Astuvansalmi Rock Paintings

The Astuvansalmi rock paintings are located in Ristiina, Mikkeli, Southern Savonia, Finland at the shores of the lake Yövesi, which is a part of the large lake Saimaa [1]. The paintings are 7.7 to 11.8 metres above the water-level of lake Saimaa [1]. The lake level was much higher at the time the rock paintings were made [1]. There are about 70 paintings in the area [1]. The rock paintings were officially found by the Finnish archaeologist Pekka Sarvas in 1968, though locals knew of them before that [1]. The rock where the paintings are located looks like a human head, the form especially visible during wintertime when viewed from the ice of the lake [1]. The oldest paintings were made about 3000–2500 BC [1]. The Astuvansalmi rock paintings contain the following pictures: 18 to 20 moose, about as many human figures, tens of hands and animal tracks, 8 to 9 boats, and geometrical figures and pictures that are thought to show a fish and a dog [1].