Rock Carvings
Petroglyphs (rock engravings) are images containing pictograms and logograms, created by removing part of a rock surface via incising, picking, carving and/or abrading. Rock carvings are found worldwide, with the highest concentrations in Africa, Scandinavia, Siberia, southwestern North America and Australia dating between the late Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, approximately 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. However, some carvings date to the Bronze Age. Many rock carvings were produced by hunter-gatherers who inhabited the area and typically depicted animals, humans as well as some narrative scenes.
Petroglyphs in Tanum, Sweden (c. 1700–500 BCE).
Rock carving with the shape of a flock of birds.
Interpretations
Traditionally, individual markings are called motifs, while groups of motifs are known as panels. Rock carvings are found across a wide geographical and temporal scope of cultures. Scholars have devised numerous theories to explain their purpose, depending on their location, age, and image type.
Some petroglyphs are thought to be astronomical markers, maps, or other such forms of communication. A petroglyph that represents a land form or the surrounding terrain is known as a Geocontourglyph. Glyphs from the Nordic Bronze Age (c. 1700-500 BCE) seem to refer to some form of territorial boundary between tribes, in addition to possible religious meanings. It also appears that local or regional dialects from similar or neighboring peoples exist.
Composite photograph of petroglyphs from Häljesta, Sweden (c. 1700–500 BCE)
The glyphs have been painted to make them more visible. They have been identified as (top to bottom, left to right): Plowing with oxen (the branch in the farmer's hand is assumed to be part of a fertility ritual), archer/hunter with bow, fishing from a small boat, (middle row) a procession of unknown nature, foot prints, (bottom row) man with dog, typical Scandinavian rock carving ship symbol.
Many researchers have noticed the notable resemblance of different styles of petroglyphs across different continents, a fact which has seen little agreement or explanation among scholars and archaeologists. This could be mere coincidence, an indication that certain groups of people migrated widely from some initial common area, or the indication of a common origin.
One common symbol called the cup-and-ring mark has been found on petroglyphs in the British Isles, as well as on the European continent in locations as diverse as Spain, Scandinavia, and Greece. This symbol consists of a concave depression, no more than a few centimeters in diameter, pecked into a rock surface and often surrounded by concentric circles also etched into the stone. Sometimes a linear channel called a gutter leads out from the middle.
Laxe dos carballos (fourth-second millennium BCE)
Cup-and-ring mark and deer hunting scenes. (The cup-and-ring mark lies to the right of the deer.) Campo Lameiro, Galicia, Spain.
Some scholars have suggested that the cup-and-ring mark were symbolically linked to water, having sacred associations in late prehistoric society. As evidence, these scholars note that a number of the larger cups, to which they refer as basins, would have collected rain water. They believe that cup-and-ring marks look like the ripples produced when raindrops hit water.