Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | The Modern Antiquarian Forum | Rock art. so what's that all about then. ?

Jane

3024 posts

Re: Rock art. so what's that all about then. ?

Jul 20, 2010, 16:49

Kozmik_Ken wrote:

I also don't see any problem with RA having multiple purposes too. rather than single definitions.

On my travels I've seen a number of different kinds of rock art ranging from cup marks (which seem to be global) to cups with rings, lines and 'abstract' designs to depictions of actual things (animals, people, spears). Many of which have very different uses.

In Polynesia we saw cup marks which had been made to mix herbs to create tattooing inks and for grinding colours. In southern Africa and the middle east we saw depictions of prey animals, these are common in Europe too. Some corkers in Scandinavia I believe... In South Africa we saw cup marks which were used as board games, using pebbles as 'counters'. And some of the random designs we saw in Namibia was *EXACTLY* like stuff you see in northern England and Scotland. It was surprising to see it next to glyphs of lions, rhinos and penguins.

I think rock art could be diagrammatically expressed mapping, too, using signs and symbols we just can't read any more because the landscape has changed so much. Or perhaps it didn't map the landscape, but family connections, tribal lineage, ownership of stock, etc, etc.

Whatever rock art was I certainly enjoy seeking it out. I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing the Nazca lines in September. Check out that giant hummingbird! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines

In reply to:
Re: Rock art. so what's that all about then. ? (Kozmik_Ken)

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Re: Rock art. so what's that all about then. ? (thesweetcheat)
Re: Rock art. so what's that all about then. ? (Hob)

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