'ENIGMATIC' QUADRUPEDS IN SOUTHERN AFRICAN PETROGLYPH ART
Maarten van Hoek April 2005| This paper focuses on a specific phenomenon in southern African petroglyph art featuring quadrupeds with an enigmatic line (or groove) from the body, especially the nose. Concerning this investigation we are facing a number of problems. Although many petroglyph regions in southern Africa have been intensively inventoried (Scherz 1970; 1974; 1986; Fock {& Fock} 1979; 1984; 1989), it proves that studies that interpret these petroglyphs are scarce or absent.
This 'void' may be explained by the 'higher status' of southern African rock paintings (frequently involving complex, colourful scenes and adorning impressive rock walls). Moreover, rock paintings more often show a high degree of inter-image and inter-rock surface coherency that, together with the available ethnography, makes the imagery 'easier to read'. In southern Africa, petroglyphs allegedly do not attain the same high level of coherency (see however Ouzman 2001: 249) and if several petroglyphs appear on the same panel, their relationship is often obscure. Furthermore, contrary to petroglyphs, San rock paintings often feature lines that connect several images thus creating a 'more easily' recognisable and interpretable ensemble (Lewis-Williams 1987: 240; Lewis-Williams & Dowson 1990: Fig. 1; Loubser & Laurens 1994: 105-6; Fig. 5; Dowson 1998: Fig. 5.3; Lewis-Williams, Blundell, Challis & Hampson 2000: Fig. 1b and 2b). Because of the 'higher status' and the richer informative content and context, rock paintings attract more attention in southern African rock art studies (see however Lewis-Williams 1988; Dowson 1992; Ouzman 2001). Additionally, without criticising their valuable work, authors (for instance Dowson 1989: 84; Lewis-Williams & Dowson 1990: 5; Lewis-Williams, Blundell, Challis & Hampson 2000: 123) often explicitly exclude petroglyphs in their interpretations, thus enhancing the gap between the two rock art forms. This elimination inhibits the establishment of a correlation between petroglyphs and the interpretations derived from studies of rock paintings. A final issue is that, although there is an enormous amount of informed knowledge available describing the San world and worldview, there hardly exist ethnographies explaining lines in San imagery (Lewis-Williams, Blundell, Challis & Hampson 2000: 129). Although several papers describe and explain the ubiquitous 'thin red line fringed with microdots' in painted art (Lewis-Williams 1981; Lewis-Williams & Dowson 1990: 5; Ouzman 1995a: 12; Lewis-Williams, Blundell, Challis & Hampson 2000), literature and/or ethnographies explaining the 'nose-lines' in San petroglyph art do not seem to exist. Therefore, one has to depend on analogies and related ethnographies, often derived from painted art, to access the possible meaning of such lines in petroglyph art. Notwithstanding these problems, I will attempt to review and interpret the phenomenon of enigmatic lines and grooves from quadrupeds, focussing on the line from the nose. Internal lines are excluded from this survey, as will petroglyphs that are difficult to read because of being intermingled with or superimposed by or upon other images. Because southern Africa has thousands of petroglyph sites, it proved to be useful to make a selection. However, no site-names will be given to protect these often highly vulnerable rock art sites. Therefore, the sites that will be discussed have been arbitrarily assigned a number, sometimes including other sites that are too close to be numbered separately. ENIGMATICS - AN INTRODUCTION An 'enigmatic' can be defined as a rock art feature that cannot immediately (or ever) be explained by cultural, psychological or natural rationales, provided either by informed knowledge, formal methods or (ethnographic) analogies. It must be emphasised that the word 'enigmatic' is a subjective term as it only demonstrates that a specific image or element is enigmatic to me, a western observer. The palaeoartist no doubt will have understood the metaphorical content of the image that he/she had created. Despite the fact that the phenomena described in this paper apparently are idiosyncrasies in the repertoire of each rock art site and, indeed, of the whole study area, they show a surprisingly wide distribution. This is remarkable as, usually, San groups do not travel over vast areas. However, taphonomic logic warns us that the map indicating the location of the sites (Figure 1) may not be regarded as a distribution map as it is unlikely to represent the true spread of the phenomena described here. Nor are the examples presented in this survey likely to reflect the correct statistical occurrence. Yet, it is striking how enormous the distances between sites are. Sites 3 and 11 for instance, featuring a rare 'eland-arrow-sun' configuration, are 350 km apart, while the petroglyphs depicting a 'nose-to-chest-line' at Sites 1 and 14 are 1500 km distant. There may be an explanation for this widespread geographical occurrence. Lewis-Williams (1995: 5) notably argues that 'idiosyncratic images and regional differences are embedded in a matrix of uniformity that suggests some sub-continental cognitive commonalities'. This might suggest that the wide distribution of the 'nose-line' also reflects a certain 'Pan-southern African' cognitive tradition. In general, natural and cultural external appendages may be distinguished, although it has been argued that the very idea of a division between nature and culture is a Western conceit (Ingold 2002). Easily interpretable are the many 'natural' appendages apparently depicting tails, legs, feet, digits, horns, antlers, ears, tusks, trunks, penises and manes. Also included are fluids that leave the body like milk, blood, mucus and spit, and, very rarely, signs apparently depicting non-tangible natural phenomena like sound. For example, lines from certain zoomorphic petroglyphs at Toro Muerto, Peru, are said to graphically represent the sounds that these animals produce, although I prefer to suggest that many of these lines are related to rain and fertility cults (Van Hoek 2003c: 165). In this category I will discuss petroglyphs with extra body parts and hybrid figures. The second group includes all appendages that are apparently culture-related, such as leaches, tethering ropes, collars, collar-appendages, traps, lassos, arrows and spears. Also psychological lines (lines expressing a special link between, for instance, humans and animals), power lines and specific lines resulting from hallucinations will be regarded as 'cultural' lines as they envisage the result of human perception and imagination. In this category 'hunting' scenes and the enigmatic 'nose-line' will be considered. |
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Figure 1.
Map of the study area. Numbers refer to Sites described in the text.
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