Finger flutings are lines and markings drawn with the human hand in soft cave sediment in caves and rock shelters throughout southern Australia, New Guinea and southwestern Europe, dating back to the Late Pleistocene. Analysis of these markings can reveal characteristics of the creators, such as age, sex and group sizes. However, despite a comprehensive method of study, data collection is still reliant on in field measurements and is often constrained by physical challenges within the caves. Advances in technology allow us to record archaeological data in three dimensions. Creating 3D models of finger fluting panels would allow for off-site measurements and other forms of detailed analysis. In this thesis, I test three different 3D scanning techniques, photogrammetry, tripod structured light scanning, and handheld structured light scanning, to determine the most appropriate method for the documentation of finger flutings based on factors such as portability, cost, efficiency, accuracy, as well as other challenges present in cave and rock shelter settings. I created replica fluting panels in three different media and created 3D models of them. I then compared measurements taken from the panels in person to measurements taken from the 3D-scanned models to see if there is statistically significant difference between the models and the panel. The results of my experiment show that 3D models of finger fluting panels are accurate representations of the experimental panels and that photogrammetry is the technique that best meets the requirements of finger fluting research. / Graduate

À la lumière de l’analyse des animaux rencontrés sur les cinq sites d’art rupestre étudiés dans le Bassin de Kufra, nous pouvons proposer une classification en trois périodes : 1) une première phase bovidienne, observée à Bzima, Rebiana, Bir el-Awadel, ne concernent que des gravures. Le nombre de découvertes est peu important, et les figurations humaines demeurent rares. Dans cette première période, la chasse occupe une place importante. On y rencontre, à côté de bovins, représentés dans un style plutôt réaliste, plusieurs espèces d’antilopes, peut-être un éléphant et d’autres animaux non identifiés. La plupart des gravures de cette période sont localisées en hauteur, sur la paroi verticale de petites falaises ; 2) la période pastorale bovidienne a laissé des traces dans toute la région du Bassin de Kufra, particulièrement dans la région du jebel el-Uweinat, riche en œuvres peintes. Les sujets des gravures sont variés, mais sont largement dominés par les représentations de bovidés, associés à quelques figurations d’hommes et de différents animaux sauvages. Les compositions décrivant un aspect de la vie quotidienne sont rares, à l’exception de quelques représentations de chasse. On note également la présence de nombreuses figurations géométriques et d’empreintes de pattes d’animaux, notamment à Bzima 2. Les dimensions des gravures varient avec le temps, les plus grandes semblant les plus anciennes et l’on ne constate pas de superpositions de gravures, hormis à Bir el-Awadel. Toutes les techniques de réalisation des gravures sont utilisées, l'incision présentant des profondeurs et des largeurs diverses, de même que le piquetage et le bouchardage. Elles sont parfois combinées. Les rares peintures conservées autour de Kufra sont de petites tailles, et seule la couleur rouge a résisté aux dommages causés par les intempéries ; 3) la période cameline est essentiellement représentée à Bzima et Rebiana. Cette période comporte exclusivement des gravures. Les blocs gravés de cette période se situent généralement à proximité des lieux d’habitation et de sépultures. Les camélidés représentent l’essentiel des figurations et apparaissent tantôt en groupes, tantôt individuellement, parfois accompagnés par des chameliers. Les autres espèces animales sont rares, tandis que des figures géométriques apparaissent régulièrement en association avec les camelins incisés. Les mises en scènes sont nombreuses, souvent des caravanes ou troupeaux de dromadaires, et une représentation de conflit armé oppose deux groupes d’hommes à la Gara el-Mekhaze. Quelques gravures camelines recouvrent des gravures bovidiennes, mais le plus souvent ces dernières sont respectées et parfois copiées maladroitement. Les techniques utilisées recouvrent l’incision, le piquetage, le bouchardage et le polissage. Cependant, c’est l’incision - technique très facile à exécuter - qui a été la plus utilisée. La grande variété d’aspect et de maîtrise des tracés indique par ailleurs que les artistes ont été nombreux à se succéder pour graver dans la pierre le fruit de leur imagination. Il n’y a aucune inscription en langue ancienne, mais des inscriptions en arabes souvent récentes. La période cameline semble parfois, dans notre secteur d’étude, en adéquation avec une position de refuge des populations concernées, probablement face à une situation de conflit et rezzous. C’est pourquoi, comme à Rebiana, les sites sont dans les éboulis rocheux au pied des reliefs. A Bzima la situation est plus contrastée, avec des implantation en plaine et dans les éboulis. Aucun des cinq sites étudiés n’a livré jusqu’à présent de représentations de la période cabaline. Le style « Tête-ronde d’el-Uweinat » reste cantonné à ce massif. Une différence très claire se manifeste ainsi entre les cultures du Sud-Est et du Sud-Ouest libyen, de part et d’autre du Waw en-Namus. / In the light of our analysis of the animals encountered at the five rock art sites studied in the Kufra Basin, we are able to put forward a classification of three periods : 1. A first bovidian period encountered in a number of places such as Bzima, Rebiana and Bir el-Awadel and only in the form of engravings. Not many examples of this style have been found and depictions of humans are rare. In this first period hunting scenes predominate, where bovids, portrayed in a rather naturalistic style, are represented by several species of antelope, perhaps an elephant, and other unidentified animals. Most of the engravings from this period are located in hilly areas on the vertical walls of low cliffs. 2. The pastoral period (bovidian), found throughout the Kufra Basin, particularly the Jebel el-Uweinat region, where painted works are more numerous than engraved ones. The subjects of the engravings vary according to the sites but are mainly bovids associated with a few depictions of humans and various wild animals. Portrayals of humans within a scene, describing for example an aspect of daily life, are rare with the exception of a few representations of trapping or hunting. Also present are numerous geometric images and impressions of animal feet, particularly at Bzima 2. The dimensions of the engravings vary according to their age, the largest appearing to be the oldest and, except at Bir el-Awadel, there is no superimposition of engravings. All types of engraving techniques have been used – incisions of various depths and widths as well as picking and pick dressing, sometimes in combination. The few paintings remaining around Kufra are small in size and only the colour red has resisted damage caused by weather. 3. The cameline period found in the el-Uweinat region, especially at Bzima and Rebiana. The rock art of this period consists entirely of engravings – no paintings of dromedaries have been discovered, in contrast to the south-west of Libya. The engraved boulders from this period are generally found close to habitation and burial sites. Images of camels predominate, at times in groups, at times individually, and sometimes accompanied by camel drivers. Other animal species are rare whereas geometric designs regularly appear in conjunction with incised images of camels. There are numerous portrayals of scenes, often of caravans or herds of dromedaries, and in the Gara el-Mekhaze one engraving depicts armed conflict between two opposing groups of men. A few cameline engravings overlap bovidian ones, but most of the time the latter have been respected or at times unskilfully copied. The techniques used include incision, picking, pick dressing and polishing. However it is incision, a technique very easy to execute, which has been most often used. In addition, the great variety in the appearance of the engravings, and in the levels of expertise they reveal, indicates that there has been a succession of many artists expressing the product of their imagination on these boulders. No inscriptions in an ancient language have been found, but there are inscriptions in Arabic, often recent. The cameline period seems at times in our sector of study to correspond with positions of refuge for the populations concerned, probably in response to conflict, in particular raids from neighbouring territories. That is why, as at Rebiana, the sites are among fallen boulders on mountain slopes. However this is not always the case as at Bzima. The “Round Heads” style, found in the Jebel el-Uweinat, is found in our region only in the Karkour Ibrahim. Similarly, in none of the five sites studied have representations from the equidian (or caballine) period so far been found, in contrast to the Akakus region of south-west Libya where they abound. Thus a very clear difference becomes apparent between the cultures of the south-east and south-west of Libya, on either side of the Waw an Namus.

Submitted by Haroudo Xavier Filho (haroudo.xavierfo@ufpe.br) on 2016-04-01T17:33:11Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) VAN HAVRE Tese [Light].pdf: 9753715 bytes, checksum: 3f683f8dce29986246fa32b24d016469 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-01T17:33:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) VAN HAVRE Tese [Light].pdf: 9753715 bytes, checksum: 3f683f8dce29986246fa32b24d016469 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-05-27 / CAPES / Nesta tese, a teoria da complexidade é introduzida para o estudo das interações presentes no registro rupestre do Vale do Ventura, no município de Morro do Chapéu, Bahia. Para explorar esta variabilidade, este estudo procura uma definição mais precisa da representação humana, utilizando dois instrumentos pouco aproveitados em arqueologia brasileira: a análise das redes e a análise de correspondência múltipla. A pesquisa se apoia em redes bimodais para a análise do material com base em dois grupos de variáveis, morfológicas e geométricas. Além da análise da topologia, esta tese analise a dispersão dos dados com uma série de medidas de coesão. A aplicação destas ferramentas permite identificar certas características gráficas como marcadores de identidade. Interações são então definidas quando diversos marcadores estão representados em uma única cena. O estudo deste fenômeno, em duas escalas diferentes, local e regional, permite abordar a existência de um sistema real do qual o registro rupestre é o testemunho. Propomos então de considerar algumas destas manifestações como vestígios de uma esfera de interações estendendo-se em várias áreas arqueológicas da região Nordeste. Este trabalho se orienta, portanto, em dois eixos: de um lado, a tese apresenta ferramentas metodológicas, qualitativas e quantitativas, que permitem considerar a variabilidade dos vestígios na escala do sítio arqueológico. Por outro lado, a pesquisa propõe um mecanismo concreto para estudar uma série de relações observadas em escala maior, e repensar a natureza dos contatos dentro e entre as populações de caçadores-coletores pré-históricos que ocuparam o Nordeste do Brasil. / In this thesis, I will introduce the complexity theory for the study of interactions found in the rock art of the Ventura Valley, located in the municipality of Morro do Chapéu, Bahia. In order to explore its variability, this study uses a more precise definition of the human representation, utilizing two instruments seldom used in Brazilian archaeology: network analysis and multiple correspondence analysis. The research uses these 2-mode networks for the material based on two groups of variables in the rock art, morphologic and geometric. Besides topology, this thesis explores the dispersion of data with a set of cohesion measures. The application of these tools allows for the identification of some graphic traits as identity markers. Interactions are then defined when different markers are found in a single scene. By studying the same phenomenon at two different scales, locally and regionally, I propose that the existence of a real system can be identified through rock art. This thesis will consider some of these manifestations as vestiges of an interaction sphere extending itself through various archaeological areas of the Northeast region of Brazil. This research is oriented on two axes: on the one hand, the thesis presents a set of methodological tools, both qualitative and quantitative, to consider the variability of the material at the archaeological site level. On the other hand, the research proposes a concrete mechanism to study a series of relations observed at a larger scale, and to rethink the nature of contact in and among the prehistoric hunter-gatherer populations that lived in the Northeast of Brazil.

One of the key reasons for the uKhahlamba‐Drakensberg Park’s status as a World Heritage Sites due is the abundance of rock art there. Unfortunately, through time, much of the rock art heritage in the Park is being lost through natural rock weathering processes, the decay of pigments and through the actions of people. The fragile art heritage is non‐renewable and, therefore, requires specialized management. In a case study, specific San paintings from Battle Cave study area were analysed using scanned and digital photographs with Geographic Information Systems software. Older images were compared with more recent ones and this was utilised to classify pigment colours and quantify the amount of deterioration that has taken place overtime. Various methodologies were applied to classifying the images, and it was found that manual digitising provided the best means for quantifying the amount of deterioration. A detailed analysis was undertaken of a feline painting at Battle Cave, as it had the best quality images that could be dated. Results showed that white pigment in the painting degraded more rapidly than the ochre colours. Visual analysis suggests that the damage to the figure is predominantly through pigment decay and through the granular disaggregation of the rock surface. Where pigments were applied to what were clearly weathered rock surfaces, the change was greatest over the 40‐year intervening period between images analysed. The methodology utilised in this study can be utilised to evaluate the rate of decay of rock art and is, therefore a useful tool for determining priorities with regard to the conservation of San paintings. In addition, the rate of deterioration is useful for evaluating and quantifying the contribution of rock weathering to landscape evolution. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / Unrestricted

The use of video games as a sustainable tool for preserving existing archaeological data in an entertaining and interactive manner was investigated. The main aim of such investigation was to explore the potential benefits in terms of archaeological/heritage education, broadcasting, and representing data in a manner that is interactive and encourages critical thinking through play. Game Pass Shelter, located at Kamberg in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park was used to create a virtual environment in a video game that accurately represents traditional Bushmen rock art and folklore. Two phases were featured in the development of the video game: (i) getting feedback from gamers through a questionnaire I had designed, and (ii) using the identified recommendations to design the 2D video game using Unity Game Engine (a free video game development piece of software). This 2D video game, defined by authenticity to the represented folklore, features rock art motifs from Game Pass Shelter used against the backdrop of the Spoiling of the Eland traditional story. The video game begins with the ‘Rosetta Stone’ of southern African rock art and contextualises it using selected traditional folklore. Through this process, the video game aims to show why hunting was so important to the traditional Bushmen way of life. It further shows why eland were so valued and some unique beliefs that the Bushmen had concerning them. / Dissertation (MA (Archaeology))--university of Pretoria, 2020. / Anthropology and Archaeology / MA (Archaeology) / Unrestricted

Nas últimas décadas a Arqueologia Cognitiva vem lucrando com uma profícua interdisciplinaridade, unindo forças com as ciências do conhecimento, notadamente a Psicologia Evolutiva e as Neurociências, proporcionando ainda nesse debate o surgimento de linhas como a Neuroarqueologia. Em nossa tese propomos analisar os sítios rupestres de temática não-figurativa, ou os chamados sinais, ou ainda os geométricos, das regiões da Cidade de Pedra no município de Rondonópolis/MT e da região do município de Pão de Açúcar/AL a partir de duas abordagens: a análise das organizações dos dispositivos rupestres buscando identificar as associações existentes entre os registros como um todo e a organização simbólica produzida por essas construções. Discutiremos assim questões da cognição humana a partir da articulação das ciências do conhecimento, a Arqueologia Cognitiva e nosso objeto. Trabalharemos com questões das estruturas dos dispositivos rupestres e das estruturas da cognição humana, discutindo ainda as especificidades culturais e as manifestações universalistas. / In the last few decades Cognitive Archaeology has been gaining with a fruitful interdisciplinary approach, on joining efforts with Evolutionary Psychology and Neuroscience, delivering with this debate appearance of the so called Neuroarchaeology. In our thesis we propose to analyse some rock art sites from the regions of Cidade de Pedra, Rondonópolis / MT and Pão de Açúcar/ AL from two perspectives: the analysis of the panel organizations seeking to identify the relations that exists between the painted units and the symbolic organization produced by these constructs associations. Thus we discuss issues of human cognition xviii from the articulation of the sciences of knowledge, Cognitive Archaeology and our object. Therefore we will also work with issues concerning the structures of rock art panels and the structures of human cognition, discussing also the cultural specificities and the universals behaviours.

Nas últimas décadas a Arqueologia Cognitiva vem lucrando com uma profícua interdisciplinaridade, unindo forças com as ciências do conhecimento, notadamente a Psicologia Evolutiva e as Neurociências, proporcionando ainda nesse debate o surgimento de linhas como a Neuroarqueologia. Em nossa tese propomos analisar os sítios rupestres de temática não-figurativa, ou os chamados sinais, ou ainda os geométricos, das regiões da Cidade de Pedra no município de Rondonópolis/MT e da região do município de Pão de Açúcar/AL a partir de duas abordagens: a análise das organizações dos dispositivos rupestres buscando identificar as associações existentes entre os registros como um todo e a organização simbólica produzida por essas construções. Discutiremos assim questões da cognição humana a partir da articulação das ciências do conhecimento, a Arqueologia Cognitiva e nosso objeto. Trabalharemos com questões das estruturas dos dispositivos rupestres e das estruturas da cognição humana, discutindo ainda as especificidades culturais e as manifestações universalistas. / In the last few decades Cognitive Archaeology has been gaining with a fruitful interdisciplinary approach, on joining efforts with Evolutionary Psychology and Neuroscience, delivering with this debate appearance of the so called Neuroarchaeology. In our thesis we propose to analyse some rock art sites from the regions of Cidade de Pedra, Rondonópolis / MT and Pão de Açúcar/ AL from two perspectives: the analysis of the panel organizations seeking to identify the relations that exists between the painted units and the symbolic organization produced by these constructs associations. Thus we discuss issues of human cognition xviii from the articulation of the sciences of knowledge, Cognitive Archaeology and our object. Therefore we will also work with issues concerning the structures of rock art panels and the structures of human cognition, discussing also the cultural specificities and the universals behaviours.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Non-destructive portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) and Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) were used to measure the elemental concentration of rock art fragment paintings. For pXRF the Amptek Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) and Niton XL3t spectrometers were used to perform the measurements. These two spectrometers use different spectrum analysis methods. The Peak Deconvolution (PD) analysis method is used for the Amptek SDD and an Inverse Overlap Matrix (IOM) method is used for the Niton XL3t spectrometer. The pXRF methods were validated by using alloys, coins and rock standards. The validation is important to establish if the pXRF technique is properly understood and used and to advance the investigation to more complex rock art paintings, with heterogeneous and layered properties. The elemental concentrations obtained for the Standard Reference Materials (SRMs), which were used for the validation, were in good agreement with that of the known concentration of the SRMs. The two rock art fragments which were analysed from the Mount Ayliff and Ha Khotso caves were part of larger rock art painting prior to it being naturally exfoliated from the rock. For the Mount Ayliff rock art, seven paint points, two unpainted rock (varnish) point adjacent to the paint and the back of the rock were analysed. The colour of the paint ranged from black, shades of brown and shades of red. The black paint is due to manganese or charcoal. The red colour is due to iron oxide and the red-brown colour is due to Hematite (a type of ferrous oxide) [1]. For the Ha Khotso fragment the paint on the front of the rock and the rock substrate (back of the rock) were analysed. For the Mount Ayliff rock art fragment the results for both pXRF spectrometers indicated that the elemental concentration was uniform across the fragment. This is due to the formation of a uniform layer of minerals such as silica and calcium introduced by the seepage of water through the cracks of the cave. Therefore no correlation could be established between the colour of the rock art paint and the elements detected, as was found with the work done by Peisach, Pineda and Jacobson [1]. For the Ha Khosto rock fragment a relation between the Ca composition and the cream colour of the rock art paint was established. Both the PIXE and pXRF techniques were used to identify the compound concentrations of the Ha Khotso rock art fragment. The comparison between the two techniques highlights the complexity of rock art paint analysis. The results from the PIXE elemental mapping indicated the non-uniform distribution of the elements in the analysed region. From the rock art fragment measuring the analysed points 5 times and obtaining the same results, indicated that the particle size and inhomogeneities did not have much effect on the compound compositions. In order to obtain high accuracy results with pXRF, sound scientific methodology with specific knowledge and expertise, not only about the XRF technique, but also about the sample under investigation is required. For alloy analysis pXRF is well suited, the analysis of geological material however more complex, since they are composed predominately of low atomic elements e.g. silicon, aluminium, magnesium, sodium, oxygen and carbon – all of which are excited with very low efficiencies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nie-beskadigended X-straal Fluoresensie (pXRF) en Deeltjie Geinduseerde X-straal emmissie (PIXE) was gebruik om die elementêre konsentrasie van die rotstekeninge in hierdie studie te bepaal. Vir die pXRF-tegniek is die “Amptek Silicon Drift Detector (SDD)” en die “Thermo Scientific Niton XL3t” spektrometers gebruik gemaak om die metings uit te voer. Die twee spektrometers maak gebruik van verskillende spektrum analiseringsmetodes.Die “Peak Deconvolution (PD)” analiseringsmetode is gebruik vir die “Amptek SDD” en die “Inverse Overlap Matrix (IOM)” analiseringsmetode is gebruik vir die “Thermo Scientific Niton XL3t” spektrometer. Vir die validasie van die pXRF-metode is van allooie, muntstukke en rots standaarded gebruik gemaak. Die validasie is belangrik om vas te stel of die pXRF tegniek behoorlik verstaan en gebruik word en om die ondersoek te bevorder na meer komplekse rotstekeninge, met heterogene en lae eienskappe. Die element konsentrasies wat vir die “Standard Reference Material (SRM)” wat gebruik is vir die validasie, was in 'n goeie ooreenkoms met die van die konsentrasie van die SRM, wat bekend is. Die twee rotstekeninge wat ontleed is van die Mount Ayliff en Ha Khotso grotte en was deel van 'n groter rots kuns skildery voordat hul natuurlik afgebreek het. Vir die Mount Ayliff rotskuns, is sewe verf punte, twee ongeverfde rots (vernis) punte aangrensend aan die verf en die agterkant van die rots ontleed. Die kleur van die verf het gewissel van swart, skakerings van bruin en skakerings van rooi. Die swart verf kan toegeskryf word aan mangaan of houtskool. Die rooi kleur is as gevolg van ysteroksied en die rooi-bruin kleur is as gevolg van Hematiet ('n tipe van yster oksied) [1]. Vir die Ha Khotso rotskuns is die verf aan die voorkant van die rots en die rots substraat (agterkant van die rots) ontleed. Vir die Mount Ayliff rotstekening het die resultate vir beide pXRF spektrometers aangedui dat die elementele konsentrasie uniform oor die rotstekening is. Dit is as gevolg van die vorming van 'n uniforme lagie van silica en kalsium, wat deur die sypeling van water deur die krake van die grot na die oppervlak van die rotstekening beweeg het. Daarom kon geen korrelasie tussen die kleur van die rotstekening en die elemente wat gemeet is bepaal word nie, soos gevind deur die werk van Peisach, Pineda en Jacobson [1]. Vir die Ha Khotso rotstekening is ‘n verband tussen die room kleur van die rotstekening verf en Ca konsentrasie gevind. Beide die PIXE en pXRF tegnieke is gebruik om die konsentrasies van die Ha Khotso rotstekening te identifiseer. Die vergelyking tussen die twee tegnieke beklemtoon die kompleksiteit van rotstekening verf analise. Die resultate van die PIXE elementele karakterisering het aangedui die nie-eenvormige verspreiding van die elemente in die ontlede area. Deur die meting van die ontlede punte 5 keer te herhaal, en dieselfde resultate verkry, is ‘n aanduiding dat die deeltjie grootte en inhomogeniteite nie veel invloed op die elementele konsentrasies het nie. Ten einde 'n hoë akkuraatheid resultate te kry met pXRF, moet goeie wetenskaplike metode toegepas word met spesifieke kennis en kundigheid, nie net oor die XRF tegniek, maar ook oor die rotstekening wat ondersoek word vereis. pXRF is wel geskik vir die ontleding van allooie, die ontleding van geologiese materiaal is egter meer kompleks, aangesien die materiaal hoofsaaklik bestaan uit lae atoomgetal elemente bv silikon, aluminium, magnesium, natrium, suurstof en koolstof - wat almal met lae doeltreffentheid opgewek en baie afgerem word in die materiaal.

Thesis (DPhil) (Geography and Environmental Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The subject is the rock art within the region known as the Little Karoo in the Western Cape that lies between the coastal plain and the Greater Karoo, penned in geographically by the Langeberg in the south and the Swartberg in the north. During a ten year site survey of 150 sites with rock art, content and details of the rock art images have been recorded on site forms and where possible traced on polyester film and photographed. The sites tend to be small with, on average, fewer than 50 images, but then 7 sites have more than 100 images per site. The sites are located mostly in ravines in the mountainous areas. Few sites with rock art have occupation deposits. Human figures in the rock art, predominantly male, are most commonly represented. Other images are animals, such as eland, smaller antelope, elephants, felines, canids and therianthropic figures of half-human, half-animal forms. Finger dots, handprints and geometric or non-representational marks are present in the rock art sample as well. The art can be linked to shamanistic experiences in altered states of consciousness. A number of depictions are interpreted as part of rainmaking ritual and the significance of the symbolism of water. There are resemblances in content and style to the rock art in the Hex River Valley, the Cederberg, and south of the Langeberg, on the coastal plain, but some imagery point to a variation more specific to the Little Karoo. These are rare rock art depictions of a combination of human head and upper torso with ichthyoidal lower limbs, at times reminiscent of bird-like human figures. Verbatim accounts recorded of stories and sightings of numinous watermeide (water maidens) at waterholes and rivers of the Little Karoo and correlations drawn with research on similar folklore in the Northern Cape and elsewhere make a traditional link between these regions. The myth of the watermeide takes on a therianthropic nature in form, that of half-human half-fish, reminiscent of the well-known westernized mystical concept of mermaid features; a description popular in the vernacular. The described form of the watermeid espouses a connection to the uniqueness of the rock paintings of therianthropic figures with distinctive fishtail and human shoulders, head and arms. A connection with explanatory accounts of rock paintings and folklore recorded in the Oudtshoorn district more than a hundred years ago, recorded information of stories and myths of mystical water creatures in the Northern Cape, and verbatim accounts of the watermiede, is made to suggest a basis for interpretation of the therianthropic nature of some of the rock art imagery in the Little Karoo. The rock art is produced in a space and a time frame that may be related to that of the current stories of the watermeide.

Avhandlingen kretsar kring frågan om hur ett förhistoriskt bildskapande var av betydelse. Studien är riktad mot den materiella bilden och syftet är att diskutera betydelser av hällbilders materialitet och hur relationen mellan människor, hällbilder och platser var meningsfull. Utgångspunkten för undersökningen definieras som konceptuell, där en definition av begreppen bild och materialitet ligger till grund för studiens teoretiska och metodiska utformning. Studiematerialet utgörs av den sydskandinaviska hällbildstraditionen, med ett fördjupat fokus på området kring Motala Ström utanför dagens Norrköping. Undersökningen består av tre delar. I den första delen genomförs en diskursanalys, där frågan om hur hällbilders betydelse skall förstås diskuterats i relation till tidigare forsknings syften och resultat. Ett samband visas mellan hällbildsforskningens vetenskapliga illustrationspraktik och sätten hällbilder ansetts vara av betydelse. Ambitionen att avbilda hällbilder så exakt som möjligt är bunden till tolkningen av hällbilder som avbilder. Upptagenheten med avbilden har resulterat i att betydelsen av hällbilders materialitet generellt har varit åsidosatta. En utblick mot hur andra historiska och förhistoriska bildtraditioner varit av betydelse visar att avbildens symboliska betydelse inte alltid kan förutsättas vara den primära. Tvärtom tycks bildens betydelse vara flexibel och föränderlig, särskilt när dess materialitet möjliggör en upplevelse under lång tid. I den andra delen fördjupas studien genom en undersökning av Motala Ström-områdets hällbilder. Hällbildernas materiella kvaliteter definieras i relation till tre skalnivåer, landskapet, platsen och hällen. De materiella kvaliteterna har generella likheter, men varierar även från plats till plats. Upplevelsen av likformighet och variation präglar hällbildernas alla delar. Materialiteten är essentiell för upplevelsen av hällbilder som föreställande. Den nutida upplevelsen av bilder ligger till grund för en kategorisering av hällbilder i föreställande bilder och icke-föreställande former. Kategorierna form och bild ligger till grund för en kvantitativ sammanställning av inventerade hällbilder i socknarna Östra Eneby och Borg. Områdets hällbildsförekomster är strukturerade på ett tydligt sätt i landskapet. De allra flesta lokaler består av ett fåtal hällbilder (färre än 30) och präglas av formmässighet. Ett tjugotal lokaler består av fler än 79 hällbilder, och de präglas av variation och bildlighet. Den nutida upplevelsen av föreställandegraden hos hällbilder har relevans för betydelser under den aktiva hällbildstiden, då hällbilderna brukades på olika sätt i landskapet. På de stora platserna fungerade bilden som ett instrument att tänka med och en konceptualisering av tillvaron, medan de små formaliserade platserna uttrycker en praktik som markerade närvaro i landskapet. Hällbilders placering studeras vidare genom en fenomenologiskt inspirerad undersökningsmetod, där platsbesök bearbetas genom sytematisk fotografering och rendering av 3D-modeller. Tolv lokaler undersöks och det visas att hällbilders materialitet på ett direkt sätt strukturerar upplevelsen, där de antingen skapar en visuell tillgänglighet eller saknar visuell potential. Ett intentionellt bruk diskuteras, där möjligheten att upptäcka bilderna eftersträvats på stora platser och varit mindre viktig på små platser. Det har skapats visuella noder i landskapet, kreativa punkter där världen konceptualiserades. Kring noderna finns en större mängd mindre koncentrationer där estetiska teman upprepats som en del i ett inmutande och markerande i av landskapet där visuella normer upprätthölls.   Avhandlingen avslutas med att hällbildernas sociala och kronologiska sammanhang diskuteras. De sydskandinaviska hällbilderna dateras vanligen till bronsåldern (1 700-500 f.kr.), och produktionen anses ha pågått från början av perioden fram till inledningen av äldre järnålder. Slutet av den aktiva hällbildstiden föreslås som den mest arkeologiskt relevanta eftersom den motsvarar landskapets lämningar. Den aktiva hällbildstidens slut präglas av relationen mellan en materialiserad bildtradition och ett omfattande bildskapande i olika material. Till skillnad från den äldre bronsålderns bildskapande, som var ikonografiskt och repetitivt, så expanderar bildens möjligheter i slutet av aktiv hällbildstid. Bildens format, material och betydelse förändras och varieras. Bilden utvecklas inte enbart i sten utan också i brons och keramik och dess betydelse går från att vara strikt ikonografisk till att bli instrumentell. Hällbilderna spelar en stor roll i utvecklingen av en ”pictoral turn” som uttrycker sociala förändringar i samhället då bronsåldern övergår i äldre järnålder. Bildskapande blir i en del i utvecklingen av ett mer heterogent och regionaliserat samhälle. / The thesis revolves around the central question of how pre-historic images were meaningful. The focus is put on the material image, with the aim to discuss the meaning of south Scandinavian rock art as a relation between materiality, people and places. The empirical focus consists of the south Scandinavian rock art tradition, with a deepened analysis of the rock art area around the river Motala Ström, in south east Sweden. Initially, a connection between the practice of illustrating rock art and the interpretation of its meaning is presented as characteristic for previous research. The ambition to depict rock art as exactly as possible, has led to an archaeological focus on depiction as the primarily meaning of the images. An outlook, consisting of a historical and theoretical perspective on images, shows that the symbolic meaning of depiction cannot be presumed as most valid per se.   The material qualities of rock are defined in relation to three levels of scale; the landscape, specific places and the rock panels. These levels constitute the materiality of rock art and cannot be separated from its meaning. The material qualities have general similarities, but they also vary from place to place. A quantitate compilation of the documented samples of rock art in perishes Östra Eneby and Borg, shows that they are structured according to a principle of variation and likeness in the landscape. The placing of rock art is studied further by a phenomenological method, which reveals the construction of visual nodes in the landscape were imagery was used in creative ways to conceptualize the world. Around these visual nodes, a vast number of small concentrations of rock art is scattered in the landscape. The small places express an attitude towards the landscape, were aesthetical themes and ideals was maintained. The end of the active production of rock art is defined as the most relevant for an archaeological study, due to the material setting of the contemporary landscape. The presence of rock art represents the final stage of production. The end of the rock art tradition is characterized by a relation between a materialized art history and an extensive practice of making images in different materials. The image is materially expanded, being made not only in stone by also in bronze and ceramics. The meaning of images is transformed, from being strictly iconographical to becoming an instrument for thought. Rock art played a major part in the development of a “pictoral turn”, which expresses social changes in the society of the late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age.