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If it ain’t on a rock, it ain’t rock art

The Lynx – ideal apex to help restore the Caledonian forests

In addition to being a charismatic addition to the landscape in its own right, the lynx – as an apex predator that can help disturb deer and reduce their numbers – could play a major part in a wonderful regeneration of the forests of Scotland, enabling very significant increase in biodiversity. Whats more, it invariably keeps away from humans. On this page, we explore how the lynx’s nature as a total non-threat to humans was even the theme of a myth of the San (hunter gatherer) people of South Africa…

Take a look at the blurb and vid


How the Pig became the Land: Wild Boar as Ecological Landscape Feature Creature

Ground-disturbing rootling is a feature of the ecological landscape in many regions; the wild pig is a keystone, a landscape creature feature, or, in terms of the totemic metaphor I explore in my Keystone Creations series, a Dreamtime being that became part of the ecological landscape. On this page a look at how the Welsh myth of the wild pig Henwen encapsulates the way the pigs can enhance biodiversity.

Here’s the blurb and video


The Creation of the Eland : Cyclically Re-Wilding and Re-Civilizing Yourself

The eland is, like the goanna, an example of an intersection between nature (as an ecosystem engineer) and culture (as an important animal totem), with the latter – as it happens – able to work as a metaphor for the former. I explore on this page how the cultural associations of the eland are also connected to a process for both rewilding yourself (back to nature) and recivilising yourself (back to culture). Theres’ also a video below showing the rock art creation of the eland…

Read the blurb and see the vid



Herbivore Guild : Diversity creates Diversity

Continuing the overarching theme of cultural alignment with ecology, on this page I look at how the collection of animals in the Lascaux Hall of Bulls is the same as the guild of herbivores that, working together, form such a valuable collective for naturally engineering rewilded landscapes.

See the vid and check out my blurb


Spotted Goanna : Where keystone species and Dreamtime being intersect

This page explores the spotted goanna as ecosystem engineer and looks at how – conveniently, intriguingly, elegantly – this role is directly mirrored in aboriginal myth, showing how culture and ecology can align. There’s also a little video of me creating my own rock art yellow spotted goanna, making the goanna part of the rock as my way of affirming that this Dreamtime totem should remain part of the ecological landscape.

Check out the blurb and vid


Making the World-making Bison

On this page, I uncover the paleolithic cave painter’s myth of the bison from whose blood and fat all the other animals were painted into being. I explore the key Rock Art 4 Rewilding metaphor in this context – the bison creates the space for a host of other animals because it is an ecosystem engineer, a keystone species. There’s also a little video showing my own rock art re-enactment of the creation of the bison, and a longer video going into my theory that the Lascaux leaning man and wounded bison painting shows Gemini and Taurus.

You should check out the vid and blurb



Recent Posts

An Ode to Ochre and a visit to Roussillon

I recently paid a visit to the Provencal village of Roussillon, that extraordinary location where great ochre deposits are visible in the cliffs upon which the town is perched. During the trip I learnt that the village has a legend to explain these colours, the tale of Lady Surmonde. The legend has similarities to many … Continue reading An Ode to Ochre and a visit to Roussillon

The Lynx – ideal apex to help restore the Caledonian forests

“The lynx would contribute markedly to ecosystem functions by hunting and disturbing roe deer… It is a disgrace to UK wildlife conservation that the species is still absent.” Roy Dennis, Restoring the Wild. If you’re at all familiar with rewilding, you probably know about the importance of apex predators as keystone species and how trophic … Continue reading The Lynx – ideal apex to help restore the Caledonian forests

Deer rock art experiment with local clay pigment on limestone

This was a couple of years ago now. My first experiment in Earth Pigment Rock Art. I loved the experience of heading out into nature in my local area, finding some orange clay and then using it to paint a deer on piece of local limestone. It was like the re-enactment of some ancient myth … Continue reading Deer rock art experiment with local clay pigment on limestone

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