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Rock Art and the Perception of Landscape

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2008

Richard Bradley
Richard Bradley
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 218, Reading RG6 2AA
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Abstract

Studies of the prehistoric landscape are best suited to the analysis of sedentary communities with enclosed resources. Studies of prehistoric art show different limitations, especially an excessive subjectivity. This paper attempts to bring these areas of research together by considering the changing content of rock art in relation to topography, the movement of people in the cultural landscape, and the operation of specialized kinds of monument. The characteristic designs found in the open air are analyzed in terms of their organization and visual impact, and the results of this pilot study are employed in a more detailed assessment of the positioning of prehistoric petroglyphs in two areas of Neolithic/Early Bronze Age Britain: Northumberland and Mid Argyll.

Type
Articles
Information
Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , April 1991 , pp. 77 - 101
Copyright
Copyright © The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 1991

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