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An investigation into the painted sheep imagery of the northern Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg, Kwazulu-Natal, Southern AfricaLander, Faye E. 11 August 2014 (has links)
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.
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Painting postures: body symbolism in San rock art of the North Eastern Cape, South AfricaGeorge, Leanne 25 April 2013 (has links)
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Science
Johannesburg, January 2013 / Certain postures and gestures of the human body recur in fine-line San rock art.
Students of southern African rock art are introduced to a number of classic postures
and features of human figures during the trance dance. The movement and posture
of the human body is significant during the ritual trance dance, yet the reasons for
painting certain postures over and over again have not been discussed often. This
dissertation examines the symbolic meaning behind painting certain recurring
postures in the Maclear and Barkly East Districts of the north Eastern Cape
Province. This thesis examines sets of similar pointing and gesturing postures of the
human body in rock art, and also examines the symbolic role of recurring postures
in both the ritual trance dance and rock art. I argue that the painters used these
similar sets of images (and others) in rock art to actively maintain and negotiate the
flow of supernatural potency from the spirit world into the body of the shaman to
utilise in this world and that the images were not static depictions of fragments of
the trance dance, and did not only represent the process, but were viewed as actively
participating in this process.
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The changer of ways: rock art and frontier ideologies on the Strandberg, Northern Cape, South AfricaSkinner, Andrew January 2017 (has links)
University of the Witwatersrand
Submitted in fulfilment of the degree of Master of Science (Archaeology) by research.
Rock Art Research Institute; School of Geography, Archaeology, and Environmental Studies. Johannesburg, 2017. / Southern Africa’s Orange River has been a frontier-zone for centuries, acting as a socially
formative and often volatile expression of its surrounds. Communities of the region have
competed, compounded, and admixed for as long as competing influences have obliged it,
contributing over hundreds of years to a background milieu of generally-coherent beliefs and
practices; ‘frontier ideologies’ that dealt in the expression and mediation of identity, and the
configuration of responses to tumultuous social and ecological conditions. The common core of
these ideologies allowed frontier societies to respond to one another in familiar terms, even if
other channels of meaning were inaccessible. One of the contributors to these ideologies were
the |Xam, most well-known for their contributions to the shamanistic approach to
interpretation of rock art in the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains of South Africa. While analogy
has allowed them to speak on behalf of the artists of this disparate tradition, they are products
of the area surrounding the Orange River during the nineteenth century. Accordingly, they
demonstrate the fundamental features of a frontier society; they evaluate contact with other
communities relative to themselves, and formulate appropriate expressions of identity to enact
in response. The application of their ethnography is somewhat burdened by their application
to the rock art of the Maloti-Drakensberg, however, which casts their motivations in specific,
ritualised terms. This thesis considers a very different body of rock art to the one
conventionally interpreted by the shamanistic approach, but located in a historical and
regional context intimately linked to the |Xam informants; specifically, the rock art of the
Strandberg hills, in the Northern Cape province, South Africa. This body of art is one
dominated by horses, distributed as a structure that spans much of the site, and manufactured
with visibility in mind. This thesis finds that these images were products of the frontier
ideologies that inhabited the region, and the adaptive practices that emerge from them.
Accordingly, the art is characterised as a record of inhabitation, an expression of identity, and
the mediation of contact with a changing landscape, in keeping with the behaviours that had
marked interactions between communities in the region for long before many of the images
were placed on the Strandberg. / MT 2017
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A conservation model for rock art in South Africa: a management perspectiveKatsetse, Elijah Dumisani 10 1900 (has links)
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.
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Locating the rock art of the Maloti-Drakensberg: identifying areas of higher likelihood using remote sensingPugin, James Malcolm January 2016 (has links)
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
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I paint therefore I am? : an exploration of contemporary Bushmen art in South Africa and its development potential.Barnabas, Shanade. January 2009 (has links)
In this research the contemporary art of the !Xun community in Platfontein, Kimberley is used as a case study to ascertain whether contemporary Bushman art, contrary to the mid-nineteenth century perception that it was child-like, and the present-day sense that it belongs to the past, is based on recognisable aesthetic principles. A functional-semiotic approach is applied, which takes the signs in painting, separates and categorises them in order to locate a painting’s iconic, indexical and symbolic signs. This analysis is done to assess whether or not contemporary Bushman art can be validated as a valuable area of contemporary art and whether creative individuals among the !Xun community may be viewed not as relics of a past people but as legitimate contemporary artists. This argument is revealed through post-structuralist analysis of the individual artworks of two particular !Xun artists.
Interviews with !Xun artists uncovered the ways in which they represent themselves in their art, not only for themselves but for the viewers of that art. The constituents of the power relations between art dealers and the artists are also considered. The problematics of ‘authentic Bushman art’ is discussed and ‘authenticity’ in this regard is shown to be a contestable issue. The research then moves to an examination of the impact of modernity on the Bushmen and their art. Mindful of the economic exploitation of these artists in the present day, recommendations are made concerning forms of development which include teaching the artists about art markets, in order to empower them to engage effectively with dealers. Further recommendations are made toward the creation of a code of conduct which would apply to indigenous arts and the relationships between artists, dealers and consumers of the art. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.
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Division of the earth : gender, symbolism and the archaeology of the southern SanSolomon, Anne Catherine January 1989 (has links)
Bibliography: pages 180-207. / Gender studies in various disciplines, particularly anthropology, have shown that the opposition of masculine : feminine is commonly used to structure other cultural contrasts, and that the representation of this opposition in cultural products is in turn implicated in the cultural construction of gender content. This bidirectional problematic, supplementing the more limited critique of gender 'bias' and masculinist models, is the focus of this research into archaeological materials. Rock art is the principal archaeological 'trace' analysed. Because the impetus to gender studies comes principally from the critical standpoint of feminism, analyses of gender and gendering in archaeological materials are evaluated in the context of gender issues in the present day, in terms of archaeological 'reconstructions' as legitimising the existing gender order. Theoretical influences include feminism, hermeneutics, marxism, (post)- structuralism, semiotics, and discourse theory. Aspects of language, and, particularly, the oral narratives of various San groups - the /Xam, G /wi, !Kung, Nharo, and others - are examined in order to establish the way in which masculinity and femininity are/have been conceptualised and differentiated by San peoples. This is followed by an assessment of the manner of and extent to which the masculine: feminine opposition informs narrative content and structure. The analysis of language texts permits an approach to the representation of this opposition in non-language cultural texts (such as visual art, space). Particular constructions of masculinity and femininity, and a number of gendered contrasts (pertaining to form, orientation, time, number, quality) are identified. Gender symbolism is linked to the themes of rain and fertility/ continuity, and analysed in political terms, according to the feminist materialist contention that, in non-class societies, gender opposition is potentially the impetus to social change. Gender(ing) is more fundamental to San cultural texts than has been, recognised, being present in a range of beliefs which are linked by their gender symbolism. I utilise a 'fertility hypothesis', derived from a reading of the ethnographies, in order to explain various elements of Southern African rock art, Well-preserved (thus relatively recent) paintings, principally from sites in the Drakensberg and south-western Cape, were selected. Features interpreted via this hypothesis include: images of humans, the motif of the thin red line fringed with white dots, 'elephants in boxes', therianthropic figures, and 'androgynous' figures, including the eland. The spatial organisation of the art, the significance of non-realistic perspectives, and the problem of the numerical male dominance of the art are also interpreted from this standpoint. The analysis permits critique, of the theorisation of gender and ideology in rock art studies, and of the biophysical determinism implicit in current rock art studies, in which attempts are made to explain many features of the art by reference to trance states, altered consciousness and neurophysiological constitution. Rain, rather than trance, is proposed as the central element of San ritual/religious practices. Finally, the treatment of (or failure to consider) gender(ing) in the archaeological record is situated in relatio.n to contemporary gender ideologies, in the contexts of archaeological theory and practice.
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The rock art of the Anysberg Nature Reserve, Western Cape : a sense of place and rainmakingRust, Renee 03 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MA)-- Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Anysberg Nature Reserve is a block of mountainous terrain comprising 44 515 ha in the Little
Karoo of the Western Cape. There are approximately 50 known rock art sites within its boundaries.
During a two-year site survey details of the rock art images were recorded on forms and, where
possible, by tracing and photography. The sites tend to be small with fewer than 50 images per site
and are located in narrow kloofs, mostly on the Anysberg. Few sites have occupation deposits. The
main interest has been the interpretation of the images. Human figures, predominantly male, are
most commonly represented. Other images are animals, such as eland and elephants, antelope,
felines and therianthropes, as well as non-representational marks. There are clear resemblances in
content and style to the rock art in the Hex River Valley, the Cederberg and the Western Cape
generally. The art can be linked to shamanistic experiences in altered states of consciousness. A
number of depictions can be interpreted as part of rainmaking rituals.
KEYWORDS: Rock art, shamanism, rainmaking. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Anysberg Natuur Reservaat, van 44 515 ha, is geleë in die Klein Karoo in die Westelike
Provinsie. Daar is ongeveer 50 rotskuns vindplase binne die grense van die Reservaat. Navorsing
oor 'n periode van twee jaar is onderneem en die inhoud en detail van die rotskuns tekeninge is
gedokumenteer. Vorms met dié inligting is vir elke vindplaas uitgereik en waar moontlik is
tekeninge nagetrek en gefotografeer. Die vindplase is klein met meestal minder as 50 tekeninge. Die
rotskuns is gevind in diep klowe, meestal geleë op die Anysberg. Min vindplase het argeologiese
oorblysels wat okkupasie impliseer. Die hoofdoel van die studie is interpretasie van die rotskuns.
Menslike figure is hoofsaaklik manlik terwyl ander figure soos die eland, kleiner boksoorte,
oliefant, jakkals en katagtige diersoorte en halfmens figure, asook nie-realistiese merke,
verteenwoordigend is van die rotskuns. Daar is tekeninge wat ooreenstem met dié van die Hex
Rivier Vallei, die Cederberg en ander dele van die Westelike Provinsie. Die rotskuns in die
Anysberg is 'n uitbeelding van shamanistiese transendentale ondervindings. Van hierdie tekeninge
kan ook geïnterpreteer word as simbolies van rituele reënmakery.
SLEUTEL WOORDE: Rotskuns, shamanisme, reënmaak-rituele.
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Images of a changing frontier worldview in Eastern Cape art from Bushman rock art to 1875Cosser, Marijke January 1992 (has links)
A discussion of the concept of worldview shows that how an artist conceives the world in his images is governed by his worldview - an amalgam of the worldview of the group of which he is a part modified by his own ideas, beliefs, attitudes, perceptions and upbringing. The author proposes that studying an artist's work can reveal his, and hence his group's, worldview and thus the attitudes prevalent when the work was produced. A brief historical sketch of the Eastern Cape to 1834 introduces the various settlers in the area. Though no known examples of Black, Boer or Khoi pictorial art are extant, both the Bushmen and the British left such records. A short analysis of rock art shows how the worldview of the Bushman is inherent in their images which reflect man's world as seen with the "inner" eye of the spirit. In white settler art, the author submits that spatial relationships changed in response to a growing confidence as the "savage" land was "civilised" and that the position, pose and size of figures - and the inclusion or exclusion of certain groups - reflect socio-political changes. The two foremost nineteenth-century Eastern Cape artists, Thomas Baines and Frederick I'Ons, succeeded in capturing the atmosphere of Frontier life but are shown to interpret their surroundings through the rose-tinted spectacles of British Romanticism. They also reveal individuality in approach - Baines preferring expansive views while I'Ons's landscapes tend to be "closed-in", strictly following the coulisse scheme of Picturesque painting. Perhaps, the author postulates, such differences result from the very different environments, i.e. Norfolk and London, in which the two grew up. I'Ons is shown typically to use generalised landscapes as backdrops for his foreground figures, while comparing Baines's scenes with modern photographs shows that he adjusted the spacial elements of the topography as well as the temporal sequence of events to suit aesthetic considerations. Lithographed reports of his work contain even further adjustments. The author concludes that the use of Africana art as historical records must be treated with great caution.
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Driekopseiland and the 'rain's magic power': history and landscape in a new interpretation of a Northern Cape rock engraving.Morris, David Roger Neacalbánn McIntyre January 2002 (has links)
The rock engraving site of Driekopseiland, west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape is distinctively situated on glaciated basement rock in the bed of the Riet River, and has a wealth of over 3500 engravings, preponderantly geometric images. Most other sites in the region have greater proportions of, or are dominated by, animal imagery. In early interpretations, it was often considered that ethnicity was the principal factor in this variabilty. From the 1960s the focus shifted more to establishing a quantative definition of the site, and an emperical understanding of it within the emerging cultural and environmental history of the region.
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