Perspectives on Differences in Rock Art - Jan Magne Gjerde
Prehistoric Deep-sea Exploitation: Visual Clues of the Rock Art of the White Sea and Alta
Perspectives on Differences in Rock Art - Jan Magne Gjerde
Liliana Janik [+]
University of Cambridge
Dr Liliana Janik is Assistant Director of Research, Deputy Director of the Cambridge Heritage Research Centre and Fellow of Girton College, University of Cambridge.She leads research projects in Japan and Russia. She specialises in prehistoric art: rock art, sculpture, and neuroaesthetic approaches to art, as well as heritage of the landscape.
Description
The antiquity of deep-sea hunting in the northern hemisphere is evidenced by historical and ethnographic records. However, the chronological depth of such practices is still being discussed. To try and establish when marine hunting and fishing started, this paper examines the visual indicators of such practices in the prehistoric rock art of northern Europe, focusing on the deep-sea hunting of beluga whales, the fishing of halibut, and the use of harpoons, floats and lines-and-hooks. The examples presented suggest that North European prehistoric communities practised deep-sea hunting over 7,000 years ago, in Alta, Norway, and the White Sea region of Russia.