ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the physical rock art panel, the surface with art, and how the art engages with the rock art figures. The recognition of 'panels' on rock art surlaces is as old as the discovery of rock art. Judging from the diversity of shapes and the content of global rock art, the cultural dimension in the choice of what is depicted was a dominating factor. The rock artists at Alta and Zalavruga, and the from all parts of northern Europe, do not use the techniques in their images and compositions. The methods give an accurate three-dimensional recording of the surface topography, emphasising the spatial interrelationship between the engravings and the surface on which they are located. Finally, and specific to northernmost Europe, the position of elk on some rock surfaces, as with that of bears, leads the chapter to suggest that it reflects, among other things, a prehistoric division of the universe.
