Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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The rock paintings of the hunter-gatherers in the province of Norrland, and their localisation. The aim of this thesis is to find a couple of distinguishing features for the localisation of the rock paintings of the hunter-gatherers in Norrland. This will be done through studies of Swedish and international literature, about ancient rock-art and the belief system of the hunter-gatherers. I will make comparisons  with other groups of hunter-gatherers and try to find analogies. My belief is that there must be a large number of undetected rock paintings in Norrland. They are hard to find because of overgrowth by lichen and damages due to wethering. Theretoo I feel that there hasn´t been enough of structured surveys. I hope that my resulting short list of practical clues of where to find them will help: seek for them in the boreal forest area from 200 meters above the sea level to the present alpine tree line zone in close vicinity to neolithic winter dwellings in close vicinity to pitfall traps on vertical rock walls of cliffs or boulders in close vicinity to standing water/ alternatively in a hillside in the forest the rock faces to the south on imposing natural formations try to find them in cloudy, humid weather

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2014. / This thesis presents data collected during the 2012 and 2013 recording of painted sheep imagery from five painted rock shelters in the northern Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Through studying the micro- and macro-context of these paintings, I try to understand their presence in the rock art here. Paintings of sheep are believed to have been made by San hunter-gatherers and thought to be relatively old. Using multiple strands of evidence from the rock art, the excavated record, ethnographies, and drawing on human-animal theory, I explore when the sheep were painted, whose sheep were painted and for what reason.

A valuable part of the history and prehistory of New Zealand in the form of drawings, paintings and engravings, is present in many of the limestone areas of New Zealand. Although undated, the drawings give an indiction of the way of life and the culture of the artists. There are three kinds of rock art in New Zealand: drawings or paintings and engravings in rock shelters and engravings on portable rocks. The most common variety of rock art is the drawings. Concentrated recording has revealed sites throughtout New Zealand, but most commonly in North Otago and South Canterbury. The drawings and paintings from these areas will be delt with in this thesis, with only brief mention of engravings and portable art forms. Drawing is defined as the use of a pigment such as charcoal and haematite applied dry to a surface. The drawings are not only executed in monochrome, but often incorporate red, black, and white.

Bibliography: p. 206-228. / Understanding a widespread motif in San rock art - a human figure depicted in frontal perspective with distinctive bodily characteristics - is the aim of this study. A concentration of these figures in north eastern Zimbabwe was first described by researchers in the 1930s and subsequently, when one researcher, Elizabeth Goodall, described them as 'mythic women'. Markedly similar figures in the South African art have received little attention. On the basis of fieldwork in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, the south western Cape (South Africa) and Zimbabwe, and an extensive literature survey, a spectrum of these figures is described. In order to further understanding of the motif, existing interpretive methods and the traditions which inform them are examined, with a view to outlining a number of areas in need of attention. It is argued that analysis of rock art remains dependent on a range of dualistic notions which may be linked to retained structuralist ideas. It is suggested that the dominant model in rock art research, in which the rock art is seen as essentially shamanistic, perpetuates distinctions between mind and body, myth and ritual, and sacred and profane, while in its search for general truths concerning the rock art, and its central focus on iconography, the model retains traces of linguistic structuralism. It is proposed that the 'mythic woman' motif, with its gendered and sexual characteristics, is not well accounted for by reference to southern San ritual and religious practice alone. Drawing on contemporary theories concerning temporality and embodiment, it is argued that the motif is better understood in relation to recurrent themes of death and regeneration in San mythology and oral narratives, with shamanistic practice enacting related themes. The motif may be seen as representing San history in terms of culturally specific temporal schemes arising from San experience of the world. The 'ethnographic method', by means of which San accounts are used to illuminate features of the art, is reassessed and extended. Hermeneutic theories are drawn upon in order to address questions regarding the way in which ethnographies and art may be mutually illuminating, and to account for the inevitability of multiple interpretations arising from the situated process of reading or viewing. Prominent themes, images and devices in San myth and oral narrative are discussed in an attempt to move beyond a narrowly iconography-centred approach and in order to account for devices and stylistic features of San arts which are evident in both verbal and visual media. Implications of the research for investigating an archaeology of gender, and the writing of San history, are discussed.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. October 2015. / A call for a more systematic approach to site protection and management has long been made for rock art conservation in South Africa. This study heeds the call as it aims to develop a conservation model for rock art in South Africa from a management perspective. Site protection and management principles that have been successfully implemented in Australia and America have seldom been implemented in South Africa. Conservation researchers argue that it is relatively easy to identify theoretically the requirements of a management or conservation policy; however, developing a conservation model and policy that will successfully maximize the conservation opportunities is an abstract task. As such building a conservation model founded on abstract concepts on conservation would not lead to an improved conservation practice and would be unsuccessful. In world heritage systems there are, however, essential agreed upon principles on assessment, criteria, guidelines, standards, and implementation. Such systems therefore, underscore that the problem is perhaps not with theory but with conservation practice in South Africa. This study presents new and original research on rock art conservation interventions assessment on rock art. As a point of departure this study investigated the history of conservation practice in South Africa using a conservation assessment model developed by Kathleen Dardes (1998) for museums in America. The history on conservation practice has identified inconsistencies in the management of conservation treatments and approaches to interventions. Conservation interventions are still based on inductive, emergency salvage approaches with no thorough understanding of either site or environmental conditions in South Africa. There is little attention paid to indigenous sensitivities with conservation practices and there are no standard systems of monitoring and reporting. While far more data is required to provide definitive conservation strategies, this study proposes a three step conservation model for rock art in South Africa from a management perspective. This model focuses on initiating, planning and controlling conservation projects.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2016. / This dissertation examines the role of remote sensing on rock art survey and is motivated by two key objectives: to determine if remote sensing has any value to rock art survey, furthermore if remote sensing is successful to determine if these individual remote sensing components can contribute to a predictive (site locating) model for rock art survey. Previous research effectively applied remote sensing techniques to alternate environmental studies which could be replicated in such a study. The successful application of google earth imagery to rock art survey (Pugin 2012) demonstrated the potential for a more expansive automated procedure and this dissertation looks to build on that success. The key objectives were tested using three different research areas to determine remote sensing potential across different terrain. Owing to the nature of the study, the initial predictions were formulated using the MARA database – a database of known rock art sites in the surrounds of Matatiele, Eastern Cape – and were then applied to surrounding areas to expand this database further. Upon adding more sites to this database, the predictions were applied to Sehlabathebe National Park, Lesotho and then 31 rock art sites in the areas adjacent to Underberg. The findings of this research support the use of predictive models provided that the predictive model is formulated and tested using a substantial dataset. In conclusion, remote sensing is capable of contributing to rock art surveys and to the production of successful predictive models for rock art survey or alternate archaeological procedures focusing on specific environmental features. / LG2017

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1994.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate and examined the politics in the production of archaeological knowledge especially in rock art, at academic, heritage institutions and national and global level. It aims to trace and examine the development and movement of particular hypotheses or interpretations and their appropriateness in the study and management of rock art heritage in southern Africa.