From landscape to mindscape: Valcamonica rock art as a dynamic entity of cultural expression

Rock art is a form of human-driven landscape change, with multiple levels of impact. However, the natural context (from the macro to the micro scale) has always played a fundamental role on the human behavioral patterns as emerged from the archaeological investigations. This contribution will focus on the interaction between the Valcamonica rock art and the surrounding landscape in a diachronic perspective, by investigating the iconographic syntax in relation to the morphology of the rock surfaces and considering the role of inspiration and imitation in the figurative choices of the human groups and individuals from proto-historic times to the present day.