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

� CHAPTER 1.4 �
THE ALPS, THE BIG BARRIER
� INTRODUCTION �
It is quite understandable that the major cup-and-ring regions on the
Atlantic seaboard received most attention when it came to the study of
distribution patterns of this abstract art form (Bradley 1997; Costa &
Novoa 1993; Steinbring & Lanteigne 1991: Van Hoek 1997a): only a few
simple cup-and-rings had been reported incidentally in the Alps. Due to
this relative scarcity of cup-and-rings in the Alps, this large area,
which abounds in iconic art, received little or no attention in this
respect and consequently the patterning of alpine cup-and-ring art
sites remained more obscure for quite a while.
However, the discovery of a major cup-and-ring complex at Carschenna,
in the central part of the Alpine region in 1965, completely overturned
the view that the cup-and-ring tradition was solely a phenomenon of
the Atlantic seaboard. Since then more sites bearing cupules with
(multiple) rings came to light and a careful comparison of the Alpine
distribution patterns with the Atlantic situation is now possible.
An extra problem is that this large area comprises several countries
and although several excellent regional inventories have been
published, these do not cover the whole of the mountain range and
moreover often lack statistical information. Therefore, a more or less
complete picture could only be constructed from several, sometimes
incomplete sources. Having pieced together these bits of information,
combined with on-site surveys by the author and the help of many
other people, a still usable picture emerged.
A major characteristic of the Alpine area is that these mountains have
always been a major barrier in Europe, not only concerning the climate,
weather and culture, but especially regarding the traffic through this
mountainous area. Traversing this barrier was and still is a major task
and especially in prehistoric days, when (paved) roads did not yet exist,
travelling through the mountains will have been enormously difficult,
especially in bad weather conditions. It will therefore be no surprise
that all major prehistoric routes ran by way of the most accessible
valleys and that the lowest passes were favoured.
It is therefore often seen that in mountain areas rock art
concentrates in valleys which offer major through routes, like the
Mustang area of the Himalayas (Phole 1999, 28). In Chapter 1.4.2 I
will discuss one of the Alpine routes in detail, but first I shall discuss
the general distribution of cup-and-ring sites in the Alpine region; an
area which, surprisingly, also can claim to have the biggest
concentration of cup-and-ring art in the whole of Europe: Carschenna.
M. van HOEK: 87
GEOGRAPHY