Maarten van Hoek The Geography of Cup-and-Ring ... - StoneWatch

G stops at motif D. This proves that the outer rings are later than
motif D. At a later stage the radial grooves T1 and T2 were added,
both protruding beyond the outer ring. Notice that radial groove T1
avoids the larger ring-system which proves that T1 is later than the
big ring F, which fits into my theory that radial grooves represent the
last main feature in the Neolithic cup-and-ring tradition of Europe (Van
Hoek 1999). Later still, two more radial grooves, T3 and T4, were
added and it is striking that these are fainter and do not continue
outside the outer ring.
Perhaps by the end of the Neolithic (or possibly in the early Bronze
Age), three zoomorphic figures, H1, H2 and H3, and a half-circle, R,
were added, all touching the older motif. It is most remarkable that
the stag has its antler connected to the earlier cup-and-three-rings,
using its radial groove. This may have been an expression of the belief
that the branches of the antlers symbolised the rays of the sun and
that the stag, or some other animal, carried the sun across the skies
(Evers 1995: 58). This “liaison” may be regarded as a fine instance of
“re-sanctification”.
To summarise, every addition of a cup-and-ring symbol onto existing
cup-and-ring sites actually may represent an instance of “resanctification”,
as every addition is an expression of the same cultural
tradition. To distinguish between this “normal” practice within the cupand-ring
tradition and the suggested special meaning behind the term
“re-sanctification”, I rather would like to define “re-sanctification” as
the premeditated petroglyphic alteration of an existing (cup-andring)
motif by a completely different culture, so that it merges in
the symbolism of that new culture. In this way the term “resanctification”
creates a distinct chronological and cultural gap
between the cup-and-ring tradition and subsequent rock art traditions
that developed in the cup-and-ring regions of Europe.
A number of typical “liaisons” between cup-and-ring art and other art
forms emerged, such as the “disc-men” of Bohuslän in Sweden and the
combination of animals with cup-and-rings in Galicia. But first the
possible relation between the quarrying of cup-and-ring art and the
subsequent “re-sanctification” of that quarried site will be discussed
in Chapter 2.2.1.
M. van HOEK: 169 GEOGRAPHY