Tracing carvers on the rocks

Swedish Bronze Age rock art (1700–500 BC) constitutes one of the world’s richest prehistoric legacies.

Rock Art has been used as evidence to discuss ideas about ideology, religion, long distance trade, warfare, landscapes, and social organization. However, very little focus has been paid to the rock art carvers themselves. Currently, the knowledge about carving techniques is limited.

This means, we lack information that could help us to forward theories about the social roles of carvers in Bronze Age society.

To tackle this challenge the SHFA will collaborate with Vitlycke Museum, Centre for Digital Humanities (GU) and Department of Earth Sciences (GU).

The partners have reached important milestones with digitization, 3D technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and chronological observations on rock art that allow an in-depth investigation of Bronze Age carvers.

This project will drive digitalization of rock art documentation, rock art panels, and granite surfaces to provide data to train AI algorithms to recognize motifs, styles, superimpositions, and carved vs. uncarved features.

This work will provide new fundamental insights into rock art chronologies, the long-term use of panels, and different carvings techniques.

With the work in this interdisciplinary project, new interpretations and theories about rock art carvers, their knowledge, and their social roles can be put forward.