Visual narratives and the depiction of whaling in north European rock art
The case of the White Sea
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19372857 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Liliana Janik (0000-0003-2131-4693) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 166 |
| Pages | 51-63 |
| Publication date | 2022-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Les Nouvelles de l archéologie (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0242-7702 • E-ISSN: 2425-1941 |
| Publisher | OpenEdition (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.4000/nda.13517 |
| OpenAlex | W4285325786 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 13 |
The rock art petroglyps of the White Sea represent possibly the earliest depictions of whaling in the world and allow us to understand the 6,000-years-old relationship between whales and human communities. This paper will argue that the complexity of this relationship is multifaceted and socially underpinned, and goes beyond simple killing of the whale. A number of strands in the interpretation of prehistoric images are explored: traditional indigenous knowledge; ethnographic and historical evidence; visual clues and archaeological interpretation of rock art. Hunting for whales required input from a number of individuals who did not deliver the killing blow, but without whom the whale could not be killed and fully appropriated. The whale itself can be seen as a visual localiser of community cohesion, the focus for community members and their practices (Janik 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Archaeology · Art · Depiction · Environmental ethics · Ethnography · Indigenous · Literature · Narrative · Prehistory · Rock art · Sociology · Visual arts · Whale · Whaling · Anthropology · History · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Marine and environmental studies · Marine animal studies overview · Philosophy · Ecology
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |