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Hunting stories in Scandinavian rock art : Aspects of "tellability" in the North vs. the South

Ranta, Michael LU ; Skoglund, Peter ; Persson, Tomas LU orcid and Gjerde, Jan Magne (2020) In Oxford Journal of Archaeology 39(3). p.228-246
Abstract
Scandinavian petroglyphs have given rise to vivid interpretations, often related to Old Norse religion and Indo‐European mythology. However, we still do not know if, how or to what extent these images are really telling stories. In this paper, we shall analyse the ways in which Scandinavian northern and southern traditions (in Alta, Northern Norway and in Norrköping, Middle Sweden, respectively) depict hunting narratives. While the northern tradition may render several phases and procedural aspects of the hunt, the southern one tends to be more focused on the killing itself, or the confrontational aspects of the hunt.

A preliminary observation is that the scenes differ in ways that reflect not only different hunting traditions,... (More)
Scandinavian petroglyphs have given rise to vivid interpretations, often related to Old Norse religion and Indo‐European mythology. However, we still do not know if, how or to what extent these images are really telling stories. In this paper, we shall analyse the ways in which Scandinavian northern and southern traditions (in Alta, Northern Norway and in Norrköping, Middle Sweden, respectively) depict hunting narratives. While the northern tradition may render several phases and procedural aspects of the hunt, the southern one tends to be more focused on the killing itself, or the confrontational aspects of the hunt.

A preliminary observation is that the scenes differ in ways that reflect not only different hunting traditions, but also imply different foci of interest. Put in another way, they emphasize different aspects of the hunting activity itself, of what is relevant, worth telling, or ‘tellable’. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Oxford Journal of Archaeology
volume
39
issue
3
pages
18 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85088129459
ISSN
1468-0092
DOI
10.1111/ojoa.12197
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5194d255-8873-4d65-8f6d-60b2d7066206
date added to LUP
2020-01-17 10:52:59
date last changed
2023-12-04 07:14:17
@article{5194d255-8873-4d65-8f6d-60b2d7066206,
  abstract     = {{Scandinavian petroglyphs have given rise to vivid interpretations, often related to Old Norse religion and Indo‐European mythology. However, we still do not know if, how or to what extent these images are really telling stories. In this paper, we shall analyse the ways in which Scandinavian northern and southern traditions (in Alta, Northern Norway and in Norrköping, Middle Sweden, respectively) depict hunting narratives. While the northern tradition may render several phases and procedural aspects of the hunt, the southern one tends to be more focused on the killing itself, or the confrontational aspects of the hunt.<br/><br/>A preliminary observation is that the scenes differ in ways that reflect not only different hunting traditions, but also imply different foci of interest. Put in another way, they emphasize different aspects of the hunting activity itself, of what is relevant, worth telling, or ‘tellable’.}},
  author       = {{Ranta, Michael and Skoglund, Peter and Persson, Tomas and Gjerde, Jan Magne}},
  issn         = {{1468-0092}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{228--246}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Oxford Journal of Archaeology}},
  title        = {{Hunting stories in Scandinavian rock art : Aspects of "tellability" in the North vs. the South}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12197}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/ojoa.12197}},
  volume       = {{39}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}