Many 21st century Indigenous groups are descended from peoples who decorated the walls of caves, cliffs, and rocky outcroppings with impressive collections of rock art. These ancient peoples used drawings, engravings, and illustrations for the purposes of intergenerational communication, as they wanted to make sure the memories of their beliefs and experiences would be preserved indefinitely.
In a new research project, a rock art expert from Poland looked more closely at the work of modern Indigenous artists from Central Asia (Siberia and Kazakhstan) and Canada, to discover how much they have been influenced by ancient artistic traditions.
Ancient Themes by Modern Hands
According to archaeologist Andrzej Rozwadowski from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland, rock art explores themes that should resonate with Indigenous groups still today. The purpose of his research was to find out how frequently Indigenous artists incorporate such themes into their work and to what extent they did so intentionally, as a way to help modern peoples reclaim their deeply historical cultural identities.
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