The statue-menhirs of the Valcamonica-Valtellina group: an update

The new National Museum of Prehistory in Capo di Ponte (BS) (MUPRE) displays many engraved boulders and steles found in Valcamonica in the last 50 years. The analysis of this new iconographic evidence resulted in supplementary results; however, the research also confirmed the overall picture of the chronology (Copper Age until the early Bronze Age), the succession of styles (style III A1, A2 and A3) and relationships between the symbolic groups (sun, weapons, ornaments, and fringed cloaks) as outlined in our previous research. With regard to the Valtellina monuments (the majority of them areon display in the Antiquarium Tellinum at Palazzo Besta, Teglio (SO)), in the last 15 years new monuments have been brought to light; the local heritage has thus been enhanced in addition to expanding the iconographic repertoire. The comparison with the figures from Valcamonica, in particular those considered female, has revealed iconographic and chronologic differences. The characteristics of the Valtellina steles can be considered as a form of expression stressing particular aspects of cultural identity within the same artistic language and ideological system. Over the last few years, the interpretational research of these monuments has been expanded, especially regarding the analysis of animal figures and their arrangement on the engraved surfaces, identifying dominant social groups within the local social structure in relation to the sites in question.