Rock Art Research

This article shows how recently discovered petroglyphs in the Forêt de Fontainebleau are closely related to late Bronze Age pictogram vases and more distantly related to Vinča ceramics from the Balkans. Many of the most complex motifs in the new corpus amalgamate smaller ones into the apparent equivalent of ideograms. In the process of exploring the relationships between such units and compounds, the article reveals possible links between a swastika, crosses with dots between their branches, grids containing dots, anthropomorphs who seem to be ploughing with ards, and an owl-like figure with a grid and framed cross on its belly. Finally, it explores evidence that the petroglyphs overlap the Massif de Fontainebleau’s ‘classic’ schematic rock art style, which represents the vast majority of the zone’s known sites and has often been described as Mesolithic, despite counter-indications.