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Elk and Ogopogo. Belief Systems in the Hunter-Gatherer Rock Art of Northern Lands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2014

J. M. Coles
J. M. Coles
Affiliation:
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, Englandand Thorverton, Devon EX5 5JS, England
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Extract

The northern world, from the wide expanses of North America across the even wider spread of Asia and Europe, was subjected to the effects of the Pleistoceneice for centuries after areas to the south had been released from nature's grip. But as conditions eased the north, and open landscapes were newly created, plants and animals began to colonize and humans were not far behind. Across enormous territories of the Old and New Worlds, hunters, gatherers and fishers began to explore the resources of the virgin lands, and from before 8000 BP for at least five millennia their societies were seemingly in balance with nature's gifts. Settlements from all around the vast northern latitudes demonstrate a reliance upon wild resources that were abundant, varied and easily exploited. In such circumstances, the opportunities existed for the development and elaboration of systems of belief concerned with the principles of existence. Such systems in all likelihood took many forms of expression, only a few of which have survived today. Burials, tools and weapons, settlement organization and territorial exploitation are capable of demonstrating the systems for survivaldeveloped by these communities of people, and rock carvings and paintings add other possibilities for those who seek to understand the social scenes of the past.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 57 , Issue 1 , 1991 , pp. 129 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 1991

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