Rock art
Rock art is a term in archaeology for any markings that were made on natural stone by human beings.[1] They can be divided into:
- Petroglyphs – carvings into stone surfaces
- Pictographs – rock and cave paintings
In addition, there is rock art made by aligning or piling natural stones. The stones themselves are used as large markings on the ground.
Location
One can find petroglyphs and pictographs on the walls of a cave or on rock in open-air.
Similar terms
Rock art has also been described as rock records,[2] rock sculptures,[3] rock inscriptions,[4] rock carvings,[5] rock paintings,[6] rock engravings,[7] rock drawings,[8] rock pictures,[9]
Gallery
Buddhist stone carvings at Ili River, Kazakhstan
Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka rock painting, World Heritage Site
"The Shoemaker", Brastad, Sweden
Rock Art Media
Fremont Petroglyph, in Dinosaur National Monument, attributed to Classic Vernal Style, Fremont archaeological culture, eastern Utah, United States
Reclining Buddha at Gal Vihara, Sri Lanka, where the remains of two columns to support the structure that originally enclosed it is visible
Nanabozho pictograph, Mazinaw Rock, Bon Echo Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Aboriginal rock painting of Mimi spirits in the Anbangbang gallery at Nourlangie Rock in Kakadu National Park.
Bidzar Petroglyphs in Cameroon
Balma dei Cervi post-palaeolithic rock paintings (Italian western Alps): antropomorphic figures and dottings (DStretch enhanced)
A moose in the rock paintings of Saraakallio in Laukaa, Finland
Long-horned cattle and other rock art in the Laas Geel complex
Related pages
References
- ↑ The term "rock art" appears to have been used first used in about 1959: "The rock art tells us little for certain about marriage customs." J D. Clark, Prehist. S. Afr. ix. 248, 1959
- ↑ Moore G. 1861. The lost tribes and the Saxons of the East: with translations of rock-records in India.
- ↑ Tylor 1865. Early history of Man. v. 88, "Rock-sculptures may often be symbolic boundary marks".
- ↑ Deutsch, Rem. 177, 1874: The long rock-inscription of Hamamât.
- ↑ Chadwick H.M. 1907. The rock-carvings at Tegneby. Origin Eng. Nation xii. 306.
- ↑ Encycl. Relig. & Ethics I. 822/2, 1908: "The rock-paintings are either stencilled or painted in outline".
- ↑ Wells H.G. 1920 Outl. Hist. I. xvii. 126/1: "From rock engravings we may deduce the theory that the desert was crossed from oasis to oasis".
- ↑ Winkler H.A. 1938. Rock-drawings of southern Upper Egypt I. 26.
- ↑ Man No. 119. 178/2, 1939: "On one of the stalactite pillars was found a big round stone with traces of red paint on its surface, as used in the rock-pictures"
Further reading
- Malotki, Ekkehart and Weaver, Donald E. Jr., 2002, Stone Chisel and Yucca Brush: Colorao Plateau Rock Art, Kiva Publishing Inc., Walnut, CA, ISBN 1-885772-27-0 (cloth). For the "general public", this book has well over 200 color prints with commentary on each site where the photos were taken; the organization begins with the earliest art and goes to modern times.
- Rohn, Arthur H. and Freguson, William M, 2006, Puebloan ruins of the Southwest, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM, ISBN 0-8263-3970-0 (pbk, : alk. paper). Adjunct to the primary discussion of the ruins, contains color prints of rock art at the sites, plus interpretations.
- Schaafsma, Polly, 1980, Indian Rock Art of the Southwest, School of American Research, Sana Fe, University of New Mexico press, Albuquerque, NM, ISBN 0-8263-0913-5. Scholarly text with 349 references, 32 color plates, 283 black and white "Figures", 11 Maps, and 2 Tables.
Other websites
- Ekaterina, Devlet. 2001. Rock Art and the material culture of Siberian and central Asian shamanism. In The Archaeology of Shamanism. 43-54. 01/04/2007. Archived 2006-08-28 at the Wayback Machine
- Rock Art studies Archived 2002-01-27 at the Wayback Machine - A Bibliographic database at the Bancroft Library containing over 10,000 citations to the world's rock art literature.
- The website of Rock Art Foundation - Native American Rock Art Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
- Trust for African Rock Art Archived 2020-11-26 at the Wayback Machine
- British Rock Art Collection Archived 2006-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ARARA American Rock Art Research Association.
- Rupestre.net A rock art site, mainly devoted to Valcamonica and Alpine Rock Art.
- EuroPreArt The database of European Prehistoric Art.
- Art and Archaeology of the Dampier Archipelago Archived 2021-03-28 at the Wayback Machine
- Bradshaw Foundation Supports dissemination of information on rock art, migration, and the study of artistic man around the world.
- Rock Art in South Africa http://rockart.wits.ac.za/origins/ Archived 2005-07-15 at the Wayback Machine
- UNESCO World Heritage: Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka