BREPOLS Series
Volume 2 of the IFRAO-Brepols series:
BREPOLS Series
Volume 2 of the IFRAO-Brepols series:
GLOSSARY
OF ROCK ART RESEARCH:
a multilingual dictionary
Edited by
Robert G. Bednarik, Mario Consens, Alfred Muzzolini, Jakov Sher,
Dario Seglie and Mila Simões de Abreu
This
is the first dictionary compiled specifically for rock art research.
It follows the publication of an English rock art glossary in the journal Rock
Art Research in November 2000. To be adopted by the International Federation
of Rock Art Organisations (IFRAO), it has been translated by some of the world’s
foremost scholars in the field into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
and Russian. In a discipline that has hitherto been without an agreed terminology,
even communication within a single language has been difficult. The proliferation
of idiosyncratic terminologies of often academically isolated researchers, many
of which have been used by only one scholar, has not only retarded progress
and the transference of knowledge, it has led to countless misunderstandings
and even personal feuds. The purpose of this dictionary is to create a single
terminological standard as well as a cross-lingual uniformity of usage. It focuses
particularly on scientific aspects, technical applications and epistemological
rigour. It does not set out to create a terminological straitjacket for the
discipline, but a common standard of reference, particularly in areas that have
in the past been susceptible to greatly differing interpretations.
This dictionary comprises seven sections in seven languages, each listing the
same terms alphabetically. It contains also a table interlinking all of these
languages, listing all terms explained. This translation table is organised
alphabetically according to the English terms. The volume is indispensable for
scientific translators, rock art scholars, archaeologists and others concerned
with aspects of pre-historic rock art, and is also intended for the guidance
of students and authors working in this field.