This contribution will focus on two aspects that characterize the rock art of Valcamonica and that, if decod-ed, could permit hypotheses on some of the reasons that underlie the iconographic choices recognizable today on the rocks: 1) the presence of apparently incomplete representations, which fi nd their completeness in the structural elements of the context. In some cases, which will be exemplifi ed, fractures and morphology of the rocks are in fact fundamental components of the fi gures as much as the carved areas. The hypothesis here presented is that at the base of the profound relationship between some Camunian fi gures and the natu-ral support we can fi nd (among others) the following motivations: a) religious, perhaps with a shamanic component; b) psychological. In particular with reference to the phenomena of apophenia and pareidolia, which are sensory illusions that lead to the recognition of connec-tions, patterns or images in response to external random stimuli, like for example the cracks and forms imprinted by the glacier on the rocks; b) symmetry. Following the studies of the decoration of ceramic vessels, various types of Camunian representation characterized by a high degree of compositional symmetry (with particular attention to praying and big-handed fi gures) will be analysed, in order to provide a key to understanding the cognitive and cultural dynamics behind these types of incisions.

Forme naturali, mappe cognitive e schemi culturali per ricostruire la storia dell’arte rupestre di Valcamonica: esempi e ipotesi interpretative

BETTINESCHI, CINZIA
2013-01-01

Abstract

This contribution will focus on two aspects that characterize the rock art of Valcamonica and that, if decod-ed, could permit hypotheses on some of the reasons that underlie the iconographic choices recognizable today on the rocks: 1) the presence of apparently incomplete representations, which fi nd their completeness in the structural elements of the context. In some cases, which will be exemplifi ed, fractures and morphology of the rocks are in fact fundamental components of the fi gures as much as the carved areas. The hypothesis here presented is that at the base of the profound relationship between some Camunian fi gures and the natu-ral support we can fi nd (among others) the following motivations: a) religious, perhaps with a shamanic component; b) psychological. In particular with reference to the phenomena of apophenia and pareidolia, which are sensory illusions that lead to the recognition of connec-tions, patterns or images in response to external random stimuli, like for example the cracks and forms imprinted by the glacier on the rocks; b) symmetry. Following the studies of the decoration of ceramic vessels, various types of Camunian representation characterized by a high degree of compositional symmetry (with particular attention to praying and big-handed fi gures) will be analysed, in order to provide a key to understanding the cognitive and cultural dynamics behind these types of incisions.
2013
Art as a Suorce of History
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10278/5020353
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