Rock art is mankind's oldest artistic expression. The first creation of rock carvings (petroglyphs) and rock paintings (pictographs) by Homo sapiens represented on multiple counts a quantum leap in mental performance.

In Rock Art and its Legacy in Myth and Art Christoph Baumer tells the story of these remarkable creations of early human imagination in Eurasia, Arabia and the Sahara. Petroglyphs not only reflect societal and economic adaptations to climate changes but also encapsulate the worldviews, myths and rituals that prevailed for tens of thousands of years, and even down to the present. In a final chapter the artist Therese Weber describes the work of contemporary artists from different cultures who engage with rock art and introduces her own work which is inspired by her exploration of petroglyphs. Vividly illustrated throughout with 340 full colour images and 10 maps, this book is a celebration of the legacy of petroglyphs as a means of expression and of recording events and coded messages, as well as a source of inspiration for modern-day artists.

Autorentext

Christoph Baumer is a leading explorer and historian of Central Asia, Tibet and the Caucasus and the author of many well-received books in the fields of history, religion, archaeology and travel. These include, among others, The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity (2006), Traces in the Desert: Journeys of Discovery across Central Asia (2008), China's Holy Mountain: An Illustrated Journey into the Heart of Buddhism (2011) and the seminal History of Central Asia in four volumes (2012-2018), all published by I.B.Tauris.

Dr Baumer is President of the Society for the Exploration of EurAsia, Senior Research Fellow at the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences, and a member of the Explorers' Club, New York, the Royal Asiatic Society, the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, London. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sir Percy Sykes Medal, awarded to him by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs in 2015. Therese Weber is one of the most important protagonists of Paper Art. She weaves photography, drawing, object and performative actions into an innovative visual language. Expeditions to Central and Southeast Asia have shaped her artistic research focus over the past thirty years. Professor emerita Weber has been awarded art prizes in Germany and Japan.

Inhalt

I.Introduction
II.Frame of research, scope, methods and context
1.The conceptual grid: Climate, economy and beliefs
2.Making and dating of petroglyphs
3.Documenting petroglyphs
4.Threats and protection
III.The interpretation of petroglyphs
IV.Beyond petroglyphs
1.Rock art in ancient handicrafts and tattooing
2.The reception of rock art in modern and contemporary art
V.Rock art by major regions
1Central Asia (Mongolia, Minusinsk Basin, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan)
2Himalaya and Karakoram (Ladakh, Gilgit)
3Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Armenia)
4Europe (Karelia, Scandinavia, Italian Alps)
5Arabia (Saudi Arabia, Jordan)
6Sahara
VI.Conclusions
Appendices
Endnotes
Bibliography
Indices
Photo credits
Acknowledgements