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

When new waves of Neolithic groups gradually introduced agriculture,
the old way of live slowly changed. Sedentary life began to dominate
and life became more formal and more (hierarchically) structured. The
cupule tradition was superimposed by a ringing tradition (PowerPoint
SLIDES 4), but basically the petroglyphs remained rather simple for a
long time. Cupules with one ring dominated during this first transition
phase and these symbols are found widespread as well.
Although the need to propitiate the spirit world continued to exist,
this urge ultimately became differently focussed. Initially, mobile
peoples were almost entirely psychologically attached to spiritualised
landscapes in which certain natural features were favoured because
these had an almost intangible unusualness that set them apart from
other sites. At those favoured places petroglyphs accumulated.
But these hallowed places often had qualities that were rather
difficult for sedentary peoples to identify and control. Sedentary
lifestyle increasingly acquired more tangible features and therefore it
gradually became more important to propitiate more recognisable
deities, spirits and gods (and perhaps also the ancestors), rather than
the landscape. Simultaneously the gap between the leaders of the
society and the common people became bigger and the leaders
increasingly needed privileged contact with their deities and gods and
above all symbols of power (Fig. 191) to maintain their privileged
position.
This complex of factors may have led to the construction of impressive
monuments, such as the megalithic structures like burial tombs (with
often their specific form of art and a different function altogether)
and stone circles that no doubt constituted powerful focal points in the
landscape with a strong centripetal pull. These megalithic monuments
more often emerged outside the area with accumulations of petroglyphs
which enforces the idea that these special monuments (like Newgrange
in Ireland) were innovations necessary to establish a new order from
new focal points. Simultaneously there developed an increasingly wider
gap between the landscape and culture and nowadays one is laughed at
when one states that the modern landscape has to be propitiated !
Landscapes are used and often discarded. Shame !
But also the existing rock art sites needed to be enhanced by
impressive symbols and possibly also for that reason complex cup-andrings
were executed, but importantly, this happened mainly at special
places on the ancient paths. Also the audience at these focal spots
changed and probably they only signified privileged access to real and
supernatural territories for a small group of initiates of the more
structured and hierarchical society. The urge to create special
petroglyphic places may also explain why important but “isolated” sites
like Mevagh and Ballochmyle and Carschenna originated. The isolation
enhanced the special status of the chiefs and priests.
M. van HOEK: 240
GEOGRAPHY