Three versions of a Bronze Age riddle using pictographic

symbols. The top example is from Namforsen, Sweden. The

middle example is from Engelstrup, Denmark, while the lower

one is from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada (Fell 1982).

All three show great similarities. In the Swedish example,

the Bronze Age artist has just engraved a representation of a

10-oared boat, with the crewmen shown as plain sticklike marks.

He takes up his gouge and hammers out a bent left arm on each

of two facing crewmen. Next he add what seems an utterly irrele-

vant detail, a stylistic horse suspended in midair above

the vessel's stern.

In the Danish example, another artist carves a stylized ship

into a boulder, with 20 rowers. He now adds two more men, one

at the bow and one suspended above the other rowers. Each of

these two figures is now given a bent arm. Next he adds a horse

in midair above the stern.

In the Canadian example, one of King Woden-lithi's artists

also has cut a ship engraving, some 15 ft. due east of the main sun

figure. He carves only 6 rowers. Then he adds a larger stick figure

at the bow, being careful to bend the forearm. Finally, he adds a

somewhat misshapen horse, suspended aver the stern.