In this book, as well as in its predecessor, I have attempted to present some of the very wide variety of information which can be deduced from prehistoric rock art and also some of the pitfalls which arise when one indulges in careless speculation (or relies on erroneous data) instead of recognising the limitations of what can sensibly and reliably be read in these markings.

Today we can ‘read’ the depictions on Greek vases because we can read the names sometimes inscribed there, and we know Greek mythology very well from the surviving Classical literature, but imagine if that literature did not exist, or was indecipherable – how many of those fantastic stories could we possibly work out from the imagery? Where Ice Age cave art is concerned, Leroi-Gourhan and others often illustrated the extreme difficulties of working out its meaning by using the analogy of a Martian visiting a Christian church – how much of Christian belief could be deduced from its layout and its iconography?

Similarly, Bagley (2008) has stated: