Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Petroglyphs'

This study examines rock art sites containing scratched petroglyphs in the Bennett Hills, Idaho. Despite their research potential, scratched petroglyphs have received little attention in rock art research or literature. This study contributes valuable data to scratched rock art research and the corpus of rock art research in general. Two samples of ten scratched petroglyph sites were examined and recorded for a total of twenty petroglyph sites. Using formal and contextual research methods, multiple attributes of scratched petroglyphs are identified and analyzed. The formal qualities of scratched petroglyphs are examined to define the extent and to characterize the motif assemblage. Formal qualities were also studied to test hypotheses concerning the relationship between scratched and pecked petroglyph styles and associations between scratched petroglyphs and other archaeological phenomena. The contexts of scratched petroglyphs are studied on site and landscape scales to identify correlations with other archaeological phenomena and environments. The formal analyses revealed that there are more scratched petroglyphs in the Bennett Hills than records and literature currently indicate. Few site records document the presence of scratched petroglyphs, although as a result of this analysis it appears to be ubiquitous in the Bennett Hills. It is possible that scratched petroglyphs are under recorded in other locales as well, and that further investigations may identify a greater frequency of scratched petroglyphs throughout the Great Basin. Proper identification of scratched petroglyphs may alter how these properties are evaluated and in turn how they are managed. The Bennett Hills encompass a limited and unique assemblage of scratched petroglyph motifs that are dissimilar to petroglyphs manufactured using other techniques. This is significant in that it helps support the idea that scratched petroglyphs are distinct. Rather than just an alternative method to pecking, scratched petroglyphs serve a unique function that is different from and independent of pecked petroglyphs. Contextual analyses indicated that scratched petroglyphs are located in patterned and significant associations with artifacts, features, environments, and landscapes. The contextual analysis suggested that scratched rock art was produced in a public context in close proximity to subsistence related activities, perhaps in association with resource gathering events. There are various hypotheses that deal with the interaction between scratched and pecked petroglyph styles. Scratched petroglyphs occur both independent of and in association with other pecked petroglyph styles, although scratched petroglyphs do not commonly occur with any one pecked motif. When scratched and pecked petroglyph styles overlap scratched petroglyphs are always later than and superimposed over earlier pecked petroglyphs. Data was collected to test three hypotheses concerning the intention of association between scratched and pecked petroglyphs. It does not appear that scratched petroglyphs serve to obliterate earlier pecked petroglyphs or function as a sketch that would be pecked later. There is evidence that some scratched petroglyphs enhance earlier pecked petroglyphs however, this hypothesis cannot sufficiently describe the range of patterns and associations found in the Bennett Hills scratched petroglyph assemblage. Hypotheses suggesting associations between scratched rock art and other archaeological phenomena were also examined. The association between scratched petroglyphs and scratched stones is deserving of further research. It may also be too soon to dismiss the association between scratched petroglyphs and quartz. The examination of scratched petroglyphs in the Bennett Hills provides a unique insight into the minds of the makers of these petroglyphs, contributing valuable data our knowledge of the prehistoric peoples of the Bennett Hills and surrounding areas.

2016 - 2017
Data visualization concerns the communication of data through visual representations and techniques. It aims at enhancing perception and support data-driven decision making so enabling insights otherwise hard to achieve. A good visualization of data makes it possible to identify patterns and enables better understanding of phenomena. In other words, data visualization is related to an innate human ability to quickly comprehend, discern and convert patterns into useful and usable information. Humans have used visual graphical representations as early as 35.000 B.C., through cave drawings. Indeed, human ancestors already reasoned in terms of models or schemata: the visual representation of information is an ancient concept, as witnessed by the rock carvings found. Over the centuries, information visualization has evolved to take into account the changing human needs and its use has become more and more conscious. The first data visualization techniques have been developed to observe and represent physical quantities, geography and celestial positions. Successively, the combined use of euclidean geometry and algebra improved accuracy and complexity of information representation, in different fields, such as astronomy, physics and engineering. Finally, in the last century most modern forms of data representations were invented: starting from charts, histograms, and graphs up to high dimensional data, and dynamic and interactive visualizations of temporal data [41]. Nowadays, the huge amount of information enables more precise interpretation of phenomena so fostering the adoption of infographic techniques, in particular, for supporting managerial decision-making in the business area... [edited by author]
XVI n.s.

The focus of this thesis is the rock art of Nevada, a state in the western United States. While the previously dominant models of rock art interpretation (hunting-magic and shamanism) have produced significant bodies of research, I argue that both are based on faulty Anthropological theory and produce theorisations which are one dimensional because of the focus on rock art imagery at the expense of site contexts. Because meaning is not derived from the images themselves, but is rather derived from the social contexts of use and production, it is these which must be reconstructed and which will elucidate the imagery. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the details of rock art site contexts, rather than simply select a model and apply it to the site regardless of fit. In short, rock art must be approached as archaeology, albeit informed by ethnography when possible. In this thesis I examine in detail the official rock art site records for the state of Nevada and identify patterns in the contexts and distributions and examine variation and similarities throughout the state. Based on these, I suggest alternative analyses of Nevada's rock art and discuss the role that it may have played in the colonization of the Americas; the symbolic construction of social and ethnic identities; the identification of ritual spaces in pre-history; and the significance of rock art to modern Native Americans.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2006.
"May, 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 241-257). Library also has microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich. : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [2006]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm. Online version available on the World Wide Web.

This thesis presents a holistic study of connections in the Altai Mountains of the eastern Eurasian Steppe, as shown by rock-art. Currently divided by four countries, pecked images (petroglyphs) and painted images from the 2^nd-1^st millennium BCE have been subjected to very separate research traditions, exacerbated by language barriers. This thesis focusses on the entire Altai Mountain range as a study area, integrating research published in Chinese and Russian, with supplementary literature in Kazakh and Mongolian consulted. To demonstrate the potential for connectivity and, consequently, movement, a map of accessibility was generated, showing that there are various optimal routes for movement throughout the Altai. The locations of rock-art sites relative to these routes indicate that movement was a key feature contributing to the creation of rock-art. Examining topographic features in the vicinity of rock-art sites of three regions (Mongolia, Russia, PRC) highlighted an association between watercourses and sites, whilst studying the micro-landscape within panels found that the creators of rock-art were not representing the tangible spatial relationship of figures to the landscape. More broadly, similarities between motifs at rock-art sites, as well as on portable art, demonstrate that the people making them, regardless of whether they were aware of it or not, were part of a wider understanding of how to depict subjects. Evidence of this understanding can be found even in regions with very different cultural backgrounds to the Steppe, such as the Chinese Central Plains, demonstrating that groups outside of the Steppe were aware of and using this way of representing. By combining analysis of motifs with that of the landscape, this thesis demonstrates that rock-art as a practice was inherently linked with to the landscape, whereas content and style are more indicative of a wide-ranging belief system amongst Steppe pastoralists, which was expressed aesthetically.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate and examined the politics in the production of archaeological knowledge especially in rock art, at academic, heritage institutions and national and global level. It aims to trace and examine the development and movement of particular hypotheses or interpretations and their appropriateness in the study and management of rock art heritage in southern Africa.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Sydney, 2000.
Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 21, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science to the Division of Geography, School of Geosciences. Degree awarded 2000; thesis submitted 1999. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

The rock engraving site of Driekopseiland, west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape is distinctively situated on glaciated basement rock in the bed of the Riet River, and has a wealth of over 3500 engravings, preponderantly geometric images. Most other sites in the region have greater proportions of, or are dominated by, animal imagery. In early interpretations, it was often considered that ethnicity was the principal factor in this variabilty. From the 1960s the focus shifted more to establishing a quantative definition of the site, and an emperical understanding of it within the emerging cultural and environmental history of the region.
Magister Artium - MA (Anthropology/Sociology)

The rock engraving site of Driekopseiland, west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape is distinctively situated on glaciated basement rock in the bed of the Riet River, and has a wealth of over 3500 engravings, preponderantly geometric images. Most other sites in the region have greater proportions of, or are dominated by, animal imagery. In early interpretations, it was often considered that ethnicity was the principal factor in this variabilty. From the 1960s the focus shifted more to establishing a quantative definition of the site, and an emperical understanding of it within the emerging cultural and environmental history of the region.

The search for a reliable and non-invasive technique for the dating of rock art has produced an array of different, localised, and limited techniques. This is one of them. Still in its experimental stage, the recognition of quartz microdebitage produced by the pecking of engravings is the aim of this project. This investigation aims to establish whether microdebitage from rock engravings can be distinguished from other sediments. Analysis of microdebitage from rock engraving experiments was used to determine the difference between experimental and naturally derived particles. This research discusses methodology, and applications for the recognition of quartz grain features, derived from experimental and natural material from Mutawintji National Park (Broken Hill, NSW, Australia) and the Sydney region (NSW Australia). A three-step process was devised for this research: What features occur on non-cultural quartz grains? What features occur on rock engraving quartz grains? Are they different? Can rock engraving quartz microdebitage be identified under natural conditions? Microdebitage from rock engravings was examined using optical and scanning electron microscopy to identify diagnostic attributes, with the objective of assessing the potential of microdebitage for spatial and temporal archaeological investigation. Characteristics of the quartz grains in the microdebitage were compared with quartz from differing environments. The observation of diagnostic features on quartz grains made it possible to discriminate between microdebitage from rock engravings and the natural soil background. This knowledge may be applied to excavated material from archaeological sites, for identifying episodes of rock engraving and other lithic activity in temporal relation to other evidence of cultural activity.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2010.
Includes abstract. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed May 19, 2010). Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

The Petroglyph National Monument Rapid Ethnographic Assessment Project had two primary goals. One was the identification of those American Indian Tribes, Pueblos, and Spanish heritage groups who wanted to participate in a long -term consultation process with the National Park Service about the management of the new Petroglyph National Monument located outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The second goal was to document the cultural resource concerns of the Native Americans and the Spanish heritage people, so that protection of these cultural resources could be incorporated into the General Management Plan that the National Park Service is developing for the Petroglyph National Monument.

The Petroglyph National Monument Rapid Ethnographic Assessment Project had two primary goals. One was the identification of those American Indian Tribes, Pueblos, and Spanish heritage groups who wanted to participate in a long -term consultation process with the National Park Service about the management of the new Petroglyph National Monument located outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The second goal was to document the cultural resource concerns of the Native Americans and the Spanish heritage people, so that protection of these cultural resources could be put into the General Management Plan the National Park Service (NPS) is developing for the Petroglyph National Monument.

Tratamos aqui de um estudo preliminar acerca das gravuras rupestres (petróglifos) situadas no baixo rio Negro, entre os municípios de Novo Airão e Barcelos, Estado do Amazonas. Nesta área foram foto-documentados e geo-referenciados, até o presente, 20 sítios rupestres ribeirinhos, a céu aberto, parcialmente submersos, em afloramentos rochosos areníticos e graníticos contendo gravuras de origem indígena pré-colonial. Estes sítios não apresentam depósitos arqueológicos e, portanto, não podem ser escavados nem inequivocamente associados aos sítios cerâmicos adjacentes na área (o que pecisa ser testado, todavia). Desta maneira, se configuram em variáveis quase isoladas, sem relações diretas com o restante do registro arqueológico regional nem datações de nenhum tipo. Cronologias internas e pontuais de alguns painéis podem, no entanto, ser identificadas sugerindo reuso e reavivamento diacrônico das gravuras. A área amostral apresenta variabilidade geológica (contato do escudo cristalino com bacia sedimentar) e variabilidade hidrográfica (confluência dos rios Negro/Branco/Jauaperi/Unini/Jaú). Propomos que essas características geoambientais podem estar contribuindo para a variabilidade no fenômeno gráfico-rupestre que estamos detectando na área, o que pode indicar diferenças crono-culturais na autoria desses petróglifos. De fato, o conhecimento acerca da conjuntura geológica da área levou-nos à proposição da variabilidade estilística como hipótese preliminar, o que foi confirmado no primeiro contato com essas gravuras e se constitui, portanto, em nosso primeiro resultado de pesquisa concreto, a identificação da variabilidade gráfico-rupestre na área, um quadro marcadamente heterogêneo. Dentre as abordagens teóricas correntes na arqueologia escolhemos utilizar duas delas em conjunto reflexivo. A primeira delas , na primeira parte do texto, se refere ao método formal de estudo de arte rupestre, a partir do qual podemos entender as gravuras rupestres (e pinturas) como sistemas pré-históricos de comunicação visual que funcionariam como linguagens gráfico-simbólicas das comunidades autoras. Nessa perspectiva, seriam passíveis de estudo enquanto uma variável, ou resultante, do comportamento humano no passado inseridas no registro arqueológico, portando características formalmente identificáveis e mensuráveis, estruturadas em perfis gráficos (perfis estilísticos) que, hipotética e simplificadamente, indicariam os perfis sociais dos autores rupestres. Utilizamos aportes da semiótica e da antropologia visual, entre outros, para análise de códigos simbólicos onde se evita a interpretação de significados, apoiando-se exclusivamente na análise formal do significante gráfico baseada nos aspectos materiais, ou seja, aspectos técnicos, morfo-temáticos, cenográficos, tafonômicos e geo-ambientais do grafismo rupestre. A segunda abordagem se traduz por uma tentativa de interpretação de um dos fenômenos gráficos identificados na área, através de associação a um complexo mitoritualístico característico do Alto Rio Negro, denominado genericamente de Jurupari. São identificadas correspondências entre a iconografia deste corpus gráfico e as representações públicas etnografadas relacionadas ao processo ritual e às narrativas míto-cosmológicas respectivas do complexo do Jurupari. Trata-se, pois, de um experimento com o método informado de estudo, em que um conjunto de discursos ameríndios é utilizado na classificação rupestre, neste caso, através, ainda que criticamente, de analogia etnográfica indireta. Se o processo de identificação das formas, desambiguação formal, e classificação (ordenamento de padrões gráfico-espaciais) das diferenças observadas entre formas se convertem na espinha dorsal da pesquisa; a segunda parte se converte numa tentativa de olhar as gravuras pela percepção ameríndia, ainda que indiretamente através de meta-representações etnográficas e testar, em caráter interpretativo, uma correspondência entre fração das gravuras encontradas e mitos e ritos ameríndios, com vistas para além dos modelos formais estilísticos não-indígenas.
This research presents a preliminary study about the petroglyphs from a sample area between Old Ayrão village and Branco river\'s mouth, at the lower Negro river basin, Western Brazilian Amazon. They comprise a corpus of open air and underwater Rock Art sites, fifteen (15) up until now, located on sandstone and granite riverine boulders and outcrops. Given the absence of archaeological stratified deposits, these sites can neither be excavated nor unequivocally related to adjacent ceramic sites in the survey area (which remains a possibility to be tested). Thus, they are bound in contextual isolation, lacking spatial as well as chronological control, remaining as outsiders of the archaeological record. The area presents geological variability (contact between crystalline Guiana shield and Amazon sedimentary basin) as well as hydrographical variability (confluence among Negro, Branco, Jauaperi, Unini and Jaú rivers). We propose that this environmental set contributes to the graphical variability we are detecting inside the rock art corpus (suggesting discrete corpora), which indicates possible chronological and cultural distinctions in the prehistoric authorship of these petroglyphs. Indeed, the preliminary knowledge of the actual geological context of the survey area, as well as its major fluvial confluence, has led us to first postulate the hypothesis of stylistic variability which was confirmed in the first contact with these petroglyphs. This, in fact, constitutes the first concrete result of our research, the identification of a multi-stylistic rock art zone in the Negro\'s basin, which we think is deeply related to the environmental set of the survey area, which in its turn was partially responsible for the establishment of different cultural groups, and the development of different cultural ways of representing the cognizable world (visible and invisible) into discrete strategies of visual thinking on the basin along the Holocene. Among the current approaches to rock art study we have chosen to apply two different but complementary general methods, Formal and Informed, as a dialectical reflexive conjunct. The first part of the text is committed to the formal method. Under this token, we are considering the petroglyphs (and pictographs) like prehistoric systems of visual thinking and communication, quasi-linguistically organized graphic-symbolic codes, of the authors\' communities. Focus on rock art under this scope (as a variable, or resultant, of human past behavior, culturally organized, inserted in the environment - archaeological record) is a profitable strategy in order to identify and measure formal material characteristics of rock art assemblages, which, we believe, can lead to the identification of discrete sets of structured graphical patterns that, hypothetically and simplistically, could be related to the socialcognitive profiles of those communities. So, we are applying a set of theoretical constructs, basically derived from semiotics, visual anthropology and cognitive archaeology, to the analysis of visual symbolic codes, holding our attention on the graphic signifier (the material object) and avoiding the interpretation of specific meanings over the form (guessing signified concepts deriving from iconic resemblances between forms and \"real things\" in the non- Indian archaeologist\'s cosmology). By material signifier in rock art we comprehend those material aspects such like technique, morphology, thematic, syntactical combinations and compositions, taphonomy and other geo-environmental variables. The second approach, informed method, is devoted here to a tentative interpretation of one of the stylistic profiles identified; comparing some of its distinctive iconic patterns to the Upper Negro River Myth- Ritual Complex of Jurupari, devised as a multi-ethnic religious complex that hypothetically pervaded the entire basin during pre-colonial times. We are suggesting by the present evidence that these cultural manifestations (Jurupari and this specific rock art corpus), separated in time-space, could be related to a same system of expressive, ideological and cognitive phenomena in the past, with a specific locational insertion in the surveyed area. So, if identifying forms (formal disambiguation), and classification (ordering of graphic-spatial patterns) of observed differences among forms are converted into the spinal cord of this research, the second part is, nevertheless, equally important in the way it provides a rudimentary tentative of looking to rock art through Amerindian eyes and test the potential of ethnographic meta-representations to illuminate archaeological reasoning about rock art phenomena in the Negro\'s basin. That is, an interpretive approach targeting some sort of explanation beyond the non-indigenous formal stylistic constructs (but, what remains to be tested in the area is the rock art analysis directly through Amerindian prefrontal cortex, a kind of neural-cognitive otherness experiential approach, which would imply, for future experiments, in direct participative observations, possibly involving an Indian specialist and archaeologist\'s Caapi - B. caapi - consumption for perceptual and ontological purification and subsequent observation of petroglyphs and dialogue among them and the rocks).

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
Fundação de Apoio a Pesquisa e à Inovação Tecnológica do Estado de Sergipe - FAPITEC/SE
By mid-18th Century Rock Art (petroglyphs) in Maranhão, Brazil, was first registered by Yves d’Evreux, a french priest, who came to know about its existence from a speech of an indian witchdoctor. These petroglyphs were centuries later described and reproduced by naturalists. In spite of its remarkable importance, these symbolic pre-colonial remains located in the Center-South and South-West regions of the country have been scarcely studied. These rock art sites are part of an ample cultural context including landscape itself and its characteristics that reflect preferences and uses of ancient groups of people.It is probable that the choice for specific petroglyphs supports is related to the availability of suitable areas and the authors’ past landscape experiences and the sensorial aspects that emanate from it. This research work presents a phenomenological approach for the study of the Chapada das Mesas National Park rock art and landscape, so to understand how the sites are physically engaged and to identify features affecting the choice of supports by their materialization and insertion in the regional geomorphological context. So, it was developed a spatial analysis of the sites, paths and local borders, rock surfaces with art and its characteristics, water resources in different forms, the sites and art visibility and the landscape aspects related to perceptions and body movement. A visual register of the rock art was made through the use of digital technology, scanner Artec Eva 3D, producing data and contributing to the discussion about the technological advantages and disadvantages of such a method for documenting and analyzing archaeological remains.
Em meados do século XVII, as gravuras rupestres no Maranhão foram identificadas, a partir do discurso de um pajé indígena, pelo religioso francês Yves d’ Evreux, e, alguns séculos depois, painéis chegaram a ser descritos e reproduzidos por naturalistas. Apesar de serem os vestígios pré-coloniais mais notáveis no Centro-Sul e Sudoeste do Estado, os estudos referentes a essas manifestações simbólicas ainda são escassos no Maranhão. Entende-se que os sítios possuidores de arte rupestre estão incluídos em um contexto cultural amplo que envolve a própria construção da paisagem e características que indicam a preferência das sociedades pretéritas por determinados locais bem como seus usos. Acredita-se que a escolha dos suportes gravados estaria relacionada não apenas a disponibilidade de áreas a serem gravadas, mas, a experiência com a paisagem que esses autores teriam tido no passado, considerando, sobretudo, os aspectos sensoriais que dela emanam. Assim esta pesquisa considerou a abordagem fenomenológica para o estudo das gravuras rupestres e da paisagem no Parque Nacional Chapada das Mesas a fim de compreender como estes sítios estão engajados fisicamente e, identificar características que pudessem influenciar ou não a escolha dos suportes gravados a partir da materialização e inserção destas, no contexto geomorfológico regional. Desse modo, foi realizada uma análise espacial dos sítios, dos caminhos e fronteiras locais, dos suportes gravados e de suas características, das fontes hídricas em suas diferentes formas, a visibilidade dos sítios, das gravuras e de outros aspectos da paisagem que envolvem a percepção e o movimento corporal. Dentro dessa perspectiva a pesquisa também propôs o registro visual das gravuras rupestres a partir do decalque digital e do scanner de mão Artec Eva 3D, trazendo apontamentos sobre as possíveis contribuições, vantagens e desvantagens desse recurso metodológico para documentar e analisar esses vestígios arqueológicos.

A sense of place and time has been the unconscious focus of my adult life. While living in Hawaii I often searched for ancient rock carving sites. These art forms have the ability to convey the mystery, magic and history of previous times. I use human figures, beads and various textiles with similarities to these petroglyphs as a powerful metaphor for my search to find a place that is home

After the pioneering work of Julio C. Tello, Frédéric Engel and John H. Rowe on the Formative and Preceramic periods, few advances have been made in the investigation of early cultural developments on the south coast of Perú. This is especially true for the Río Grande de Nasca drainage, where there is a lack of data regarding early human occupation. The Nasca-Palpa Archaeological Project aims to reconstruct the human occupation of the Palpa valleys during all Prehispanic periods. In this article we present a summary of the evidence for the Paracas culture by presenting data recovered over the past ten years from several sites inthe Palpa valleys for the Initial Period and the Archaic period. We describe the settlement patterns, architecture, and funerary practices, as well as other cultural manifestations of the early periods, for instance, petroglyphs, geoglyphs, ceramics and other types of artifacts. We also carry out a preliminary reconstruction of the prehispanic settlement history of the Palpa valleys, beginning with the Middle Archaic period (ca. 3800 BC) and ending with the Inka period. More than 150 radiocarbon dates are used to establish a chronology of the different periods of human settlement in the Palpa valleys.
Después de los trabajos pioneros de Julio C. Tello, Frédéric Engel y John H. Rowe sobre el Periodo Formativo y Precerámico, no se han dado muchos avances en la investigación de los desarrollos tempranos en la costa sur del Perú. Para la cuenca del río Grande de Nasca, en especial, existen pocos datos sobre la ocupación humana en los periodos tempranos. El Proyecto Arqueológico Nasca-Palpa tiene como objetivo investigar este desarrollo en los valles de Palpa durante todas las etapas de la época prehispánica. En este artículo se presenta un resumen de las evidencias sobre la época Paracas, el Periodo Inicial y el Periodo Arcaico recuperadas en esa región en los últimos 10 años. Se describen patrones de asentamiento, rasgos arquitectónicos y patrones funerarios, así como otras manifestaciones culturales, como petroglifos, geoglifos, cerámica, entre otros tipos de hallazgos. Hasta el momento se ha podido reconstruir la historia ocupacional de los valles de Palpa desde el Periodo Arcaico Medio (aproximadamente 3800 a.C.) hasta el periodo inka. Más de 150 fechados de radiocarbono permiten respaldar la cronología de los diferentes momentos de ocupación de los valles de Palpa con fechas calendáricas.

Dans la vaste région couverte par la province du Kongo Central (autrefois Bas-Zaïre, Bas-Congo),en RD-Congo, et en Angola prolifèrent hier et aujourd’hui encore des « traces » gravées oupeintes sur des pierres que le MuKongo, s’il a le courage de sortir du silence imposé par lapolitique coloniale, désignera par « bisono » (écrits) et que la science traditionnelle appelle« pétroglyphe » ou « pictogramme ». Cette science est confrontée au problème de définition dustatut de ces « traces » et à celui de leur signification. Ces problèmes supposent également unautre : comment étudier ces traces ? Un problème de méthode.L’approche sémiotique des écritures, bien qu’elle soit récente, a mis au point des outilsconceptuels et méthodologiques ou des grilles d’analyse permettant de résoudre ces questions etbien d’autres.C’est la problématique abordée dans cette recherche à partir du « pétroglyphe » situé à Mbiongo,près de la Mission protestante de Mukimbungu, dans le secteur de Kasi, territoire de Songololo,dans la province du Kongo Centrale. Au-delà du thème de l’écriture, la thèse pose les jalons d’unenouvelle conception de l’écriture en milieu Kongo fondée sur les traditions culturelles Kongo enconjugaison avec les apports occidentaux exempts de tout ethno-occidentalisme et decolonialisme
In the vast region covered by the province of Kongo Central (formerly Bas-Zaire, Bas-Congo), DR Congo, and Angola proliferate yesterday and today "traces" engraved or painted on stones called “bisono” (written signs) by every MuKongo, who has the courage to get out of the silence imposed by colonial politics, and that traditional science calls "petroglyph" or "pictogram". This science is confronted with the problem of defining the status of these "traces" and of their meaning. These problems also suppose another : how to study these traces? A problem of method. The semiotic approach to writing, though recent, has developed conceptual and methodological tools or analytical grids to solve these and many other questions. This is the problem addressed in this research from the "petroglyph" located in Mbiongo, near the Protestant Mission Mukimbungu, in the sector of Kasi, territory of Songololo, in the province of Kongo Centrale. Beyond the theme of writing, the thesis lays the groundwork for a new conception of writing in Kongo based on Kongo cultural traditions in conjunction with Western contributions free from all ethno-occidentalism and colonialism

La Vallée des Merveilles dans le Parc National du Mercantour (Alpes-Maritimes, France) conserve aujourd’hui 40 000 gravures protohistoriques environ. Il s’agit d’incisions sur les rochers des vallées autour du Mont Bégo, datées entre le Chalcolithique et l’Âge du Bronze (3300-1800 av. J.-C.). Connues depuis le XVIe siècle, ces gravures réapparaissent autour des années 1860, dans le cadre d’un savoir récemment institué, la préhistoire. Notre recherche examine comment elles ont été caractérisées en tant qu’objet scientifique ainsi que le processus qui a conduit à leur patrimonialisation en tant qu’expressions de la culture de « l’homme primitif ». Nous analysons, par une méthode historienne, trois moments de redéfinition de la valeur du site afin de décrire comment celui-ci se constitue à l’intersection du débat scientifique, de la construction de l’opinion publique et de sa prise en compte par des institutions nationales
Nowadays, the Vallée des Merveilles archaeological site, in the Mercantur National Park (Alpes-Maritimes, France), preserves about 40.000 protohistoric engravings. These engravings are carved on the rocks of the valleys around Mount Bego, dated between the Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age (3300-1800 BC). Known since the 16th century, these engravings reappeared around the 1860s, in the framework of a recently established knowledge, prehistory. Our research examines how they have been characterized as a scientific object as well as the process that led to their protection as expression of the culture of the “primitive man”. The thesis analyzes, through an historiographical method, three moments of the redefinition of the value of the site, in order to describe how it is constituted at the intersection of the scientific debate, of the construction of the public opinion and his protection by national institutions

This study explores the stylistic variability and underlying cohesion of the petroglyphs sites located on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, a southern Gulf Island in the Gulf of Georgia region of the Northwest Coast (North America). I view the petroglyphs as an inter-related body of ancient imagery and deliberately move away from (historical and widespread) attempts at large regional syntheses of 'rock art' and towards a study of smaller and more precise proportion. In this thesis, I propose that the majority of petroglyphs located on Gabriola Island were made in a short period of time, perhaps over the course of a single life (if a single, prolific specialist were responsible for most of the imagery) or, at most, over the course of a few generations (maybe a family of trained carvers). The bulk of all petroglyphs were, I argue, produced during the Marpole culture phase (2400 - 1000 BP) and their primary raison d'etre pertained to the acquisition of supernatural power. In other words, 'art' in the service of: "the vision, the ritual world, the ancestors, and wealth" (Suttles 1983:69). My conclusions are based largely on a comparative stylistic analysis between petroglyph motifs/design elements and those found in the Northwest Coast mobiliary 'art' repertoire as documented and discussed in Margaret Holm's 'Prehistoric Northwest Coast Art' (1990). Some interpretive possibilities for the use of petroglyph sites (both past and present) are also put forth in this thesis' conclusions.

This dissertation applies the contextual approach, as outlined by Patrick Carmichael, to the rock art of the Nasca Valley (Grande River System, Department of Ica, Peru). This approach uses different sources of information so as to construct a basic, indigenous framework within which to view and interpret the subject matter of an art object for which there is no written information due to its age. In this dissertation, I used information about the local environment and archaeology, as well as the art historical methods of formal and iconographic analyses. Comparative information was provided through ethnographic analogy to Andean myths and practices. Data for this study was gathered in a rock art survey that was carried out during the spring of 2000. This survey covered the lower part of the Nasca valley, downriver from the site of Cahuachi and southwest from the Nasca Pampa, site of the greatest concentration of geoglyphs in the south coast. Information about the location, orientation, and the relationship to archaeological and natural features, gathered in the survey, are examined in order to provide informed hypotheses about Nasca Valley rock art's function and use. The study reveals that rock art sites may have marked points of transition in the natural and cultural landscape. A concern for water is also suggested by the location and orientation of the rock art, and petroglyphs that display evidence of liquid pouring may also relate to local water sources. Using a study of form and iconography, rock art motifs in the Grande River System are separated into types and groups according to similarities to datable, portable art and to geoglyphs, providing a tentative time frame for their making. In the Nasca Valley, one period of petroglyph making activity is contemporary to Paracas Cavernas and another dates to the Early Intermediate Period (Nasca). On the upper valleys such as Palpa, Aja, and Santa Cruz, petroglyph-making activity seems to be largely associated to Paracas Necropolis and there does not seem to be Nasca rock art at those locations. With this contextual information at hand, I provide a re-evaluation of the Nasca Mythical Killer Whale motif, which is depicted in two Nasca Valley rock art sites. I propose using a new name for this motif: The Aquatic Composite Being. The location and iconography of this motif's petroglyphs provide additional information that contributes to our understanding of the meaning of this motif in Nasca art.
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The rock engraving site of Driekopseiland, west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape is distinctively situated on glaciated basement rock in the bed of the Riet River, and has a wealth of over 3500 engravings, preponderantly geometric images. Most other sites in the region have greater proportions of, or are dominated by, animal imagery. In early interpretations, it was often considered that ethnicity was the principal factor in this variabilty. From the 1960s the focus shifted more to establishing a quantative definition of the site, and an emperical understanding of it within the emerging cultural and environmental history of the region.

The importance of managing and conserving cultural heritage can not be overemphasised. It is this realisation that has prompted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to declare identified sites of cultural importance as World Heritage Sites. The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park (UDP) was declared such a site in 2000, with its natural properties and cultural heritage as the criteria for inscription. The cultural heritage centres on the vast quantity of rock art that is renowned for its quality and diversity of subject. It is an important consideration for future generations to have the opportunity to view and understand this rich history and culture. There are increasing human and natural impacts on this non-renewable resource and to minimise these impacts and thus ensure the longevity of the resource it is necessary to develop a multi faceted selection of management and conservation tools. This realisation led the Programme of Geornatics, University of KwaZulu-Natal to conceptualise a project to develop a web-based Geographical Information System (GIS) specifically aimed at assisting in the management and conservation of rock art sites for the Valley of Pools in the Cathedral Peak Conservation Area of the UDP. Data for the project was captured in the field using Global Positioning System (GPS), digital camera and video camera as well as conventional hardcopy documentation. Existing digital spatial data and descriptive data were also collected from relevant stakeholders and a commercial organization. A pilot spatial database was then developed using ArcGIS@9 and Microsoft Access@, and later tested using a set of integrated simulated queries reflective of routine questions that users may request. Upon obtaining satisfactory responses to the queries, the integrated database was migrated and authored in ArcIMS®9 where it was further tested, and subsequently access was given to selected external professionals, both nationally and internationally, from various backgrounds, for evaluation purposes. Feedback from this process was favourably obtained.
Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

(in English): The main aim of this diplom thesis is introduce rock art from northern Scandinavia. Northern Tradition of rock art is connected to prehistoric hunther, gatherer and fishermen. Thesis presents three localities Alta, Vingen and Nämforsen. Author created summary of the most important motifs. Next aim was landscapes and environment of localities with rock art. One of the main focus is documentatin, dating and protection of rock art.

Lenka Suková Abstract of Dissertation 1 THE ROCK ART OF NORTHEAST AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF THE ROCK PAINTINGS FROM THE CZECHOSLOVAK CONCESSION IN LOWER NUBIA Lenka Suková ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION The study I hereby submit as a dissertation is part of my long-term project aimed at a critical evaluation of the rock-art and archaeological evidence gathered in two sections of the Nile Valley in Lower Nubia by the Czechoslovak expedition working in the framework of the UNESCO-organised salvage campaign. The study, published in 2011 as a separate monograph, is concerned only with occurrences of rock paintings and coloured (incrusted) petroglyphs in the two research area. The nine shelters treated herein constitute only 0.64 % in the whole corpus from the Czechoslovak concession predominated by petroglyphs - just as in most of Northeast Africa - of varied themes, styles, and dates. Nevertheless, this painted corpus is a valuable collection that, as opposed to petroglyphs, represents works that were more demanding from the technical point of view and require detailed analysis of technical aspects, is more amenable to stylistic analysis, and, last but not least, the colour scheme itself plays part in interpretation (for instance, in the case of white, probably linen kilts or tunics in two of the shelters - 17 R XIII,...

This archaeological community-engaged research focuses on locating, recording, photographing, and classifying, rock art (pictographs and petroglyphs) designs within Heiltsuk and Wuikinuxv Nations’ territories. The two areas are on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada: River’s Inlet/Owikeno Lake (Wuikinuxv Territory, near Oweekeno village), and Roscoe Inlet (Heiltsuk Territory, near Bella Bella). By listening to stories and visiting rock art locations its deep history and significance can begin to be comprehended. Throughout this research 58 rock art sites were visited and over 900 designs were categorized into nine types. Within this context I consider the feasibility and benefits of digital contrast adjustment of photographs using DStretch, a plugin created for ImageJ, that renders visible faint traces of pigment which can not be seen with the naked eye. Additionally, the potential of underwater archaeology (scuba diving) for the discovery and recording of rock art sites is explored.
Graduate
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