Dating of rock art and the effect of human activity on vegetation: The complementary use of archaeological and scientific methods

One of the main aims of Scandinavian rock art research in recent years has been to identify the culture or society responsible for the imagery. This is of mutual importance, as studies of material culture can shed light on the rock art, while the iconography can be used to understand the contemporary material remains. A major challenge however, has been to determine the exact age of the images, as there are no direct dating materials. In order to overcome this challenge archaeological excavations and palynological analyses have been carried out at Vingen in Western Norway, one of Scandinavia's largest rock art areas. The archaeological and palynological data achieved, as well as loss-on-ignition are independent means for the dating of human activity. Since these methods provided similar results, an indirect connection to the rock art production activity may be inferred. Dates from archaeological contexts indicate a peak of activity between 6900 and 6300 cal. BP, with a potential start 7350 cal. BP and a culmination 6100 cal. BP. Palynological data from three different types of basins have documented forest disturbance in the same time period. Local vegetation reconstructions using the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm has proved useful to identify anthropogenic-induced land cover changes in the Mesolithic period and a marked reforestation at the transition to the Neolithic period. The applied methods have helped to considerably improve our understanding of past activity and the environment, and demonstrates the potential of archaeological excavations and palynological studies for dating of rock art.