In their paper titled ‘Bronze Age Rock Art In Northern Europe: Contexts and Interpretations’, Joakim Goldhahn and John Ling stated, “When working with rock art in Northern Europe, it is important to remember shore displacement and land uplift. It is however, difficult to grasp the fact that the ice sheet originally covered the whole of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and that some areas, like the ones in the Northern Baltic sea, were subjected to greater pressure of the ice sheet and therefore a more rapid rebound and shore displacement than others. In short, some areas with rock art have had less shore displacement than others.” Shoreline dating is based on the elevation of the land above the sea level and extended study and statistical analysis …show more content…
Because there are several thousand rock carvings within a limited geographic area that reveal a striking pattern of similarities and variations, it is possible to come to the conclusion that these patterns are not coincidental. The only possible explanation must be that the rock carvings were made on rocks and bedrocks close to the shore. As the land rose, rocks lower in the landscape and closer to the sea were used. Each style could have a difference in elevation of only a few meters, as is the case in the Alta Rock Art sites in northern Norway. Scandinavian rock art is generally separated into two genres: Arctic rock art and also a Bronze Age tradition of rock art. Arctic Rock Art is mostly found in Sweden and Norway. The art is dominated by representational images rendering animals. A limited range of species is depicted but both terrestrial and marine mammals are represented in the carvings. An example of these is the Vingen carvings in Western Norway. Bronze Age Tradition rock art, or commonly called ‘Farmers Rock Art’ is found mostly in Denmark. It is estimated to be at around 2500-3500 years before present. The art includes all of the above-mentioned representational images and also footprints, horses and