Rock Art and the Prehistory of Atlantic Europe: Signing the Land

Along the Atlantic seaboard, from Scotland to Spain, are numerous rock carvings made four to five thousand years ago, whose interpretation poses a major challenge to the archaeologist. Richard Bradleydiscusses the cultural settings of the rock carvings, the ways in which they can be interpreted in relation to ancient land use, the creation of ritual monuments and the burial of the dead. Integrating this fascinating yet little-known material into the mainstream of prehistoric studies,IRock Art and the Prehistory of Atlantic Europedemonstrates that these carvings played a fundamental role inthe organization of the prehistoric landscape.