Scenes of Human Control of Reindeer in the Alta Rock Art. An Event of Early Domestication in the far North?

Alta's rock art reveals a shift from scenes depicting human control over reindeer, possibly indicating early domestication practices around 5200–4200 cal BC, to a later phase (4200–3000 cal BC) where such depictions vanish. This suggests a transition from hierarchical, hunter-dominated societies to more egalitarian social structures, accompanied by a reevaluation of animistic beliefs. The study analyzes the differences between Phase 1 and Phase 2 rock art compositions, correlating the absence of control imagery with broader societal changes.

Fuglestvedt, I. (2020). Scenes of Human Control of Reindeer in the Alta Rock Art. An Event of Early Domestication in the far North? Current Swedish Archaeology, (28), 121–146. https://doi.org/10.37718/csa.2020.06