A Companion to Rock Art

Rock art, both as art and as a record of human endeavor and artistry, evokes a personal response as well as a scientific one. Its geographic range is vast - with innumerable discoveries from the deserts of Australia to the limestone caves of the Pyrenees; from the heights of the Andes to the fjords of Scandinavia. The number and diversity of sites, and how we approach them using archaeological and art historical perspectives, provides a rich landscape of ideas and narrative frameworks. A Companion to Rock Art offers an unparalleled overview of a field that has evolved significantly within the last two decades. A range of interpretive frameworks within which petroglyph and pictograph art forms can be understood is examined in detail. This exciting field of enquiry continues to engage both researchers and the general public, with the search for elusive meanings in the images. Whether they were produced for the exchange of information; for secular or sacred purposes; for signaling alliance networks and identity; or as legacies of origin narratives are just some of the challenging questions that confront the modern archaeologist in understanding prehistoric and early humans. Leading international scholars provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive coverage of theoretical and methodological developments in the field, and illustrations and photographs ably support the text. This new companion is an authoritative guide for researchers, instructors, and students in anthropology, archaeology, religious studies, and prehistoric art.