Reading the landscape: Using landscape analysis to reconstruct the formation of three rock art sites in the Circum-Caribbean

Rock art sites are the end result of constructive social and cultural processes. In this thesis, the social and cultural processes behind the formation of three petroglyph complexes, located in the Circum-Caribbean area, will be reconstructed and compared. The first complex is located at Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. The second and third complexes, Ometepe and Piedras Pintadas, are located in Nicaragua. The formative processes will be reconstructed on the basis of landscape analysis, used by the archaeologists of prehistoric north-western Europe. First of all, the concept of landscape will be discussed, followed by the archaeology of natural places, using the theory constructed by Bradley, Tilley and Scarre. Bradleys research yielded interesting questions which will be used, among other things, in answering the research question. The landscape analysis will focus on the stone material, landscape characteristics and spatial distribution of the three complexes, followed by an...Show moreRock art sites are the end result of constructive social and cultural processes. In this thesis, the social and cultural processes behind the formation of three petroglyph complexes, located in the Circum-Caribbean area, will be reconstructed and compared. The first complex is located at Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. The second and third complexes, Ometepe and Piedras Pintadas, are located in Nicaragua. The formative processes will be reconstructed on the basis of landscape analysis, used by the archaeologists of prehistoric north-western Europe. First of all, the concept of landscape will be discussed, followed by the archaeology of natural places, using the theory constructed by Bradley, Tilley and Scarre. Bradleys research yielded interesting questions which will be used, among other things, in answering the research question. The landscape analysis will focus on the stone material, landscape characteristics and spatial distribution of the three complexes, followed by an interpretation. The application of landscape analysis and landscape theory on rock art in the Circum-Caribbean will be evaluated in the discussion.Show less

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Reading the landscape: Using landscape analysis to reconstruct the formation of three rock art sites in the Circum-Caribbean