"The Prehistoric Rock Art of Portugal presents significant interpretive perspectives in Portuguese rock art research and offers an excellent representation of core rock art areas, along with current thinking and interpretations. The various chapters deliver a personal approach to the many issues, themes and approaches that are embedded within the rock art of the outpost of western Atlantic Europe. Ethnographical perspectives have often dominated the study of rock art but unlike other well studied regions, the western Iberian Peninsula is absent of an ethnographical or ethno-historical past and therefore the production of rock art can only be archaeologically assessed. Thus, the work promotes interpretive perspectives on Portuguese rock art, illustrating the richness, chronology and context of these unique artistic expressions and explores the variability of rock art imagery and the diversity of landscapes and social contexts in which it was produced. Although focusing on Portuguese rock art the book includes a number of universal themes that will appeal to a broad range of scholars researching in archaeology and anthropology, history of art, as well as professionals engaged in rock art heritage and conservation"--

The Prehistoric Rock Art of Portugal presents significant interpretive perspectives in Portuguese rock art research and offers an excellent representation of core rock art areas, along with current thinking and interpretations. The various chapters deliver a personal approach to the many issues, themes and approaches that are embedded within the rock art of the outpost of western Atlantic Europe. Ethnographical perspectives have often dominated the study of rock art but unlike other well-studied regions, the western Iberian Peninsula is absent of an ethnographical or ethno-historical past and therefore the production of rock art can only be archaeologically assessed. Thus, the work promotes interpretive perspectives on Portuguese rock art, illustrating the richness, chronology and context of these unique artistic expressions and explores the variability of rock art imagery and the diversity of landscapes and social contexts in which it was produced. Although focusing on Portuguese rock art the book includes a number of universal themes that will appeal to a broad range of scholars researching in archaeology and anthropology, history of art, as well as professionals engaged in rock art heritage and conservation.

Archaeology of Prehistoric Art, Volume 1 Atlantic Rock Art is a rock art tradition which includes emblematic motifs such as cup-marks, cup-and-rings and lines, known to several countries on the Atlantic seaboard. Design and Connectivity springs from an inter-regional study of this tradition, based on an original and innovative methodology applied to an empirical dataset. The project builds on Richard Bradley's work, investigating differences and similarities in Atlantic Art over study areas in five countries: Scotland, England, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. It applies a multi-scalar methodology developed under the principles of Relational Ontology and Assemblage Theory, providing a dynamic perspective on the empirical data. A thorough categorical scheme was scrutinised using a Presence/Absence Matrix, spatial analysis (fieldwork and GIS) and the development of Social Network Analysis (SNA) to relate and explore the relationships and connectivity between study areas. Concepts of developmental psychology support the idea of intentional teaching and cultural transmission.

Along the Atlantic seaboard, from Scotland to Spain, are numerous rock carvings made four to five thousand years ago, whose interpretation poses a major challenge to the archaeologist. In the first full-length treatment of the subject, based largely on new fieldwork, Richard Bradley argues that these carvings should be interpreted as a series of symbolic messages that are shared between monuments, artefacts and natural places in the landscape. He discusses the cultural setting of the rock carvings and the ways in which they can be interpreted in relation to ancient land use, the creation of ritual monuments and the burial of the dead. Integrating this fascinating yet little-known material into the mainstream of prehistoric studies, Richard Bradley demonstrates that these carvings played a fundamental role in the organization of the prehistoric landscape.

Rock art in South America is as diverse as the continent itself. In this vast territory, different peoples produced engravings, paintings, and massive earthworks, from the Atacama to the Amazon. These marks on the landscape were made by all different kinds of peoples, from some of the earliest hunter-gatherers in the continent, to the very complex societies within the Inca Empire. This book brings together the work of specialists from throughout the continent, addressing this diversity, as well as the variety of approaches that the Archaeology of rock art has taken in South America. Constructed of eleven thought-provoking chapters and arranged in three thematic sections, the book presents different theoretical approaches that are currently being used to understand the roles rock art played in prehistoric communities. The editors have skillfully crafted a book that presents the contribution the study of South American rock art can offer to the global research of this materiality, both theoretically and methodologically. This book will interest a broad range of scholars researching in archaeology, anthropology, history of art, heritage and conservation, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students who will find interesting case studies showcasing the diverse ways in which rock art can be approached. Despite its focus on South America, the book is intended as a contribution towards the global study of rock art.

The diverse papers in this volume, published in honour of Professor de Balbin, cover a wide variety of the decorated caves which traditionally defined Palaeolithic art, as well as the open-air art of the period, a subject in which he has done pioneering work at Siega Verde and elsewhere.

Prof. Daniel Arsenault, a leading exponent of Canadian Shield rock art, sadly passed away in 2016. This book contains 14 thought-provoking chapters dealing with Daniel’s first love—the archaeology of artistic endeavour. It provides the reader with new ideas about the interpretation and dating of rock art, ethnography, heritage and material culture.