The hunters’ rock art in Northern Norway. problems of chronology and interpretation

Abstract

The hunters' rock art in northern Norway has traditionally been thought to constitute a chronologically and coherent continuous sequence. By relating the different types of hunters’ rock art to prehistoric shorelines it is argued that there is no continuity or chronological contact between the three groups of hunters’ rock art. By treating the rock art as text, it is shown that the different types have a different ‘grammar’ or structure. These structures are interpreted in the light of chronology and archaeological context. The ground rock art is interpreted to represent a totemic classification system. The carved rock art is regarded as a system structuring the relations between groups living at the coast and groups living in the interior. The painted rock art is thought to represent some forms of ritual, probably transition rites.