Anthropomorphic Images at the Padjelanta Site, Northern Sweden: Rock Engravings in the Context of Sámi Myth and Ritual

The paper discusses three phases of scratched images from the Padjelanta site of Sámi rock art in Laponia, northern Sweden. Pre-dating the middle phase of Viking Age/Medieval period sailing boats is a set of stylised anthopomorphs. These early images resemble certain petroglyphs from Alta, goddess m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current Swedish Archaeology
Main Authors: Inga-Maria Mulk, Tim Bayliss-Smith
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Svenska Arkeologiska Samfundet 2001
Subjects:
Máttaráhkká
rock art
Laponia
shamanism
quarrying
soapstone
Archaeology
CC1-960
Alta
Padjelanta
Northern Sweden
sami
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.37718/CSA.2001.10
https://doaj.org/article/19919648b51245129911822b6f5968f6
Description
Summary:The paper discusses three phases of scratched images from the Padjelanta site of Sámi rock art in Laponia, northern Sweden. Pre-dating the middle phase of Viking Age/Medieval period sailing boats is a set of stylised anthopomorphs. These early images resemble certain petroglyphs from Alta, goddess motifs on Sami drums, and the Earth Mother figure in the Manrlajsmyths. Possible ritual contexts for the Padjelanta images are discussed, including autumn reindeer hunting, human burials, and smallscale quarrying for asbestos and soapstone. As a tentative hypothesis, a link between the early anthropomorphs and the Sami goddess Máttaráhkká is proposed.

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