Traces in the Landscape 

In South-Troms and Northern Nordland there are many traces of old settlement. One such trace is the rock art created by the first people who lived here, after the retreat of the ice. This was hunters and trappers who lived a semi-nomadic life, in small family groups and in small local communities. We don’t know who they were, what they thought and what they called themselves. They were not Sami and not Norwegians by today’s definition, but the landscape tells us that they are part of our common history. 

Our region has several areas with rock art/stone carvings. The stories and motifs reflected on the rocks were also central to the early Sami hunting and trapping population. The bear is often depicted. In Sami culture, the bear is a sacred animal with special powers, and with a distinctive bond with humans. We find it again as a symbol on the old Sami drums, and in the Bear cult. It shows a continuity in how people over several thousand years have dealt with the bear – our closest relative. 

The landscape has many stories to tell – if you take the time to listen. Together with mountains and rocks, ancient bogs, trees and the eternal sea, the images on the rocks have surrounded generations in the land of our ancestors. They still do. 

The rock carvings in the exhibition are an artistic interpretation of rock art from Forselvsfeltet in Skjomen (c.5100-4200 BC) and Valle in Ballangen in Narvik municipality (c. 9200-8600 BC). The artist is Alvin Jensvold from Gratangen.