Hunting Stories in Scandinavian Rock Art: Aspects of ‘Tellability’ in the North Versus the South

Abstract

SummaryScandinavian petroglyphs have given rise to vivid interpretations, often related to Old Norse religion and Indo‐European mythology. However, we still do not know if, how or to what extent these images are really telling stories. In this paper, we shall analyse the ways in which Scandinavian northern and southern traditions (in Alta, Northern Norway and in Norrköping, Middle Sweden, respectively) depict hunting narratives. While the northern tradition may render several phases and procedural aspects of the hunt, the southern one tends to be more focused on the killing itself, or the confrontational aspects of the hunt.A preliminary observation is that the scenes differ in ways that reflect not only different hunting traditions, but also imply different foci of interest. Put in another way, they emphasize different aspects of the hunting activity itself, of what is relevant, worth telling, or ‘tellable’.

Narrative Aspects of Images of Spear Use in Scandinavian Rock Carvings

“…Here, we build on our previous attempts to analyse rock art from the perspectives of semiotics and narratology (Ranta et al, 2019(Ranta et al, , 2020Rédei et al, 2019Rédei et al, , 2020. In particular, this interpretative framework will be applied to a specific group of motifs in rock art, namely depictions of spear use.…”

“…The underlying assumption is that there was a cluster of Indo-European myths and rituals shared across a large part of Europe, which can be traced to various sources such as Greek mythology, north European folklore, and Bronze Age material culture (Kristiansen, 2010: 99). Here, we build on our previous attempts to analyse rock art from the perspectives of semiotics and narratology (Ranta et al, 2019, 2020; Rédei et al, 2019, 2020). In particular, this interpretative framework will be applied to a specific group of motifs in rock art, namely depictions of spear use.…”

“…Stories can be manifested in non-verbal media, including those without (obvious) temporal structure, e.g. static pictorial representations, including rock art (Ryan, 2011;Ranta et al, 2019Ranta et al, , 2020. Certainly, Genette's criterion for 'mini-narratives' would permit classifying certain static pictures as narratives if they imply a past and a future or, in a Husserlian sense, are representations of temporarily extended events in terms of retention and protention (anticipation) (see Lewis & Staehler, 2010: 26).…”

“…From a narratological perspective, one may conclude that only certain aspects of actual fighting and hunting were 'worth telling' or suitable for pictorial display (see Ranta et al, 2020). Furthermore, a sword hanging passively in its sheath does not represent an obvious activity, while an axe raised against an opponent's head indicates an imminent outcome.…”

A Narrative Turn: Human Agency in Rock Carvings at Nämforsen, Northern Sweden

“…In some cases, these images, mostly rock carvings or petroglyphs, show actions that call for an interpretation qua pictorial narratives (Gjerde 2010; Sjöstrand 2011; Helskog 2014; Fuglestvedt 2018; Ranta et al . 2020; Günther 2022). Hereby, images with a relatively high degree of complexity were created, which had the potential of reflecting multiple social and existential facets of life.…”