Rock Art and the Wild Mind

Visual Imagery in Mesolithic Northern Europe

Ingrid Fuglestvedt

$284

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Routledge
19 December 2017

Prehistoric archaeology

Rock Art and the Wild Mind presents a study of Mesolithic rock art on the Scandinavian peninsula, including the large rock art sites in Alta, Nämforsen and Vingen.

Hunters’ rock art of this area, despite local styles, bears a strong commonality in what it depicts, most often terrestrial big game in diverse confrontations with the human realm. The various types of compositions are defined as visual thematizations of the enigmatic relationship between humans and big game animals. These thematizations, here defined as motemes, are explained as being products of the Mesolithic mind ‘in action’, observed through repetitions, variations and transformations of a number of defined motemes. Through a transformational logic, the transition from ‘animic’ to ‘totemic’ rock art is observed. Totemic rock art reaches a peak during the final stages of the Late Mesolithic, and it is suggested that this can be interpreted as representing an increasing focus on human society towards the end of this era. The move from animism to totemism is explained as being part of the overall social development on the Scandinavian peninsula.

This book will be of interest to students of rock art generally and scholars working on the historical developments of prehistoric hunter-gatherers in northern Europe. It will also appeal to students and academics in the fields of art history and aesthetics and to those interested in the work of Lévi-Strauss.

By: Ingrid Fuglestvedt
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 884g
ISBN: 9781138090538
ISBN 10: 1138090530
Pages: 438
Publication Date: 19 December 2017
Audience: College/higher education , General/trade , Primary , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Ingrid Fuglestvedt is a senior lecturer in archaeology at the University of Oslo, Norway.

Reviews for Rock Art and the Wild Mind: Visual Imagery in Mesolithic Northern Europe

'Organised into 12 well-crafted chapters, the book is unlike many other studies of rock art in that it delves deep into the mindset of the artist and the community he or she would have served... The book's theoretical basis provides the reader with numerous discussion points, and will be of use to scholars researching prehistoric hunter-fishergatherer archaeology in northern Europe (as well as prehistoric rock art, of course).' George Nash, Current World Archaeology, 2018 The methodologies of research displayed in this book, both on theoretical and practical levels, are of tremendous inspiration for all the experts in the field; thanks to this research, there are now increased possibilities to find new 'meanings' for the art of past human groups, if investigated with the scrupulousness, deep attention and philological cure that Prof. Fuglestvedt demonstrated in her volume. Gianpiero Di Maida, Graduate School Human Development in Landscapes, 2019