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Transforming the Rocks – Time and Rock Art in Bohuslän, Sweden

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2017

Christian Horn  and
Rich Potter
Christian Horn
Affiliation:
Institute for Pre- and Protohistory, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany
Rich Potter
Affiliation:
Department of Historical Studies, Gothenburg University, Sweden
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Abstract

Human representations are one of the most important groups of depictions in rock art in southern Scandinavia. These humans have long been discussed as complete, stable, and temporally-fixed images. The results of a new survey challenge this view. Recording rock art with Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) enabled us to discern a possible sequence of production of individual human representations, their bodily features, and associated objects. Figures from a rock art site in Finntorp (Tanum, Sweden) will be used as an example. Differences in the dimensions of the engraved lines, the chronology of the depicted objects, and the placement of body parts suggest that several individuals may have been involved in making human representations on the rocks, and that their appearance as complete figures is the result of repeated transformations. The results presented demonstrate that Scandinavian rock art is not stable in time. We suggest that rock art is best understood as the creation of communities over time, which enables them to engage with the past by transforming the rocks.

Les représentations de figures humaines constituent un des plus importants groupes d'images gravées sur roche en Scandinavie méridionale. On a longtemps considéré ces humains comme des représentations complètes, stables et fixées dans le temps. Les résultats d'un nouveau relevé vont à l'encontre de ce point de vue. Un relevé utilisant l'imagerie par transformation de la réflectance (ITR) sur le site de Finntorp (Tanum, Suède) nous a permis de documenter une séquence de représentations humaines, de parties du corps et d'objets associés. Sur la base des différences dans la taille des lignes gravées, la chronologie des objets représentés et la position des éléments du corps nous estimons que plusieurs individus ont participé à la création de ces figures humaines et que leur apparence finale était due à des transformations successives. Nous pensons que l'art rupestre scandinave est le résultat d'une évolution dans le temps, les communautés qui en étaient responsables créant des images qui leur permettaient de communier avec le passé en transformant les roches. Les résultats et l'interprétation que nous présentons ici pourraient avoir des conséquences importantes pour la recherche en art rupestre scandinave et l’âge du Bronze nordique en général. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Menschliche Figuren sind eine der wichtigsten Motive von Felsbildern in Südskandinavien. Darstellungen von Menschen sind lange als vollständig, stabil und zeitgebunden angesehen worden. Die Ergebnisse einer neuen Untersuchung stellt diese Interpretation infrage. Die Dokumentation von Felsbildern in Finntorp (Tanum, Schweden) mittels Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) ermöglichte die Rekonstruktion der Produktionssequenz einzelner menschlicher Figuren und damit verbundener Gegenstände. Die unterschiedlichen Dimensionen der eingeritzten Linien, die chronologische Abfolge der dargestellten Objekte und in die Lage der Körperteile weisen darauf hin, dass die Figuren erst nach mehrfachen Transformationen ihre endgültige Erscheinungsform als menschliche Darstellungen annahmen und dass über eine lange Zeitspanne hinweg mehrere Individuen an der Produktion beteiligt waren. Wir sind der Meinung, dass solche Figuren von Gemeinschaften im Laufe der Zeit geschaffen und verändert wurden. Wir schlagen vor, dass die Felsbilder eine zeitübergreifende Gemeinschaft kreierten, die es eventuell ermöglichte direkt mit der Vergangenheit in Kontakt zu treten, in dem die Bilder transformiert wurden. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Keywords

prehistoryrock artNordic Bronze Ageanthropomorphic representationsRTIpréhistoireart rupestreâge du Bronze nordiquereprésentations anthropomorphiquesITRUrgeschichteFelskunstnordische Bronzezeitanthropomorphische DarstellungenRTI
Type
Article
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 21 , Issue 3 , August 2018 , pp. 361 - 384
Copyright
Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2017 

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