Rock Art Sites Research Articles

On the presence and distribution of Borassus aethiopum during the Holocene: a rock art evidence from Ennedi (Northern Chad)

A recently discovered rock art site has revealed the presence of figures of fan palm (Borassus aethiopum), a species not recorded in the current flora of the Ennedi. Various evidences (style, superimpositions, themes represented, location in height, traces of erosion) make it possible to date them from the mid-Holocene and to attribute them to the earliest phases of the regional rock art. It is likely that the depictions of the fan palms were motivated by their importance for the population (food, medicine, construction). These data also make it possible to postulate that the northern limit of the distribution area of Borassus aethiopum in the Holocene was close to the Tropic of Cancer.

Siega Verde and the open-air rock art of the northern Iberian Peninsula (Spain)

Siega Verde was the third open-air rock art site to be discovered in the Iberian Peninsula, even before Côa and the controversy that followed that discovery. Its practicable size and the study carried out without any publicity allowed the analysis of a new reality that would change the interpretation of Palaeolithic art. From the start of the research, stylistic criteria were used to date the art in the absence of archaeological excavations. Although this has often been criticized, it meant that Siega Verde and Côa could be dated from Leroi-Gourhan’s Style II onwards. Excavations at Fariseu, a site belonging to Côa in Portugal, have proved that hypothesis archaeologically, as well as supporting the applicability of Leroi-Gourhan’s styles. Siega Verde is a good representative of Palaeolithic art in the open, on rocks by a river-bank or on prominent hills, but it is not the only form that can be catalogued as open-air rock art, because there are intermediate forms. These are found in cave entrances and in rock-shelters all over the Iberian Peninsula, especially in areas where little evidence of Palaeolithic art used to be known, such as on the southern Mediterranean coast and in Andalusia. This site possesses an exterior Upper Palaeolithic art ensemble, similar to the art found inside caves and of the same age, but in a different location. Formal relationships are usual inside and outside the caves and in both cases they represent a communicative code that did not need the dark and mystery to be expressed.

On Elks and Places that Gather: Emplacing North Swedish Rock Paintings

This paper argues for the importance of empha- sizing emplacedness in studies of Fennoscandian rock art. Drawing on a discriminating analysis of three red ochre paintings from Neolithic northern Sweden, it is shown that stylistically comparable panels were created and used through divergent practices connected to their respective spatial con- text. This result raises questions about the episte- mological legitimacy of conceptualizing rock art sites as instantiations of one coherent phenome- non: a problem that is tackled by applying the Berg- sonian approach towards the relation between dif- ference and repetition. By putting forward the idea of particularity as constitutive for, rather than op- posed to, generality, it is argued that the semiotic flexibility of the elk motif can be seen as an reflec- tion of the force that simultaneously gathers and distinguishes the separate rock art sites across the region of Norrland.

Product or Production: On the accumulative Aspect of Rock Art at Nämforsen, Northern Sweden

In this article the accumulative aspect of rock art is dis- cussed. In light of the simple fact that we are seeing rock art panels in their final form, questions concerning the interrelation between figures deriving from differ- ent time periods are addressed. The author’s aim is to draw attention to the long continuity of rock art sites and show how greater awareness of this aspect will af- fect the way we comprehend this material in general. The continuity of rock art sites is exemplified by means of a case study of Nämforsen, located in the province of Ångermanland, northern Sweden.

Picturing the Meaning of Scandinavian Rock Art – Graphic Representations, Archaeological Interpretations and Material Alterations

The paper presents a reflective overview of the recursive relation between the archaeological practice of picturing Scandinavian rock art in printed works since the mid-19th century, and how archaeologists have constructed its meaning. There seem to be an intimate connection between graphic representations of rock art and an interpretative bias towards the mimetic qualities of images. When picturing rock art, the identification of motifs is prioritized at the expense of the materiality of rock art. Ultimately, the production of graphic representations has influenced the antiquarian alteration of the archaeological remains. Today, major Scandinavian rock art sites are frequently painted red, with the purpose of highlighting the engraved imagery for visitor legibility. This practice transforms the materiality of stone into a visual language of graphic representations.

Highlighting on the Eco-tourism at Wadi Hammamat Site,Eastern Desert ,Egypt.

The Wadi Hammamat site is one of the most important Rock art sites all over the world. It's contains different themes date back from the pre-dynastic periods until Islamic age. Also, the site was the main ancient quarry supplied the ancient Egyptian with the raw materials of stones and mines, which used for established the ancient civilization. The paper is highlighting the possibility of using Wadi Hammamat as an eco-tourism site, due to its proximity to the Red Sea coast area, this contributes to diversifying tourism and increasing the country's national income.

Automated tracing of petroglyphs using spatial algorithms

Inventories of a rock art site often do not include tracings due to time and budget constraints, however they are still important for aiding interpretation. While digital inventories from 3D models are expediting the documentation process, on-screen digitization is still tedious. We propose a method of automated tracing using open source spatial algorithms on enhanced 3D derivatives of an engraved rock art site. Automated tracing not only reduces time resources, but has also been suggested to improve interpretation by reducing subjectivity. We evaluate the results by comparing the automated tracing with on-screen digitization. While some subjectivity may be reduced with automatization, there is still subjectivity in the choice of parameters.

An Analysis of Motif Clusters at the Nanguluwurr Rock Art Site, Kakadu National Park, N. T. Australia

ABSTRACT During recent detailed recording of Nanguluwurr, a rock art site that is part of the Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) complex of cultural sites in Kakadu National Park, Australia, the data showed discrete clusters of specific motif types distributed throughout the length of the gallery. This paper focuses on the spatial distribution of the main motif clusters depicting spirit figures, material culture, fish, and painted hand and forearm motifs in order to understand the significance of these clusters within the site and the significance of Nanguluwurr as part of a wider complex of cultural sites. We consider the concept of these motif groupings as “meaning clusters,” as well as their chronological sequence, and discuss the possibility that they are the result of bursts of painting activity that occurred during the long history of the site manifest through depictions of ancient Dynamic Figures to the recent painting of X-ray fish.

Exploring the Cave Rock Art of Siberian Trans-Baikal: Fertility, Shamanism, and Gender

Abstract The paper explores the phenomenon of rock art found in and around rock art cavities in Trans-Baikal region of South-East Siberia. Although many researchers noticed that caves have had a special value in cultures around the globe, no research has been carried out specifically into the cave rock art of Trans-Baikal which was not distinguished from other rock art found in open localities and shelters. This study was conducted based on field data collected by the author in 2017. In order to answer the question whether the cave sites had a specific role in the cultures of Bronze Age Trans-Baikal, the sets of motifs of the cave sites were compared to those of the closest open sites. Drawing on the stylistic difference revealed by the analysis and landscape context, it is suggested that the cave rock art sites could be places where rituals of more restricted nature took place. Ethnographic records may imply that these ceremonies were aimed at the fertility increasing being performed by shamans or shamannesses or without their assistance. It is also possible that the ceremonies could be gender-exclusive, conducted only for women, although this interpretation needs further research.

Huashan Rock Art: Presentation of a Chinese Cultural Heritage Site in the Absence of Tourism Infrastructure

The Huashan Rock Art site is a cultural tourism site of considerable importance in the development of domestic tourism focusing on heritage and history. As a previously peripheral part of Chinese society, Huashan has a significant role in explaining to Chinese people the extent and complexity of their history. Yet development of the research site has been hampered by the lack of tourism infrastructure (e.g. managerial capacity, accommodation, transportation, integrated services and so forth) and the private sector is not well-positioned to make up for the shortfall. The situation compares unfavourably with other destinations in neighbouring provinces. Under these circumstances, a program of qualitative research was launched using in-depth personal interviews to investigate the means by which Huashan Rock Art site is being presented and promoted currently and how can that presentation lead to an emotional and ideological response. It was found that there is some interaction between the type and nature of presentation and the success of the site in terms of destination management and this interaction is explored.

Falconry petroglyphs in Iran: new findings on the nexus between ancient humans and birds of prey

Ethnoornithology is a multidisciplinary field of study that focuses on human-bird relationships and humans’ knowledge of the Earth’s avifauna. Falconry (the use of trained birds of prey—usually eagles, falcons, and hawks—to hunt wild animals) is one type of human-bird relationship, with its origins obscured in poorly understood prehistoric times. We hypothesized that falconry would have been memorable enough to prehistoric peoples to be the subject of rock art, and that evidence of prehistoric falconry could be found in the petroglyphs of the Persian Plateau. To assess this hypothesis, we visited 13 major rock art sites in the Persian Plateau, and searched for petroglyphs depicting a person bearing a bird on the forearm. We found, identified, and photographed 11 petroglyphs depicting falconry. Most (n = 10) occurred in the archaeological region of Teymareh, most (n = 7) showed a falconer mounted on horseback or elephant, and many (n = 6) included an accompanying trained canid or cheetah. These tableaus suggest that falconry was but one aspect of a suite of human-animal associations developed and maintained by the prehistoric peoples of the Persian Plateau. Based on previous surveys of the petroglyphs of Teymareh, along with other evidence, we assume that most of the petroglyphs we discovered were inscribed approximately 4000 years ago, likely making them some of the oldest remaining evidence of falconry in the world. We suggest that our work indicates that future research on petroglyphs may be useful in further exploring and understanding the relationship between prehistoric mankind and wildlife.

Extinction, Inscription and the Dreaming: Exploring a Thylacine Connection

ABSTRACT The thylacine, commonly associated with its Tasmanian extinction, also existed on the Australian mainland up until 3000–3500 years ago and is depicted in rock art sites in various locations around Australia. This lengthy period since extinction means we know little about Aboriginal Australians’ connections with this animal. This paper draws on available evidence to explore these thylacine connections. This exploration highlights the role that inscriptions, traces and narratives may play in facilitating continuing relationships with long extinct species. It also suggests that in these cosmologies, the material absence of a species does not necessarily correlate with ontological finality (of the kind generally considered central to the idea of extinction). The comparative perspective offered here complements work detailing extinction as a concept that has its own historical origins and developments, one that emerges as a specific cultural understanding about the nature of the world and its inhabitants.

Stabilization of cultural innovations depends on population density: Testing an epidemiological model of cultural evolution against a global dataset of rock art sites and climate-based estimates of ancient population densities.

Demographic models of human cultural evolution have high explanatory potential but weak empirical support. Here we use a global dataset of rock art sites and climate and genetics-based estimates of ancient population densities to test a new model based on epidemiological principles. The model focuses on the process whereby a cultural innovation becomes endemic in a population, predicting that this cannot occur unless population density exceeds a critical threshold. Analysis of the data, using a Bayesian statistical framework, shows that the model has stronger empirical support than a proportional model, where detection is directly proportional to population density, or a null model, where rock art detection ratios and population density are independent. Results for different geographical areas and periods are compatible with the predictions of the model and confirm its superiority with respect to the null model. Re-analysis of the rock art data, using a second set of independent population estimates, again supports the superiority of the model. Although the available data is sparse and the analysis cannot exclude all possible sources of bias, this is evidence that population density above a critical threshold may be a necessary condition for the maintenance of rock art as a stable part of a population's cultural repertoire. Methods similar to those described can be used to test the model for other classes of archaeological artifact and to compare it against other models.

Artificial Intelligence, 3D Documentation, and Rock Art\u2014Approaching and Reflecting on the Automation of Identification and Classification of Rock Art Images

Rock art carvings, which are best described as petroglyphs, were produced by removing parts of the rock surface to create a negative relief. This tradition was particularly strong during the Nordic Bronze Age (1700–550 BC) in southern Scandinavia with over 20,000 boats and thousands of humans, animals, wagons, etc. This vivid and highly engaging material provides quantitative data of high potential to understand Bronze Age social structures and ideologies. The ability to provide the technically best possible documentation and to automate identification and classification of images would help to take full advantage of the research potential of petroglyphs in southern Scandinavia and elsewhere. We, therefore, attempted to train a model that locates and classifies image objects using faster region-based convolutional neural network (Faster-RCNN) based on data produced by a novel method to improve visualizing the content of 3D documentations. A newly created layer of 3D rock art documentation provides the best data currently available and has reduced inscribed bias compared to older methods. Several models were trained based on input images annotated with bounding boxes produced with different parameters to find the best solution. The data included 4305 individual images in 408 scans of rock art sites. To enhance the models and enrich the training data, we used data augmentation and transfer learning. The successful models perform exceptionally well on boats and circles, as well as with human figures and wheels. This work was an interdisciplinary undertaking which led to important reflections about archaeology, digital humanities, and artificial intelligence. The reflections and the success represented by the trained models open novel avenues for future research on rock art.

The cultural ascription and evaluation of archaeological surface assemblages: Development and application of the Archaeological Surveying Consistency Index (ASCI) in the radial archaeological survey of Minateda rock art site (SE Spain)

This work presents a new methodological tool developed in order to achieve more rigorous and objective ascription and evaluation of the archaeological surface assemblages: the Archaeological Surveying Consistency Index (ASCI). A combination of this innovative approach, GIS technologies and a radial model of intensive archaeological survey is designed and implemented on a case study to provide an answer to an archaeological anomaly in the field of archaeological surveying. The radial model of intensive archaeological survey and total coverage was designed on the basis of the background, the characteristics of the terrain and, fundamentally, of the posed hypotheses (proximity and visibility). The information thus generated was analysed and represented using GIS technologies (kernel maps, proportional symbols maps, viewshed analyses). Our research has allowed us to give cultural material contextualization to Abrigo Grande de Minateda, a paradigmatic rock art site of the prehistoric art of the Iberian Peninsulás Mediterranean Arc, which has been recognised as World Heritage in 1998 by UNESCO.

Invisible or ignored: investigating the lack of thylacine‐based material culture in the Australian archaeological record

ABSTRACTThere is a distinct lack of information regarding interactions between thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and Aboriginal Australians. Their depiction in Australian rock art is not unusual, yet only one example of an artefact made from thylacine remains has been recovered from the archaeological record. This absence of thylacine‐based Indigenous material culture is conspicuous, especially since the raw materials such a large mammal provides would be useful and thus their depiction in art but absence from “things” appears significant. To investigate whether substantial opportunity existed for the exploitation of thylacines for the purpose of material culture production, and thus that sampling or cultural factors must instead be at play for their absence from the record, the location of known palaeontological, archaeological and rock art sites related to thylacines were mapped in time and space. Dated contexts are compared to create an overall picture of the overlap between thylacine habitat and human territories. We found that there was a significant period where interaction between this enigmatic animal and First Australians occurred, and, therefore, a lack of contact is not the reason for the near total absence of thylacine bones, teeth and other materials being missing from Indigenous material culture

Implications for rock art dating from the Lower Pecos Canyonlands, TX: A review

The Lower Pecos Canyonlands was the first study area where the method of plasma oxidation was employed to extract organic material from prehistoric rock paintings for accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating. During the developmental phase of this method, Rowe's laboratory at Texas A&M University obtained 32 radiocarbon measurements for Lower Pecos rock art: 29 dates for 16 paintings of the Pecos River style, and 3 additional dates for paintings of other styles found within the region. We evaluate these legacy dates based on contextual, compositional, and measurement elements, concluding that these experimental results are problematic and should not be used to draw archaeological conclusions. Building on knowledge gained during the development of the technique, Rowe established field and laboratory methods to address issues impacting the reliability and precision of radiocarbon results. Steelman's laboratory at Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center has implemented these and additional protocols, including: (1) proper documentation of sampling locations so that the provenience of the sample is known (contextual); (2) analysis of unpainted control background samples to identify the presence or lack of contaminants in the rock substrate (compositional); (3) chemical pretreatment with base to remove any potential humic acid contamination (compositional); and (4) improved laboratory procedures to ensure that laboratory contamination is avoided (measurement). Using this methodology, Steelman's laboratory has obtained eleven radiocarbon results for four rock art sites in the region: 6 dates for Pecos River style paintings; 1 date for a red zigzag painting of another style; and 4 oxalate minimum/maximum ages. Three of these AMS measurements are from a single composition and pass a χ2-test consistent with being coeval. To our knowledge, this data also presents the first minimum, direct, and maximum age for a single pictograph. This review suggests that future dating research in the region will produce a refined chronology for age comparisons between different rock art sites, painting styles, and even sub-styles – adding to our knowledge of the hunter-gatherers who lived in this painted landscape.

The Cultural Study of Tribes and Prehistoric Rock Paintings of Simdega District

This research paper will mainly consist of the unreported Neolithic site and rock art sites of Simdega district. In this paper there will be the detailed information about the rock paintings. The detailed study will be done of the various figures of the paintings. This paper will also describe the associated remains found along with the rock paintings. The research paper also consists of the developing phase of the rock art which can be seen in the tribal communities. Paper will also consist of the study of saddle quern, its various uses and how it is related to the tribal community. There will the content about the importance of the rock art in the tribal society. Various rituals are performed on the rock art site by the tribal people till today. This research paper will describe these rituals which are performed by the tribal people. The paper will consists of the study of correlation between the rock art and the various arts forms and cultures present in the tribal community.

Archaeological analyses of pigmenting materials, a case study on Initial Late Holocene hunter-gatherers from North-Central Chile

A combination of optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, XRD, and Raman Spectroscopy analyses were applied to a set of rock painting samples and pigments from funerary sites from Initial Late Holocene hunter-gatherer contexts in North-Central Chile. We identified manganese oxides for black and hematite as well as iron-rich clays for red pigments. The mineral and chemical particularities of the samples are discussed regarding their potential for identifying painting events in the rock art sites. We propose that this approach offers the possibility to discuss not only technical aspects of pigments technologies, but also re-painting of the sites as part of the process of rock art production.Also, the comparison with pigments from funerary sites gives some first ideas about pigments selection for different uses in the area.

The international cooperation between the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the University of Milan for the excavation and preservation of an endangered site in Aswan

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the University of Milan collaborate in the protection, preservation and valorisation of the large necropolis surrounding the Mausoleum of the Aga Khan in West Aswan. The first mission has been completed, the second is underway. Director Patrizia Piacentini describes the work and finds from the first mission and the experts from different fields (anthropology, palaeopathology, chemistry, botany, restauration, the computer sciences) that will be deployed during the second phase. Particular emphasis has been given to the historical meaning of the necropolis, in general, and, in particular, of tomb AGH026, which was excavated in 2019. They promise to yield information on the history and international contacts of the population of Aswan during the Late Pharaonic and Ptolemaic-Roman Period. Vicedirector Massimiliana Pozzi Battaglia enumerates some of the particular issues that were encountered from the point of view of conservation and transport. Inside Tomb AGH 026 different conditions were encountered, depending mostly on whether sand had covered a specific spot or not, which conditioned the preservation of the human bodies, cartonnage-making and wooden items and influenced their transportation and storage. Said Mahmoud Abd El-Moneim, General Director of Aswan and Nubia Antiquities Zone and Co-director of the mission at Aga Khan necropolis, widens the scope of the article to address other endangered sites that at present concerns of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. He describes the challenge posed by raising water levels and increased quarrying activity at Kom Ombo, Philae and Bigga, the rock art and palaeolake sites in the Aswan area.