Every Step Tells a Story: Deciphering Ancient Artistry in Namibia’s Rock Engravings

In the era known as the Later Stone Age in present-day Namibia, artisans carefully crafted their rock carvings, ensuring such precision that today’s Indigenous experts can ascertain not only the type of animal depicted but also its approximate age and gender.

These illuminating insights come from a recent study by Andreas Pastoors of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, and his team, shared on September 13 in the PLOS ONE journal.

Rock carvings illustrating both animal paths and human steps can be found across many ancient cultures globally. Namibia, in particular, boasts a rich tapestry of hunter-gatherer rock carvings from the Later Stone Age, showcasing numerous meticulously chiseled representations of humans and creatures.

Interestingly, despite their prevalence, these engravings have often been clubbed with geometric patterns in research, leading to their limited exploration.

For their research, the team collaborated with native tracking specialists from the Kalahari desert, focusing on the rock art found in the Doro! Nawas Mountains of Western Namibia.

These experts could discern not just the species, gender, and age, but even which leg made the imprint in over 90% of the 513 carvings inspected. Interestingly, they identified a broader variety of animals from the imprints than from the actual animal carvings.

The data also showed that artists of the era had an inclination for specific species, favoring depictions of mature animals over young ones and more often illustrating male over female prints.

These recent discoveries highlight certain trends possibly influenced by the cultural preferences of the time, although the deeper significance remains a mystery.

The team believes that collaboration with contemporary Indigenous experts might offer more understanding. However, they also recognize that the exact interpretation and context might still remain ambiguous.

In conclusion, the authors remark on the overlooked wealth of Stone Age artistry on Namibia’s rocky landscapes. Only recently, with the combined efforts of German archaeologists and Indigenous experts from the Nyae Nyae Conservancy in Tsumkwe, Namibia, have these engravings been thoroughly examined.

They’ve unveiled that not only is there a broader spectrum of animals depicted via tracks than in standard animal images, but there’s also a nuanced cultural influence in the way different species are portrayed.

Source: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289560

Image Credit: Andreas Pastoors, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)