Prehistoric Pictures as an archaeological source

Prehistoric Pictures as Archaeological Source - Förhistoriska Bilder som Arkeologisk Källa

Articles by Lasse Bengtsson, Ulf Bertilsson, Josefine Franck Bican, Åsa Fredell, Joakim Goldhahn, Knut Helskog, Steffan Herrik, Flemming Kaul, Kristian Kristiansen, Johan Lagergård, Jarl Nordbladh, Sikke Viste and Katty Hauptman Wahlgren
Editors: Gerhard Milstreu and Henning Prøhl. Published by Tanums Hällristningsmuseum Underslös, Tanumshede, Sweden


Tanums Hällristningsmuseum/Scandinavian Society for Prehistoric Art has a long tradition of international working seminars with the dual purpose of documenting the rock carvings and drawing attention to prehistoric art. The pictures are in danger of disappearing due to pollution, so there is an important documentation project going on. Rock art research has been supported by the European Union in INTERREG IIB (1997-2000) and in the RockCare Project (1998-2001). These projects have focussed on documenting European Rock Art before it decomposes and thus saving the iconography by means of different methods of documentation. The documentation has created a large new collection of pictures while correcting and supplementing earlier documentation.

The research aspect of these projects has contributed to the recognition of the information value of the pictures and has resulted in an increasing interest in using the pictures as source material on an equal footing with objects and texts in the attempt to gain a deeper insight into prehistoric times, particularly the bronze age. On this background, we decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tanum’s Hällristningsmuseum, which took place in 2002, as a symposium titled Prehistoric Pictures as Archeological Source. The aim of this symposium was to contribute to the beginning change in research traditions, which tends towards seeing pictures and objects as equally important in archeological research. This creates a need for the development of new methods and techniques for working with pictures in research and education.

The present book is a collection of the papers given at the symposium Prehistoric Pictures as Archeological Source at Tanums Hällristningsmuseum in 2002. The authors have kindly contributed their articles and many other colleagues and co-workers have helped making this book possible.

Supported by:
The Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik’s Foundation / Denmark. Riksantikvarieämbet / National Heritage Board / Sweden. Nordic Culture Fund. Gothenburg University / Sweden. Lennart J. Hägglunds Stiftelse / arkeologisk forskning och Utbildning, Sweden. Members of Scandinavian Society for Prehistoric Art.
The publication can be ordered at: Tanums Hällristningsmuseum Underslös

Gotarc, series C. Arkeologiska Skrifter No. 50. Gothenburg University, Department of Historical Studies. ISBN 91-85952-89-3.

Price: SEK 249 + postage. Price members: SEK 198 + postage