In this article, we discuss Stone Age rock art as a source for reconstructing early means
of water transport used in the forest zone of northeastern Europe. Concentrations of Stone Age
petroglyphs are known in northwestern Russia, Sweden and Norway, all of which contain boat
images. However, identifying specific boat types used in reality on the basis of a morphological
analysis of rock art figures remains problematic. Sporadic images provide clues for interpretation,
and these suggest the use of frame boats. Stone and Bronze Age archaeological finds from the
forest zone of northeastern Europe also point to the use of frame boats. These include a series
of wooden paddles and a unique ceramic model of an alleged birch-bark canoe. The widespread
tradition of representing boat figures in rock art with elk-headed stem posts also has parallels in
the archaeological record of northeastern Europe. Presumably, sculpted elk-head boat stem posts
were used for festive activities. Although finds of logboats are very scarce and remains of frame
boats are completely absent, we conclude that highly diversified means of water transport were
used in northeastern Europe from the Mesolithic period onwards.