Representation and meaning in rock art: the case of Algonquian rock images

Abstract

Over the past decade, discussions on ontology, animism and semiotics have generated numerous avenues of research on the meanings of rock images. In a context marked by the increasing recognition of Indigenous knowledges, a number of archaeologists have questioned representationalism and the idea that rock art has a fixed meaning in the past. In this paper, we discuss these new approaches with reference to the rock art of the Algonquian-speaking peoples of Central and Eastern Canada. We show how, for many Algonquian groups, rock art signified and continues to signify their experiences and practices in a continually emergent world. As such, we recognize that meaning within Algonquian relational ontologies is fluid without compromising the material-semiotic representations and intentions of the original creators. To illustrate this point, we examine the layers of significance associated with the rock art of the Canadian Shield and discuss a petroglyph site from the Canadian Maritimes.

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