Across Bronze Age Sweden, carved footprints point to a ritual for turning social ties into stone

Examples of podomorphs interacting with the microtopography of the rock. Credit: Oxford Journal of Archaeology (2026). DOI: 10.1111/ojoa.7002 Etched into the ancient rocky outcrops of southern Scandinavia and large boulders left behind by retreating glaciers are footprints, also called podomorphic petroglyphs. Some are barefoot with every toe visible, while others carry the imprint of strapped sandals. A recent study argues that these human footprints created during the Scandinavian Bronze Age, roughly 3,700 to 2,500 years ago, were not mere art or decorative symbols because the petroglyphs weren't placed at random. They were deliberately arranged around water sources and shallow depressions...