REINDEER HERD MIGRATION PORTRAYED IN NORWEGIAN ROCK ART:

Migrating reindeer closeup, Gamnes, Norway. Photograph Jan Magne Gjerde, Tromsø Museum - The University Museum.

A report about a rock art site in Norway caught my attention recently. It is a petroglyph of a herd of reindeer. Now there is nothing unusual about a bundh of reindeer in petroglyphs in Scandinavia, this is a common theme, but they are usually portrayed with a number of other subjects as well. This panel shows a number of reindeer with a few moose as well. The unique thing about them is that they are almost all facing the same way as if the herd is on the move.

Migrating reindeer panel, Gamnes, Norway. Photograph Erik Kjellman, Tromsø Museum - The University Museum. 

Central portion of the panel enlarged. Photograph Erik Kjellman, Tromsø Museum - The University Museum. 

“Six to seven thousand years ago, the road system in Norway was essentially non-existent. That meant Stone Age residents mainly used waterways as they moved from place to place, especially on the hunt.

One area called Gamnes, located between the outlet of a river and the mouth of a fjord that opens onto the Barents Sea, is particularly rich with rock art. There are petroglyphs of reindeer and moose, in herds and alone, with and without young animals.” (Kvittingen 2016)

“In general, animals depicted in rock carvings are shown moving in all different directions. But in Gamnes, most of the reindeer have been drawn with their muzzles pointed in the same way. ‘The reindeer are following the fjord inland. This may mean that the artist was trying to depict a migration route,’ says Anja Roth Niemi, who is project manager for archaeological excavations for the University Museum in Tromsø, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway.” (Kvittingen 2016)

The map shows an estimate of where the sea level was when the petroglyphs were carved about 7,000 years ago. Under this scenario, the petroglyphs were right at sea level and were easily visible to those who paddled past. Image by Erik Kjellman, Tromsø Museum - The University Museum. The red dot at waterline shows the position of the petroglyph panel.

“These rock carvings are the only ones of their kind from the Stone Age in East Finnmark. The drawings were found last summer, and probably date from 5200-4200 BC. So far, scientists have tallied 48 figures, some of them incomplete, but they expect even more will become apparent when the lichen that covers the rock is removed.” (Kvittingen 2016)

Swimming reindeer crossing a river in Siberia. Internet photograph, public domain.

”The selection of subjects is not that varied, which is unusual. Petroglyphs from the same period in Alta, also in northern Norway, depict boats, bear, fish and hunting scenes. Here there are only reindeer and moose. Why would Stone Age people draw only these animals here?” (Kvittingen 2016)

One possibility is that the images represent a group of reindeer that have just emerged from the water. Reindeer are accomplished swimmers who cross bodies of water routinely. I would suggest that since this location is essentially surrounded on three sides by water it is likely that the reindeer shown all facing the same way are indeed migrating, but that they have just left the water and are heading inland. BTW – moose are good swimmers too.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original report at the site listed below.

REFERENCE:

Kvittingen, Ida, translated by Nancy Bazilchuk, 2016, Stone Age artists used rock art as a billboard, 16 April 2016, https://sciencenorway.no/. Accessed online 5 July 2023.