Animals are among the most recurrent subjects in global rock art traditions, with some of the earliest known representations dating back to the Upper Palaeolithic. Their centrality reflects the deep and multifaceted relationship between humans and the animal world, from which communities obtained food, labour, traction, and, over time, a range of secondary products essential to subsistence. This relationship was not merely economic: animals also held significant ideological and symbolic roles, serving as mediators of reality, markers of identity, or protagonists of widely disseminated mythic narratives shared across cultural spheres.
Their depictions further mirror the ecological diversity of the landscapes in which rock art was produced, revealing how the same species—or, conversely, different species—could acquire comparable symbolic meanings in distinct environmental and cultural settings. The study of animal imagery in rock art therefore offers a valuable lens through which to explore human–animal dynamics at economic, ideological, social, and environmental levels.
Abstract submissions are invited for all chronological phases, from the earliest prehistory to the most recent traditions, and may address themes such as:
Proposals for presentations must be submitted by March 9, 2026, along with the Abstracts, by completing this form.
POSTER proposals must be received by March 9, 2026, by completing this form
Conference Curators:
Stefania Casini – Scientific Director, CCSP
Angelo Fossati – Università Cattolica S.C. di Milano
Dario Sigari – Università degli Studi di Milano
Francesca Roncoroni – Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Milano, CCSP member
Cinzia Bettineschi – Pegaso University, CCSP member
Scientific Committee
Stefania Casini – Scientific Director, CCSP
Angelo Fossati – Università Cattolica S.C. di Milano
Dario Sigari – Università degli Studi di Milano
Francesca Roncoroni – Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Milano, CCSP member
Cinzia Bettineschi – Pegaso University, CCSP member
James D. Keyser – Oregon Archaeological Society, Portland, USA
Heidrun M.V. Stebergløkken – Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Jo McDonald – The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
Faysal Lemjidi – FLSH- Université Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco
Mila Simões de Abreu – Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal
The Valcamonica Symposium will be held at:
Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici
Via Guglielmo Marconi 7
25044, Capo di Ponte – Brescia
Visits are planned to the National Park of Rock Engravings in Naquane (Capo di Ponte, Brescia) and to the Municipal Archaeological Park of Luine.