The subject of the thesis is the description, analysis and interpretation of rock art. The first, theoretic, part is dedicated to the research strategy, documentation, dating, conservation and presentation of rock art. It also analyses the relation between rock art and landscape, since differences in how different cultures perceived the landscape led rock art creators to different perception of the environment and to different forms of creative expression. The first part of the dissertation presents approaches rock art and methods of its interpretation from the landscape, historic, sociologic, ritual, artistic and aesthetic perspective. The second part of the dissertation discusses African rock art in the Oukaïmeden Valley, set in the central part of the High Atlas in Morocco. The dissertation focuses on particular archaeologic sites, art techniques applied, distinguishing features and other specificities of the local rock art. Special attention is paid to the motifs, development changes and dating of rock art in the Oukaïmeden Valley. Rock art first appeared there in the Late Neolithic and was further developed in the Bronze Age and continued until the Libyan-Berber period. The dissertation also presents interpretation of rock art motifs including analysis of their function and meaning of their positioning...

Rock imagery from the late Fremont period (1000-1300 AD) has captivated the interest of both professional and avocational researchers for the past century. In this thesis, I apply a highly systematized method of cataloguing and analysis to 482 anthropomorphs from Clear Creek Canyon (CCC) and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (GSENM). The primary theoretical assumption in this thesis is that the shapes used in anthropomorphic imagery convey ideas about how the Fremont saw people. I therefore recorded the head and body morphology and presence of arms, legs, and genitalia of each anthropomorph. By observing the data spatially, I discovered both intraregional and interregional patterns This research served to strengthen the argument that the Fremont people shared a common culture with regional variations.

This thesis deals with meetings between peoples during prehistoric times in the northern part of Norrland, Sweden. Particular attention is paid to the possible occurrence of more temporary meetings between people in larger groups at aggregation camps during the period ca 7000 – 0 BC. The study has had the aim of increasing our understanding of how peoples’ meetings and contact networks may have been framed. Thirteen sites that previous research has interpreted to be aggregation camps within our field of study have been analysed and interpreted. These are: Jokkmokk, Purkijaur, Nelkerim, Porsi, Lundfors, Norrfors, Överveda, Rappasundet, Hälla, Lillberget, Glösa, Sörånäset and Ställverksboplatsen (the Ställverket site). The Ställverket site at Näsåker (Nämforsen) has been the object of particular study. It has also been viewed in a broader context by analysis and interpretation of other ancient remains in the neighbouring area. I have argued that some interpretations arrived at in earlier research are problematical and that none of the thirteen sites can be said with certainty to have been an aggregation camp. Thus aggregation camps seem not usually to have been a part of the contact network in the area of study. Instead of using aggregation camps as meeting-places, the people involved seem, at certain times and places, to have maintained contact with each other by means of meetings at the base camps, notably the winter sites. These sites seem to have been rather sedentary and are positioned at fairly even distances from one another. I call this model the base camp model. Some grounds for applying the base camp model seem to exist at certain places in the inland region from the end of the Mesolithic era up to 0 BC. After that contact networks seem to change. In the coastal district it seems possible to apply it to some places from the transition between the Mesolithic – Neolithic Age up to about 2500 BC. Thereafter the picture is unclear. The study does also emphasise however that more in-depth studies are needed to strengthen the viability of the base camp model’s applicability, that there are still big gaps in the material and that much work still remains to be done in order to solve the problems of how aggregation camps can best be defined and how they can be identified archaeologically.

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 Paleolithic cave art, geometric signs tend to outnumber figurative images and yet, they remain relatively understudied. To address this gap in our knowledge, I compiled a digital catalogue of all known geometric signs found in parietal art in France, and then trended the results looking for patterns of continuity and change over time and space. I focused on parietal art, as I could be certain of its provenance, and picked France as my region due to its abundance of decorated sites and its natural boundaries of water and mountain ranges. The database is searchable by a variety of criteria such as sign category, method of production, date range, site type, geographical coordinates and region. It is now being converted into an online resource. To provide a visual dimension, it includes a selection of linked photographs and reproductions of the different signs. In this thesis, I detail the chronological and regional patterning in sign type and frequency and the implications of these patterns for understanding where, when and why the making of these signs was meaningful to the Pleistocene peoples who created them.

Au cours de l’élaboration des peintures rupestres, divers matériaux colorants peuvent être mobilisés et produire des vestiges archéologiques liés aux différentes étapes de la préparation de la matière picturale. À Nawarla Gabarnmang, site majeur d’art rupestre Jawoyn (Terre d’Arnhem, Territoire du Nord – Australie), les fouilles archéologiques ont mis au jour un grand nombre de ce type de vestiges. La séquence archéologique, obtenue par datation au 14C, a révélé la présence de dépôts culturels parmi les plus anciens connus en Australie, avec une occupation du site qui s’étend de ≥48 000 ans cal BP jusqu’au début du XXème siècle. Plafonds et piliers du site présentent plusieurs générations de peintures ; les plafonds du site contiennent à eux seuls près de 1400 entités graphiques. La place de cet art interroge : est-il l’expression des premiers Hommes arrivés sur le continent australien il y a près de 50 000 ans ou le témoin d’occupations plus récentes ? Caractérisé par la superposition de plusieurs générations de peintures qu’on ne peut dater de manière « directe » en raison de la nature minéralogique des composants des peintures, la définition de leur chronologie constitue un fort enjeu de recherche. Menés d’emblée dans une approche intégrée, les premiers travaux ont permis d’étudier la chronologie et la nature des occupations, via les fouilles archéologiques, d’identifier les aménagements réalisés au cours des différentes phases d’occupation et de mettre en avant la richesse et la diversité de son répertoire artistique de même que l’abondance et la variété des vestiges associés à l’art rupestre. Afin d’appréhender au mieux la temporalité et les usages du site de Nawarla Gabarnmang depuis les premières occupations préhistoriques jusqu’aux fréquentations subactuelles, l’analyse des matières colorantes et colorées, retrouvées dans les carrés de fouille réalisés sous les panneaux peints des plafonds ou à l’aplomb des piliers décorés, permet de reconstituer les étapes de la chaîne opératoire ayant produit les matières picturales : de la source d’approvisionnement en matières premières, aux modes de transformation et de préparation (broyage, mélange avec charges et/ou liants, traitement thermique) jusqu’à leur application. La stratégie méthodologique mise en place couvre un large panel de techniques de caractérisation physico-chimique pour répondre aux problématiques soulevées par les différents vestiges associés à l’art rupestre. De l’observation macroscopique aux micro-analyses non invasives couplées à des analyses structurales, en passant par des techniques basées sur le rayonnement synchrotron, l’étude menée sur les matières colorantes et colorées a permis de révéler une diversité et une complexité de phases minérales utilisées dans l’art rupestre de Nawarla Gabarnmang. Croisée avec les données archéologiques, anthropo-géomorphologiques et pariétales, elle permet de proposer un cadre chronologique des différentes générations de peintures en lien avec les phases d’occupation qui ont marqué l’histoire du site. L’analyse des matières colorantes et colorées réalisée au cours de cette thèse constitue un vecteur de connaissances importantes et livre des informations complémentaires aux approches archéologique, géomorphologique et pariétale menées sur le site de Nawarla Gabarnmang. Les informations apportées par l’étude de ces matières permettent de renseigner tant sur les évolutions techniques et comportementales que sur l’implication culturelle de ce site, aussi bien dans ses dimensions spatiales que temporelles. / In the making of rock art, raw colouring material is used, thus providing many artifacts related to different steps of elaboration of pictorial matter. In the case of the important rock art site of Nawarla Gabarnmang in the Jawoyn country (Arnhem Land, North Territory – Australia), excavations have revealed a large number of such artifacts. The archaeological sequence from the floor deposits, radiocarbon-dated from ≥48,000 cal BP to the early twentieth century, has revealed some of the oldest known cultural deposits in Australia. The ceilings of the site contain well over 1400 still-visible paintings in multiple, superimposed layers. Countless additional paintings cover many of the rock pillars’ walls. This art raises questions: is it an expression of the first humans arrived on the Australian continent 50,000 years ago, or the evidence of recent occupation periods? Characterized by a succession of overlaid motifs, which cannot be “directly” dated because of the mineralogical nature of the rock paintings’ components, the determination of the age of the rock paintings represents a major issue. Through an integrated approach to the matter, the first results of the archaeological excavations enabled to study the chronology and the nature of activities, to identify the origins and transformations of the sheltered space through time, to highlight the richness and the diversity of its artistic work, as well as the abundance and the variety of the artifacts. To get a better insight into the temporality and the uses of Nawarla Gabarnmang since the first prehistoric activities until the recent periods, the analysis of the colouring and coloured matters, found in trial excavations under the painted panels on the ceilings or at the bottom of decorated pillars, allow us to rebuild the steps of the “chaîne opératoire” leading to the production of pictorial matter: from the sources of raw materials, the methods of transformation and preparation (grinding, mixing with mineral extenders and/or organic binders, heat treatment), to the application on the rock. To answer the questions raised by different artifacts, the methodological strategy includes a large range of microscopic and spectroscopic approaches. Subjected to macroscopic observations and non-invasive micro-analytical techniques along with structural techniques, as well as techniques using synchrotron radiation, the analysis of the colouring and coloured matters has revealed the variety and the complexity of mineral compounds used in the rock art of Nawarla Gabarnmang. Then, cross-referenced with archaeological, archaeomorphological and rock art studies, the physico-chemical characterization allows to suggest a chronological framework for the different superimposed layers linked to the periods of activities that marked the history of the site. The analysis of colouring and coloured matters undertaken by this thesis represents an important source of knowledge and delivers further informations to the geomorphological, archaeological and rock art studies carried out at the Nawarla Gabarnmang. The results provided by the study of these materials bring information as well on technical and behavioral evolutions, as on the cultural involvement of this site, not only in its spatial but also in its temporal dimensions.

L’idée principale de la thèse est l’écoculture, c'est-à-dire une réflexion plus approfondie sur la relation entre l’homme et la nature. Afin d’expliquer cette idée, nous avons analysé certains éléments caractéristiques de la culture traditionnelle, comme : le châtiment, la malédiction, la bénédiction, le serment, la métamorphose, l’empathie, la révérence, la sacralisation etc. Ces éléments culturels ne concernent pas seulement les mœurs et pratiques morales humaines dans la vie sociale, mais aussi bien les relations entre l’homme et la nature. Dans son sens véridique, en dehors de pensée, des symboles et des valeurs, l’écoculture sous-entend également les comportements, les actions concrètes et les autres routines de la vie quotidienne. L’une des conclusions de cette thèse est que les mouvements écologiques au Kosovo, et tout ceux qui prétendent créer une culture environnementale ou bien une conscience écologiques, afin de changer des comportements et des habitudes par rapport à l’environnement, pourraient prendre pour référence l’écoculture traditionnelle albanaise, parce qu’on y trouve beaucoup d’éléments communs avec des éthiques environnementales contemporaines, comme : écologie profonde, écoféminisme, spiritualisme écologique, dark-green religion / The main idea of the thesis is the eco-culture, that is to say, a deep reflection on the spiritual relationship between human and nature. To explain this idea, I analyze some characteristic elements of the traditional culture, such as punishment, curse, blessing, oath, metamorphosis, empathy, reverence, sacredness, etc. These cultural elements do not concern only the mores and ethical human practices in social life, but also the relationship between human and nature. Nowadays, in everyday life, these values are sometimes expressed openly and concretely, and other times latently and not obviously. In addition to thinking, symbols and values, the eco-culture also manifests itself through behavior, concrete actions, and other routines of daily life. Amongst the conclusions of this thesis is that the environmental movements in Kosovo, aiming at changing the habits related to the environment by means of creating the environmental culture and raising ecological consciousness, must refer to the traditional Albanian eco-culture, since the latter has many common elements with contemporary environmental ethics, such as deep ecology, eco-feminism, ecological spiritualism, dark-green religion, etc.

Xingó´s Region located between the states of Alagoas, Bahia and Sergipe has a big archeological heritage and since the 80´s researches have been made in order to enrich the data related to the local pre-historical man. From these initial researches, 15 sites were studied with rock art between the states of Alagoas and Sergipe, where it was found out that the sites show a theme particularity among the sites with difficult insertion to the rupestrian traditions. However, through new diggings, a great number of sites with rupestrian records were identified. On this particular research, the sites of the uptown region of Xingó were classified, the plateau region, so it was observed that there are in the area some groups of rock art, among these ones, the one which is in Sergipe territory, located at Mundo Novo Farm, in the county of Canindé de São Francisco. From these initial researches, some questions came up in relation to the particularity and the peculiar identity rock art in Xingó. The Mundo Novo Farm, object of study of this research, presents a repertory with themes in common with the rest of the region, the same way that also shows particular and unique elements, what suggests that the area of study may have been a place of continuity and cultural consolidation. / A Região de Xingó situada entre os estados de Alagoas, Bahia e Sergipe possui um grande acervo arqueológico e desde a década de 1980 pesquisas estão sendo realizadas em prol do enriquecimento de dados a respeito do homem pré-histórico local. A partir dessas pesquisas iniciais foram estudados 15 sítios com grafismos rupestres entre os estados de Alagoas e Sergipe, onde foi constatado que o local apresenta particularidade temática entre os sítios com difícil inserção às tradições rupestres. No entanto, por meio de novas prospecções foi identificado um grande número de sítios com registros rupestres na região, foram catalogados os sítios da região alta de Xingó, a região do platô, de modo que foi observado que existem nesta área algumas concentrações de grafismos rupestres, dentre estas a que se encontra no território sergipano localizada na Fazenda Mundo Novo no município de Canindé de São Francisco, objeto de estudo desta pesquisa. A partir destas pesquisas preliminares, surgiram alguns questionamentos a respeito da particularidade e da originalidade gráfica presente em Xingó. Percebeu-se que na Fazenda Mundo Novo, os três dos seis sítios analisados neste trabalho, apresentam repertório temático em comum com o restante da região, da mesma forma que apresentam também elementos particulares e singulares, o que no faz pensar que a área de estudo pode ter sido um local de continuidade e consolidação cultural.

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.

Throughout almost forty years of research on Rock Art in Brazil, many studies have already contributed to the current scenario of well-established regional traditions. However, concerning what is known as geometric elements, initially included in the generic Geometric Tradition, there are still many aspects to be discussed. These nonfigurative elements cover all the reasons that were not assigned into the other existing traditions in the Brazilian Northeast and became a single category of analysis that, by now, does not reach the symbolic complexity imbricated in the aforementioned motifs. Dealing with this panorama, this mastership thesis analyzed the geometric signs starting from the notion of grammar, which understands the rupestrian records as a symbolically constructed social communication. Following an alternative model to traditional theoretical-methodological perspectives, we aimed a typological identification of the signs and their symbolic associations. In order to accomplish this, the research used as corpus the geometric paintings present in the four rock art sites that form the Serra das Paridas Archaeological Complex, located in the city of Lençóis, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia. In this sense, we used the technical detailing based on the identification of the traces, colors, shapes and graphical compositions of the paintings, to investigate the existence of possible graphic repertoires that point out the existence of a symbolic grammar of the signs. / Ao longo de quase quarenta anos de pesquisa com arte rupestre no Brasil, muitos estudos já contribuíram para o cenário atual de tradições regionais bem estabelecidas. No entanto, em relação aos chamados elementos geométricos, encaixados inicialmente na genérica Tradição Geométrica, ainda há muitos aspectos a serem discutidos. Tais elementos, não figurativos, abrangem todos os motivos que não foram incorporados nas outras tradições existentes no Nordeste brasileiro e se transformaram numa única categoria de análise que, por hora, não dá conta da complexidade simbólica imbricada nesses motivos. Diante desse panorama, esta dissertação de mestrado analisou os signos geométricos a partir da noção de gramática, que encara os registros rupestres como uma comunicação social simbolicamente construída. Seguindo um caminho alternativo às perspectivas teórico metodológicas tradicionais, buscou-se a identificação tipológica dos signos e suas associações simbólicas. Para tanto, a pesquisa utilizou como corpus as pinturas geométricas presentes nos quatro sítios rupestres que formam o complexo Arqueológico Serra das Paridas, situado no município de Lençóis, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia. Nesse sentido, empreendeu-se o detalhamento técnico, a partir da identificação dos traços, cores, formas e composições gráficas das pinturas, para investigar a existência de possíveis repertórios gráficos que indiquem a existência de uma gramática simbólica dos signos. / Laranjeiras