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Art as Metaphor: The Prehistoric Rock Art of Britain
... These particular designs are also found on other monument types and landscapes and have a much wider chronological distribution (e.g. Waddington et al. 2004, Nash 2007. Interestingly, the Calderstones has both megalithic art and cupmarks, each probably representing two distinct phases. ...
... Prior to this some reference to the stones were made by Forde-Johnson when describing the artistic styles between these stones and those at Barclodiad y Gawres (1956). Since this initial pictorial record, Shee-Twohig (1981), Cowell & Warhurst (1984) and Nash (2006Nash ( , 2007 have undertaken superficial discussions using Forde-Johnson set of images. Interestingly, only the megalithic motifs were recorded; excluded were cupmarks on all stones. ...
... Stoens A and B probably represent the uprights belonging to the chamber. One of the authors has stated previously that the location of particular decorated stones would have been important to the users of the monument (Nash 2006(Nash , 2007. At Barclodiad y Gawres, much of the rock-art is positioned in such a way that it can only be viewed whilst in the chamber area. ...
Introduction This paper forms part of an extensive survey of Neolithic and Bronze Age Monuments that includes the Anglesey Rock-art Project (ARAP). The project, conceived in 2002 has, in the recent past been extended to sites to include monuments in North Wales and North-west England. The results from Anglesey have revealed new rock-art at the Late Neolithic passage graves of Barclodiad y Gawres and Bryn Celli Ddu and the destroyed monument at Cromlech Farm (Nash et al. 2006). Outside Anglesey new discoveries have been made at the [probable] Middle Neolithic double chambered stone monument of Dyffyn Ardudwy near Harlech (Nash & Stanford forthcoming). In 2006 the authors were commissioned by Merseyside Archaeological Society to record photographically the Calderstones monument. The recording methodology employed during sessions in October and December 2007 included a number of tried and successfully tested photographic techniques including what we term as 'painting the panel'. Based on the recent photographic survey this chapter will discuss the rock-art on each of the six stones. This survey, undertaken mainly during darkness hours recorded a number of new motifs including a dagger/sword that is indicative of the Bronze Age rock-art tradition in Galicia, north-western Spain, in particular those sites that occupy the intermediate slopes of the Campo Lameiro Valley, near the provincial town of Ponteverda (Bradley et al. 19). The Calderstones, comprising six highly decorative stones is one of major three sites in England and Wales that form the eastern extent of the Late Neolithic passage grave tradition (c. 2,800 – 2,000 cal. BC). 3 The other two monuments – Barclodiad y Gawres and Bryn Celli Ddu are located in Anglesey, a large island lying off the coast of North Wales. These three monuments along with possible eleven in Scotland (and Orkney) probably mark the [eastern and northern] demise of the megalithic art tradition in Western Europe. Each of the three monuments boasts a unique rock-art assemblage. Barclodiad y Gawres and Bryn Celli Ddu were excavated in the early-to mid-20 th century, however there are no radiocarbon dates to determine the pre-construction, use and abandonment phases of these monuments. It is more than probable though that the Anglesey monuments were constructed sometime after the monuments in the Boyne Valley in Ireland were built. Many of the architectural traits and rock-art designs from the Irish monuments appear to have been incorporated into the two Anglesey monuments. The rock-art, although restricted to just two stones at Bryn Celli Ddu, is in abundance at Barclodiad y Gawres and the Calderstones.
... The rock art housed within Le Déhus can be considered a unique occurrence within the Neolithic of north-western Europe, with no similar designs occurring elsewhere (Shee-Twohig 1981;Mazel, Nash, and Waddington 2007;Nash 2011). Extensive discussions by Bradley (1997), Mazel, Nash, and Waddington (2007 and Shee-Twohig (1981) have tended to focus on mainly abstract motifs that occupy the Neolithic and Bronze Age core areas of Atlantic Europe. ...
... The rock art housed within Le Déhus can be considered a unique occurrence within the Neolithic of north-western Europe, with no similar designs occurring elsewhere (Shee-Twohig 1981;Mazel, Nash, and Waddington 2007;Nash 2011). Extensive discussions by Bradley (1997), Mazel, Nash, and Waddington (2007 and Shee-Twohig (1981) have tended to focus on mainly abstract motifs that occupy the Neolithic and Bronze Age core areas of Atlantic Europe. Further research into prehistoric island behaviour has recently been published which assess the role of monuments and sometimes the rock art contained within them (Patton 1994;Nash and Townsend 2015;Scarre 2002aScarre , 2002b. ...
This paper discusses in depth a recent discovery, among other observations, made by the authors in 2015 at the Le Déhus passage grave in eastern Guernsey, Channel Islands. The discovery involves the probable medieval or post-medieval pigment enhancement of a Neolithic carving of a figure, arguably a warrior, known as the Le Gardien du Tombeau. We regard this enhancement as an act of Christianisation. The Christianisation of later prehistoric sites has long been known but inadequately discussed in archaeological circles. As part of our overall research strategy we also comment on the various engraved sections of the Le Gardien du Tombeau, detailing the attributes of this figure. We ask the question, why paint a Christian image within an already well-known and established prehistoric monument?
... Julian Thomas has discussed passage grave art in terms of a 'language' and 'grammar', 38 with others also describing Neolithic art as having its own 'vocabulary' 39 and 'metaphors'. 40 George Nash in particular has dismissed the view of 'art for art's sake', preferring to see Neolithic designs as a language that can be 'read'. 41 These linguistic comparisons are problematic. ...
... Julian Thomas has discussed passage grave art in terms of a 'language' and 'grammar', 38 with others also describing Neolithic art as having its own 'vocabulary' 39 and 'metaphors'. 40 George Nash in particular has dismissed the view of 'art for art's sake', preferring to see Neolithic designs as a language that can be 'read'. 41 These linguistic comparisons are problematic. ...
... In addition to this distribution, rock art is also found within, on, and around a small number of burial-ritual sites in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, which include Portal Dolmens and passage graves. The artistic repertoire comprises 10 generic types ranging from chevrons and lozenges to concentric circles, spirals, and single and multiple cupmarks, and these are arranged in such a way that no two panels are the same (Mazel et al. 2007). ...
... The symbols and motifs used, the color they were painted, and the position in which they were placed would have been highly signifi cant to people who created the art and those who used it (e.g. Mazel et al. 2007). Outside, the monuments would have "signed" the landscape yet be hidden within it: ritual knowledge would have guided communities and their dead through the various taboo areas of the landscape, between settlement and the worked land and those lands where only the ghosts of the dead dare tread (Bradley 1997;Nash 2007). ...
The recent excavation of a rock-cut tomb in northern Sardinia has revealed, albeit through unofficial channels, Neolithic painted rock art that is equal in quality to the painted images found within the rooms of the Hypogeum of H̄al-Saflieni in Malta. This short article explores the development of the Neolithic painted form, which probably has its origins with the first farming communities in the eastern Mediterranean. As a prologue, this article also discusses the official decision to seal up the monument following excavation. Were it not for the tenacity of Mr Porcu, a resident who lives near the site, the international rock art community would not have had a chance to see what splendors the tomb contains. Based on what was briefly recorded by his digital camera, it is clear that certain basic protocols enshrined into the Valetta Convention have been violated.
... It is usually closely associated with the passage grave tradition and decorated pottery (e.g., Grooved Ware which is common at many sites within Atlantic Europe) which incorporates variations of motifs that are found in megalithic art, such as horizontal bands, chevrons, and lozenges. In northwestern Europe, this artistic style has been extensively studied by Elizabeth Shee -Twohig (1981) , as well as being the subject of a number of regional and individual site studies (Forde -Johnson 1956 ;Lynch 1970 ;O ' Kelly 1982 ;Cowell and Warhurst 1984 ;Eogan 1986 ;O ' Sullivan 1986 ;Nash et al. 2005 ;Mazel et al. 2007 ;Nash 2007 ;Nash and Stanford 2010 ). Early studies of megalithic art by Breuil (1933Breuil ( -1935 and Crawford (1957) promoted the idea of the human body morphing through time, from Breuil ' s " stylized mortal " to Crawford ' s " eye goddess. ...
The mid - seventh millennium BP witnessed the emergence of a European pictographic
language based on a common repertoire of abstract and fi gurative motifs. Although
largely confi ned to passage grave communities occupying the coastal fringes of Atlantic
Europe, the megalithic art tradition unifi ed much of the Neolithic world from the
Mediterranean to northern Scotland over a period of some 3,000 years. The art itself
appears to have acted as a personal signature, unique to each monument and its builders,
but drawing on a limited set of symbols. This chapter explores the geographic extent of
this mainly abstract motif repertoire, and proposes that, over time and space, key symbols
may have changed their meaning(s).
As in Australia, Pleistocene rock art is relatively abundant in Europe, but it has so far received much more attention than the combined Ice Age paleoart of the rest of the world. Since archaeology initially rejected its authenticity for several decades, the cave art of France and Spain and the portable paleoart from various regions of Europe have been the subjects of thousands of studies. It is shown, however, that much of the published information is unreliable and subjective, and that fundamental trends in the evidence have been misunderstood. In particular, the data implies that the paleoart of the Early Upper Paleolithic, the work of robust humans such as Neanderthals, is considerably more sophisticated and developed that that of more recent times. Thus, the European paleoart demonstrates that the teleological model of cultural “evolution” is false, which is to be expected because evolution is purely dysteleological. This is confirmed by the extensive record of pre-Upper Paleolithic European paleoart, which is comprehensively reviewed in this paper.
Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) has been little used by archaeologists. A key barrier is that current metaphor analysis relies on linguistic evidence, a resource that archaeologists rarely have. Methods for interpreting entirely "material metaphors" have yet to develop. This article explores CMT in a domain of long-standing archaeological interest: settlement structure. Anthropologists have long recognized that hunter-gatherers place their dwellings close to those they are close to socially, usually their kin. Archaeologists have assumed the same holds true for prehistory-although without direct evidence. This article explains why people consistently associate with their kin this way, and how the metaphor, "SOCIAL DISTANCE IS PHYSICAL DISTANCE," structures hunter-gatherer campsites worldwide. Archaeologists can infer the existence of this metaphor in the archaeological record without linguistic support. Furthermore, they can assume it exists in all human societies for as long as human brains have been wired up as they currently are.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.