An unusual hunter in the Stone Age rock art of lake Kanozero.

Abstract

This article revolves around a scene found in the Stone Age rock art of lake Kanozero on the Kola Peninsula, Russia. Three human figures are pictured in close interaction; a pregnant woman, a person next to her with a long fluid line emerging from between the legs holding a spear, and a third person directing an elk headed staff towards them. A row of footprints leading up to the spearcarrier is a significant part of the scene. There is no doubt that the persons are connected and involved in something, but what is going on? In this article, previous understandings of the composition as picturing a man and woman as a married couple are questioned. An alternative interpretation is presented, based on the symbolic bond and antagonism between male big game hunting and female reproductive powers found among hunting communities, and of the inversion of these powers in the liminal world of ritual. The role of metaphorical expression, ethics and practices for grasping and communicating long term accumulated ecological and social knowledge in traditional knowledge systems is discussed along with the need for addressing gender issues and human-animal relations in hunters rock art as intertwined.