Rock Art Ethnography Analysis

Rock art was a popular among hunter gathers, however it can be interpreted in many alternative ways. It is well known that rock art can be associated with a combination of beliefs, rituals and experiences. Throughout the first article by J. David Lewis-William (2012) focus on the religious aspects of rock art known as shamanism. In this text the author uses a system of ethnography to analyze the different interpretation of rock art (Lewis-William, 2012, p.22). The idea of animism, mythology, analogy and shamanism were discussed during this investigation (Lewis-William, 2012). The foundation of his research suggests that all communities that create rock art, place a cultural meaning behind the drawing and they can be unravelled (Lewis-William,
2012, p.30). Throughout this article the idea of altered states of consciousness is stressed. Alternated states of mind can produce geometric visual imagery such as dots, grids, zigzags and curves, the individuals believed that these images are used to elaborate and remember the vision of the shamanism (Lewis-William, 2012, p.19-21). Yet, the anthropologist expressed that it is impossible to state shamanism is not the only interpretation of rock art, in order to discover the true meaning the rock art must be understood individually (Lewis-William, 2012,p.30). Expanding on this idea the second article focuses on the social dynamics of rock art, which suggest that rock art is not only just for medicine but to show power, express memories and respect individuals. John L Creese, (2011) investigates the aesthetics of the Algonquian rock art and how it relates to the environment. Aesthetic is used to describe the relationship between what we believe and develop in this world.
Through the course of this paper, the researcher explains rock art over the idea of ontology and animism (Creese,2011,p.3-4) The core foundation of this investigation is the concept of Culture, which plays important role in understanding why particular people do certain action and activities. In this text the research investigated many different pieces of rock art and discovered that the placement of these drawings were associated with a memory (Creese, 2011). Whenever a location became a site for burial or giving the Algonquians they would create images on rock to remember the event that had taken place (Creese, 2011, p.13). In many cases archaeologist found rock art that describes the physical environments, implying that the Algonquian used drawing to describe a journey they have taken or to tell a story about what they experienced throughout their life (Creese, 2011,p.17-18). This article defiantly associates with the belief that there is a relationship spiritual and social aspect in the terms of rock art. These two articles both build on the idea that rock art is an essential part of culture between the aboriginal people. (word
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