An article about Bronze Age deforestation of Britain contains a photo described as "Axe wielding: a Bronze Age rock painting from Tanum, Bohuslan, Sweden." The figures are fairly self-explanatory, human figures holding axes aloft accompanied by small mammals, likely dogs. Each human figure has two mid-body extensions. One from the front of the body curving upward that appears to represent a penis. One from the rear of the body, significantly longer than the front extension, that for all the world looks like a tail. Here is a link to the article: https://aeon.co/essays/who-chopped-down-britains-ancient-forests Assuming the Bronze Age humans inhabiting the land that is modern Sweden did not have tails, what are the images depicting?
Thank you.
I study archaeology in Sweden and have actually taken some rock art documentation and interpretation courses. The backward pointing extensions is almost always interpreted as a sword sheath. My teachers were Christian Horn and Johan Ling at the Gothenburg university.
You can read more about swedish rock art in this book for example:
Ling, J., & JSTOR. (2014). Elevated rock art : Towards a maritime understanding of Bronze Age rock art in northern Bohuslän, Sweden (Swedish Rock Art Research Series).