Archive for Africa

Reflecting (on) Petroglyphs: Two Cases

diaguita

Parque Diaguita

Two instances of special petroglyph manifestations in Namibia (Twyfelfontein Valley) and Peru (Virú Valley), having very limited visibility, will be discussed in this paper.
Dos casos de manifestaciones especiales de petroglifos en Namibia (Valle de Twyfelfontein) y Perú (Valle de Virú), que demuestran de tener una visibilidad muy limitada, serán discutidos en este documento.

by Maarten van Hoek


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The Felines of Foum Chenna, Morocco

Foum Chenna

Foum Chenna

Depictions of cats in rock all over the world art are frequently characterised by specific feline properties. The feline images at the petroglyph site of Foum Chenna in southern Morocco are much less idiosyncratic. Besides a general description of the rock art site of Foum Chenna, the current paper attempts at a re-evaluation of the image of the feline at Foum Chenna, simultaneously trying to fit the image into a chronology of Moroccan rock art.

by Maarten van Hoek


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Oukaimeden, a Moroccan rock art site

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Oukaimeden engraving

Here some slides and draft notes of a lecture I delivered in 2010, after visiting Oukaimeden in April 2007. I’m pleased to share pictures, but also some ideas: comments are welcome. Oukaimeden is a very important petroglyphic complex, showing Copper or Ancient Bronze  Age (III-beginnings of II mill. BC) engraved weapons, and also  interesting points of contact with similar European petroglpyhs, from the Iberian peninsula to the Alpine arc, Mt. Bego particularly. Last but not least, it is also a beautiful natural site...

by Andrea Arcà (Footsteps of Man – IIPP)

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Rock Paintings and engravings in Namibia

Twyfelfontein

The Brandberg massif is a large granite elevation in the north-west of Namib Desert; in this area more than 1000 painted rock shelters were found. Twyfelfontein site contains about 2500 rock engraving on 200 sandstone slabs.
Photo gallery.

by † Leonardo Gribaudo

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Hannibal was here

 

Anibal

At the beginning of the 1980’s some strange rock inscriptions were first found on Fuerteventura, later on Lanzarote as well. “Inscriptions” may be a misleading term in this context. They are only shallow markings scratched on to hard basalt rocks.

by Werner Pichler

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Discovering Southern African rock art

Farmer art

Eight years ago, two South African archaeology students were walking in the breathtaking Drakensberg Mountains. As the sun began to set after a hard day’s searching for ancient rock paintings, they made their way back to camp. Suddenly, a ferocious lightning storm struck. One of the students pointed to a rock shelter at the top of a steep hill to the west.

by Jamie Hampson MA (Oxon)

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Rock Art in Africa Symposium

AURA 2000

TRACCE no. 12 – by Jean-Loïc Le Quellec, Manuel Gutierrez


Third AURA Congress. Millennium: a fresh start.
Hosted by the Australian Rock Art Research Association
in Alice Springs, 10 – 14 July 2000.

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Why the Eland?

Female eland, Sevilla

TRACCE no. 12 – by Grant S. McCall


Why the Eland? An Analysis of the Role of Sexual Dimorphism in San Rock Art.
The eland is by far the most commonly depicted animal in Southern African art, and the most recognized by the modern viewer.

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Two enigmatic petroglyphs on Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura

TRACCE no. 12 – by Werner Pichler


Two enigmatic petroglyphs on Fuerteventura/Canary Islands.
As a result of an one years research project in 1993/94 the author was able to document about 780 panels of rock art exclusively on Fuerteventura, one of the eastern islands of the Canarian Archipelago.

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Sub-Saharan Rock Art

Airé Soroba

TRACCE no. 10 – by Séverine Marchi


In this short notice, we will consider rock art of the most characteristic sites of the western African area, located south of the Sahara, between Senegal and Nigeria. Read more

Following Tracks (Namibia)

Twyfelfontein Zebra

TRACCE no. 8 – by Grant S. McCall


Following Tracks (Namibia). In the country of Namibia, in southern Africa, one may find one of the most dense occurrences of rock art in the world. Read more