local adoption of pottery in limited areas, the bulk of stratigraphic and independent radiometric data supports the conclusion that soapstone vessels either accompanied or postdated the inception of pottery in many parts of the Eastern Woodlands. I reiterate here my criticism of benchmark studies that have been uncritically accepted to support the greater antiquity of soapstone. Given the coincidence of pottery and soapstone in many areas of the Eastern Woodlands, any explanation for the use of soapstone vessels must consider the relative costs and benefits of alternative container technology. Moreover, evidence for use of soapstone vessels in mortuary contexts, caches, and in locations far from geological sources of soapstone suggests that their significance resided not simply in the domestic economy of nut processing, as suggested by Truncer, but in the political economy of group formation and alliance. Un reciente escrito de Tuncer (2004) se continua perpetuando el recalcitrante error de argumentar que la techonologia de vasijas de piedra jabonosa es anterior a la incepcion de la ceramica en el este de Norte America. Mientras que las vasijas de piedra jabonosa preciden la adopcion local de ceramica en areas limitadas, el grueso de la estratigrafia y de los datos radiometricos apoyan la conclusion que las vasijas de piedra jabonosas acompanan o son posteriores a la introduccion de la ceramica en muchas partes del este de las Woodlands. Yo reitero aqui mi criticismo de estudios que son aceptados sin ninguna critica que dan soporte a la antiguedad de la piedra jabonosa. Dada las coincidencias de la ceramica y la piedra jabonosa en muchas areas del este de las Woodlands, cualquier explicacion sobre el uso de la piedra jabonosa debe cosiderar el relativo costo y beneficio de tecnologias de almacenamiento alternativos. Ademas, la evidencia para el uso de las vasijas de piedra jabonosa en contextos mortuarios, caches yen otras localizaciones lejanas de las fuentes de piedra jabonosa sugiere que su significado no reside en la economia domestica del procesamiento, como sugiere Truncer, pero en la economia politica de la formacion de grupos y alianzas., I applaud James Truncer (2004) for compiling a comprehensive data set on the distribution and timing of soapstone (steatite) vessels in eastern North America. He and I share a long-standing […]

The authors describe rock art dating research in Australia using the oxalate method. While the array of dates obtained (which range from c. 1200 to c. 25 000 BP) show a satisfactory correlation with other archaeological data, there are mismatches which suggest that some motif were often imitated by later artists, and/or that the mineral accretions continued to form periodically, perhaps continuously, as a regional phenomenon over a long period of time. Keywords: Pleistocene, Holocene, Australia, rock art, Quinkan, Introduction More than a decade ago, a programme of rock art dating was initiated by the authors in the Laura (Quinkan) region of Cape York Peninsula, in collaboration with other [...]

In the last 10 years, excavations at the Lewis Canyon site have exposed hundreds of petroglyphs buried beneath a mantle of modern sediment that has been redeposited from the surrounding hills. The new glyphs are radically different from the assemblage recorded in the 1930s, which were predominantly abstract geometric designs augmented by a few realistic animal tracks, projectile points, and human figures. The emergent style is dominated by nested serpentine lines, atlatls with greatly exaggerated weights, human and animal tracks, and a small number of human figures. Some of the latter bear a strong resemblance to warriors depicted in the Red Linear style, a miniature local art form with a very limited distribution. The motivation for the expenditure of so much effort in the production of petroglyphs at this location has long been questioned, but excavation has now also uncovered a large tinaja, capable of holding more than 800 gallons of water and once fed by an underground conduit. The supernatural power of water, and especially water that emerges from a subterranean source, provides the rationale for the production of the older, serpentine glyphs, if not the entire assemblage. The tinaja links Lewis Canyon to a series of smaller sites on the Eldorado Divide, over 100 miles to the northwest and, more subtly, to arid-lands rock art traditions in northern Mexico and the Greater Southwest. Keywords: prehistoric petroglyphs; Archaic rock art; water-inspired ritual; Texas

In 2002, eight pigment samples were collected from three rock art sites in the Big Belt Mountains of west central Montana. Samples from Hellgate Gulch (24BW9), Avalanche Mouth (24BW19), and the Gates of the Mountains (24LC27) were dated using plasma-chemical extraction and accelerator mass spectrometry. The dates were statistically indistinguishable with ages of 1170 [+ or -] 45, 1225 [+ or -] 50, and 1280 [+ or -] 50 B.P When calibrated, these ages range from 650 to 990 cal A.D. This corresponds to the early Late Prehistoric period on the Northwestern Plains. An oxalate accretion sample overlying a painted area at another site, Big Log Gulch (24LC1707), provided a minimum age of 1440 [+ or -] 45 B.P for the rock art present at this site. The dated images at the four sites fit within the Foothills Abstract and Eastern Columbia Plateau rock art traditions. Keywords: rock art, plasma-chemical extraction, radiocarbon dating, Foothills Abstract tradition, Eastern Columbia Plateau tradition

Few rock art sites are known for the islands of Wallacea. This paper reports nine new painted rock art sites located in East Timor during archaeological reconnaissance in 2000 to 2001; bringing the total number of painted rock art sites in East Timor to 15. Both the new and previously known rock art sites in East Timor are reviewed in the context of painted rock art elsewhere in the western Pacific region. They are also evaluated in terms of the criteria used by Ballard (1992) to define the 'Austronesian painting tradition' and the relationship between the art, topography, and language groups for the new sites is described. Motif content, motif placement within the sites, and design elements are compared in a preliminary fashion with that of other painting sites known from East Timor and the western Pacific. The East Timor sites are conformable with Austronesian-painted rock art sites elsewhere although they display some features that appear to be locally or regionally distinctive. It is likely that with systematic survey, and thorough inspection of cave and shelter walls, many more sites will be found in East Timor and elsewhere in Island Southeast Asia. The faded and deteriorated condition of many of the East Timor paintings indicates that recording should be undertaken with some urgency. KEYWORDS: painted rock art, East Timor, Island Southeast Asia, Western Pacific, Austronesian painting tradition., NINE NEW PAINTED ROCK ART SITES were located in East Timor during reconnaissance over two field seasons in July-August 2000 and July-September 2001 (O'Connor et al. 2002, Fig. 1, sites [...]

On 4 July AD 1054 a supernova brighter than Venus appeared in the sky, remaining visible for approximately 23 days and 650 nights. It was chronicled in five independent historic [...]

Article discusses prehistoric rock paintings found in the remote region of Kimberley, Western Australia. Author Ian Wilson's book 'Lost World of the Kimberley' is critiqued, and a discussion is presented concerning the controversy surrounding Wilson's suggestion that these rock paintings pre-date prehistoric Aboriginal Australians and their culture.

Torres Strait, strategically located between the mainlands of Australia and New Guinea, has long fascinated anthropologists and archaeologists as a 'bridge and barrier' to the movement of peoples and cultural [...]

Where is rock-art study heading? The author analyses the current trends and proposes a landscape-based, gender-sensitive approach for future work. Key-words: landscape, rock art, shamanism, trends, gender, The archaeological perception of hunter--gatherer peoples who have created a large portion of the world's existing rock art has changed during the last 100 years. Radical shifts in prevailing theories [...]

ABSTRACT While surveying and recording rock-art on Erromango over two field-seasons in 1996 and 1997, I had the pleasure of working with Vanuatu Cultural Centre (VCC) fieldworkers Jerry Taki and [...]

Dampier Archipelago, a scattering of remote islands on the northwest coast of Australia was home to people of the Aboriginal tribes and wallabies who carved stories on rocks for thousands of years. However, due to increased industrialization in this region, there are concerns about possible acceleration of weathering and deterioration of the rock art and hence the government of Western Australia has commissioned a study to determine the role of the industry in the art's deterioration.

A decade after the dissolution of the Iron Curtain, and as the boundaries of nation-states less define where research zones end, opportunities multiply for new configurations of regional research within [...]

Anaheim, California - Nearly 10,000 scientist gathered for the 209th national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), held from 2 to 6 April. One piece of unwelcome news was [...]

SCORES OF PICTURES CARVED on rock faces in the eastern Egyptian desert 6,000 years ago are throwing new light on the prehistoric origins of the civilisation of the Pharaohs. The [...]

Introduction One of the most exciting research frontiers in Australian prehistory over the past five or so years has been the emerging possibility of applying advanced absolute dating methods--in particular, [...]