theoldstone: The Rock Art of Alta are a series of over 6000 carvings located in northern Norway dati
theoldstone: The Rock Art of Alta are a series of over 6000 carvings located in northern Norway dating as far back as 5200 BC. The carvings are especially unique because they share similarities with other carvings from Northwestern Russia, indicating either an interaction with – or development parallel to – the cultures that spanned Europe’s extreme North.The variety of images depict a culture of hunter-gatherers that were able to herd and hunt reindeer, build boats, fish, and practice shamanistic rituals involving bear worship. In fact, because of the aforementioned similarity to Russian rock art, as well as Sami culture of Northern Europe, there is good evidence to suggest there existed a kind of bear cult. Some researchers have even speculated that bears maybe have been connected to the afterlife in some way.In 1985 the rock carvings we placed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, and one of the more concentrated areas of rock carvings was turned into an open-air museum. If anyone is interested in learning more about the carvings, pictures and interpretations can be found at the Alta Rock Art website! -- source link