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

• 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

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.