A timeline on stone
Valcamonica's rock art is an immense visual record of human history in Europe, beginning after the last glacier retreated around 15,000 years ago. The collection of images, which now numbers between 200,000 and 300,000, was carved into the glacier-polished sandstone on both sides of the valley. This massive catalog begins in the Epipaleolithic period (around the 8th millennium BC), with engravings of large animals like elk and deer, likely made by nomadic hunters.
The Neolithic period saw the introduction of agriculture, and the art shifted to include human figures, often in a prayer-like pose, and geometric shapes. During the Copper Age, beginning in the 3rd millennium BC, symbols for wheels, wagons and early metallurgy appear alongside celestial signs. The Bronze Age brought depictions of weapons, while the Iron Age (1st millennium BC) represents the most active period, accounting for 70-80% of all known engravings. These later images feature complex scenes of duels, heroes showing off weapons, and details of daily life like cabins and hunting. The tradition continued, less intensely, through the Roman and Medieval periods.