Rock Solid: Rock Art Analysis and Documenting at Aguas Buenas (AD 400 - 1600), Nicaragua

In the field season of May 2011, progress was made in documenting the petroglyphs found at Aguas Buenas, Nicaragua. This dataset serves as a backdrop onto which problems of rock art analysis and rock art documentation are placed. For the rock art analysis, several approaches are considered. First, the semiotic approach is looked at, through the use of theories constructed by Panofsky, Saussure and Pierce. Then, a contrasting way of looking at rock art is described, that also considers the landscape that these images are placed in. Both approaches have their merits and their weaknesses in application to the Aguas Buenas dataset. In the second half, documentation methods and techniques for petroglyphs are subjected to critical evaluation with the purpose of creating a method, that is easy, cost efficient and still provides a high quality. Photography has proven to fulfill these requirements, and instructions are given as to provide a handhold for (starting) rock art researchers to...Show moreIn the field season of May 2011, progress was made in documenting the petroglyphs found at Aguas Buenas, Nicaragua. This dataset serves as a backdrop onto which problems of rock art analysis and rock art documentation are placed. For the rock art analysis, several approaches are considered. First, the semiotic approach is looked at, through the use of theories constructed by Panofsky, Saussure and Pierce. Then, a contrasting way of looking at rock art is described, that also considers the landscape that these images are placed in. Both approaches have their merits and their weaknesses in application to the Aguas Buenas dataset. In the second half, documentation methods and techniques for petroglyphs are subjected to critical evaluation with the purpose of creating a method, that is easy, cost efficient and still provides a high quality. Photography has proven to fulfill these requirements, and instructions are given as to provide a handhold for (starting) rock art researchers to take accurate photographs of petroglyphs. Lastly, the database is explained and provided, and a comparison is made with other petroglyph datasets.Show less

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Rock Solid: Rock Art Analysis and Documenting at Aguas Buenas (AD 400 - 1600), Nicaragua