A group of local residents recently had the privilege of examining late Stone Age rock art on a farm near Grahamstown.
The local branch of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) organised the outing with Albany Museum assistant curator Celeste Booth leading the way.
A group of local residents recently had the privilege of examining late Stone Age rock art on a farm near Grahamstown.
The local branch of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) organised the outing with Albany Museum assistant curator Celeste Booth leading the way.
The art had been protected from the elements by a small rocky overhang that probably provided a narrow shelter in years gone by.
The drawings skillfully represent a number of indigenous animals including eland and warthog as well as a variety of people from different eras and cultures.
Booth said it was difficult to accurately calculate the age of the artworks because there were no deposits of artifacts or bones found in the immediate vicinity, however an educated guess would place the oldest of the drawings in the late Stone Age about five thousand years ago.
Some of the more recent drawings appear to have been made around the time when the first European settlers arrived in the area.
The local San tribesmen painted brightly coloured figures who were clearly wearing European clothing. Booth pointed out some of the interesting aspects and made a point of explaining the value of conserving rock art as our heritage.
She said that all rock paintings and engravings done by indigenous people in South Africa are protected by the National Heritage Resources Act.
According to this Act no such artwork may be destroyed, damaged, altered, excavated or removed from its original site or exported without a permit from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) or other relevant authority.
Several farms in the Grahamstown area have Stone Age rock paintings but farmers are reluctant to reveal their whereabouts for fear of trespassing and vandalism.
