Explorations Through Space and Time: Rock Art in Alberta

Rock Art in Alberta has received much interest from the public and scholars alike since

the 1950s, and over the years, it has been sketched, traced, photographed, analyzed

and classified into several separate rock art traditions. Although there is commonality

amongst these traditions, they can be identified by method of manufacture, subject

matter, and stylistic and symbolic representation. Furthermore, each rock art tradition

pertains to a specific geographic and temporal space. Despite ongoing discoveries by

archaeologists, including those at Writing-on-Stone, much remains to be understood

about rock art in Alberta. Recent efforts have focused on relative dating, and while this

has more rigorously allowed the establishment of unforeseen antiquity for several rock

art traditions, the social and cultural context for its creation remains largely unknown.

Through comparison of the motifs and compositions of several Rock Art sites in Alberta,

a review of previous interpretations, and an exploration of archaeological and

ethnohistoric record of the recent past, we aim to provide additional context for this echo

of the past.