Introduction and Definition
Maritime contact rock art refers to depictions of maritime-related introduced subject matter in rock art most commonly linked to exploration, trade, and exchange during the last 500 years. In most circumstances it relates to the depiction of ships by local populations but also includes depictions of any material culture related to these maritime activities.
Key Issues/Current Debates/Future Directions/Examples
Research
Maritime contact rock art has been documented in many places around the world including, but not limited to, Australia and the Pacific, Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America. Most studies have highlighted the technical aspects of the vessels and/or attempted to interpret the time period, type, identity, and historic context of the vessel depicted (see, e.g., Pritchard 1987; Mott 1990; Burningham 1994, 2000; Langdon & Van de Moortel 1997; Roberts 2004; O’Connor & Arrow 2008; Wesley et al. 2012) while others have placed their...
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References
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May, S.K. (2014). Maritime Contact Rock Art. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_624
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