Scandinavia is home to prolific and varied rock art images among which the ship motif is prominent. Because of this, the rock art of Scandinavia has often been interpreted in terms of social ritual, cosmology, and religion associated with the maritime sphere. This comprehensive review is based on the creation of a Scandinavia-wide GIS database for prehistoric rock art and re-examines theoretical approaches and interpretations, in particular with regard to the significance of the ship and its relationship to a maritime landscape

Discussion focuses on material agency as a means to understanding the role of rock art within society. Two main theories are developed. The first is that the sea was fundamental to the purpose and meaning of rock art, especially in the Bronze Age and, therefore, that sea-level/shoreline changes would have inspired a renegotiation of the relationship between the rock art sites and their intended purpose. The fundamental question posed is: would such changes to the landscape have affected the purpose and meaning of rock art for the communities that made and used these sites? Various theories from within and outside of archaeology are drawn on to examine environmental change and analyse the rock art, led to second theory: that the purpose of rock art might have been altered to have an effect on the disappearing sea. The general theory that rock art would have been affected by environmental change was discussed in tandem with existing interpretations of the meaning and purpose of rock art. Imbuing rock art with agency means that it could be intertwined in an active web of relations involving maritime landscapes, shoreline displacement and communities.

Though created in stone and fixed in time and place, rock art images have propagated belief systems that would have changed over time as they were re-carved, abandoned and used by different groups of inhabitants. In the thousands of years rock art was created, it is likely that shoreline displacement would have inspired a renegotiation of the purpose and meaning of the imagery situated alongside the Scandinavian seas. This journey through a prehistoric Scandinavian landscape will lead us into a world of ancient beliefs and traditions revolving around this extraordinary art form.

• Cover
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter summary
• Part I
  • Chapter 1: Rock art in prehistoric Scandinavia
    • Dating rock art and issues of chronology
    • Mesolithic art
    • Neolithic art
    • Bronze Age art
    • Early Iron Age art
    • Ships across different media
    • Bronze razors
    • Ship settings
    • Key interpretations: trends and themes
      • Cosmology and religion
      • Shamanism
      • Trade, connections and social organisation
  • Chapter 2: Rock art in a maritime landscape
    • Relocating the sea
    • Bronze Age environmental change
    • Bronze Age environmental perceptions
    • Rock art in a maritime landscape: key theories
      • Landscapes as sacred places
      • Landscapes embodied
      • Seascapes
• Part II
  • Chapter 3: Data collection and methodology
    • Methodology
    • Data structures and integration process
      • Fund og Fortidsminder (F/DK)
      • Askeladden (A/NO)
      • Fornsök (F/SE)
    • Dates
    • Motifs
    • Motif quantities
    • Motif categories
    • Site study areas
    • ScanGIS map data
      • Distance to present-day coastline
    • Summary
  • Chapter 4: Ships and water
    • Motif distributions
    • Motif occurrences
    • Motifs and water
      • Methodology
    • Scandinavia
      • Motif distributions in Scandinavia
      • Motif occurrences in Scandinavia
      • Motifs and water in Scandinavia
    • Uppland: central eastern Sweden
      • Environmental change and chronology in Uppland
      • Motif distributions in Uppland
      • Motif occurrences in Uppland
      • Motifs and water in Uppland
    • North Trøndelag and South Trøndelag: central Norway
      • Environmental change and chronology in North and South Trøndelag
      • Motif distributions in North and South Trøndelag
      • Motif occurrences in North and South Trøndelag
      • Motifs and water in North and South Trøndelag
    • Østfold and Bohuslän: southeast Norway/western Sweden
      • Environmental change and chronology in Østfold and Bohuslän
      • Motif distributions in Østfold and Bohuslän
      • Motif occurrences in Østfold and Bohuslän
      • Motifs and water in Østfold and Bohuslän
    • Hordaland and Rogaland: southwest Norway
      • Environmental change and chronology in Hordaland and Rogaland
      • Motif distributions in Hordaland and Rogaland
      • Motif occurrences in Hordaland and Rogaland
      • Motifs and water in Hordaland and Rogaland
    • Denmark and Skåne (detail of Simris): southern Scandinavia
      • Environmental change and chronology in Denmark and Skåne
      • Motif distributions in Denmark and Skåne
      • Motif occurrences in Denmark and Skåne
      • Motifs and water in Denmark and Skåne
    • Ships and water: data summary
      • Motif distributions
      • Motif occurrences
      • Motifs and water
• Part III
  • Chapter 5: Rock art, agency and environmental change
    • Perception, cognition and the importance of material culture
    • The agency of art
    • Rock art, agency and environmental change
    • Summary
• References