User:Msrasnw/Draft Civilisation
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[1]Posted on 31 March 2008 22:24:45 by blam
Rock Art From 5,000 Years Ago (Finland) Helsinki Times ^ | 3-31-2008 | Fran Weaver
Posted on 31 March 2008 22:24:45 by blam
Rock art from 5,000 years ago
Rock art from 5,000 years ago
The Astuvansalmi rock paintings are located on a steep outcrop, resembling a human head, on the shore of lake Yövesi. The site may have been used for ceremonial purposes.
Rock paintings created during the Stone Age have been found at 127 sites around Finland. They mainly consist of brownish-red figures and markings painted onto steep granite walls, often overlooking waterways. There are scenes feature people, boats, elk, fish and mysterious part human figures. Their survival in an adverse climatic conditions is due to their protection by a naturally forming thin layer of silicon dioxide on the rock surface.
The “Comb Ceramic Culture” who lived in what is now Finland between 5000 BC and 2000 BC is credited with their production. And the paints used included a mix of iron oxide, blood, animal fat or egg, although traces of these organic materials are no longer detectable.
The first paintings to be recognised as Stone Age were reported in 1911 by a Jean Sibelius, whose eye was caught by strange patterns on a lakeside cliff near Hvitträsk, the home of his architect friend Eliel Saarinen.
More paintings were discovered in the 1960s on a rocky lakeshore just a few miles west of Hvitträsk at Juusjärvi. At first the local cottage owners thought the paintings were recent graffiti daubed on the rock by workmen, but they were soon realised to be several thousand years old. In spite of their age, the paintings on the cliffs of Juusjärvi still seem full of life. Two figures look as if they are dancing together cross-legged. A smaller character above them has a strange bird-like head. Below them a large fish is approaching a man who may have just fallen into the water; while to the right, a line of elk-like animals seem to be climbing up the cliff. The paintings also include the handprints of the artist – a touch that seems to reach out through time to anyone looking at the scene today.
Most of Finland’s rock paintings lie in the Saimaa Lake District. The best-known site, at Astuvansalmi, has been proposed for UNESCO’s world heritage list. Subjects include a human figure with antlers, and elk or reindeer marked with spots showing the location of the animals’ hearts, as if to aid hunters. The cliffs at Astuvansalmi have a profile that resembles a giant human face, and dainty amber pendants apparently carved into the shape of a head have been found by archaeologists beneath the cliffs.
Another well publicised and accessible site, in the Hossa Hiking Area, features freakish figures with triangular heads. But at most sites the authorities make no attempt to attract tourists, especially where paintings lie near private homes or hazardous cliffs. Taskinen herself prefers to visit the paintings’ scenic settings alone, and let her mind wander. Visitors are urged not to touch the paintings, to ensure that art-lovers from future generations will also be able to enjoy these unique works from long ago.
