The earliest human artifacts found in Namibia so far are
stone-age tools dating back 200,000 years. They were found in gravel deposits
near Victoria falls and are thought to have been made by Homo erectus. The oldest rock paintings were found in the Apollo 11
Cave and were created around 25,000 years ago.
The
site of Twyfelfontein is located near a spring in the
north-central coast region of Namibia. The site contains numerous rock
engravings that are thought to have been made over a period of 2000 years by
the San people. The rock engravings show a huge diversity of animals including rhino, elephant, giraffe, oryx, ostrich,
flamingo, zebra, and more. The rock art at Twyfelfontein
was produced during dry season when people congregated near spring. This was a time with lots of ritualistic
activity. The carvings were important to the ritual and belief systems of the
hunter-gatherer tribes. The rock art was created by shamans as a means to enter
the natural or spirit world and record the shamans experience. The creatures
were deliberate symbols and held specific meanings that we do not know the full meaning of.
-Laura Spielman
No comments:
Post a Comment