Vandalism, Graffiti or 'just' rock art? The case of a recent engraving in the Côa Valley rock art complex in Portugal.
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: A vandalism/graffiti/engraving episode occurred recently in a Coa Valley rock art panel in which a hunter from the region engraved a motif (a defecating horse)superimposing two previously existing prehistoric engravings (one from the
Upper Palaeolithic, the other from the Neolithic). We shall argue that the contemporary horse aims to question and
satirize the value attributed by archaeologists to the prehistoric motifs inscribed by UNESCO in the World
Heritage List. We will discuss and to some degree challenge the predominant point of view regarding the need to erase all graffiti, the value of (‘very recent’) contemporary motifs and ultimately how rock art researchers understand not only their discipline of study but also the very concept of rock art aesthetic appreciation. While this may be a highly controversial issue, we intend to question a dogmatic stance in which rock art sites are seen as static manifestations of a dead past, incapable of shaping and establishing dynamic live connections with the present and subsequently the future. We believe this to be a thought provoking case study when considering whether contemporary engraved or painted (graffiti) motifs can be regarded as possessing the significant qualities researchers usually bestow upon older motifs catalogued as rock art, and the
feelings of different interest groups on the overall value of rock art heritage.
Author: António Pedro Batarda Fernandes
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W71679655