ABSTRACT
Classification—the ordering of collected data in a fashion intended to facilitate analysis—is a basic component of all scientific research, including archaeology generally and rock art research specifically. For rock art research, classification has emphasized the concept of art style (Francis 2001). Meyer Shapiro’s (1953: 287) definition of this term is the most widely cited in rock art research, at least in North America (e.g., Hedges 1982; Heizer and Baumhoff 1962; Schaafsma 1985):
By style is meant the constant form—and sometimes the constant elements, qualities and expression—in the art of an individual or a group . . . . For the archaeologist, style is exemplified in motive or pattern which helps him to localize and date the work and to establish connections between groups of works or between cultures: style here is a symptomatic trait, like the non-aesthetic features of an artifact. (Shapiro 1953: 287)
