Post by jonsdigs on Nov 25, 2006 11:45:29 GMT -5
African cave art depicts peace
CNN.com
POSTED: 0903 GMT (1703 HKT), November 22, 2006
A rock painting made by the San people in the Drakensbreg mountains eastern South Africa.
CLANWILLIAM, South Africa (Reuters) -- In the caves of South Africa's Cederberg mountains, an ancient people left a legacy of rock art that could teach modern man a valuable lesson or two about living in harmony with nature.
That is the view of John Parkington, professor of archaeology at the University of Cape Town, who has spent 40 years in the Cederberg and neighboring areas researching rock paintings and other artifacts left by the pre-colonial hunter-gatherers who once roamed southern Africa.
The Bushmen, or San, left tens of thousands of paintings in ochre and clay, most depicting humans or three or four key animal species, and some showing men with the heads of animals.
Parkington launched the Living Landscape Project in the Cederberg town of Clanwilliam, about 250 km (155 miles) north of Cape Town, five years ago to increase understanding of the region's archaeological assets and use them to attract tourists.
The project has trained local people to work as guides to the rock art sites. Some are members of South Africa's mixed-race, or colored, population who trace their ancestry back to the hunter-gatherers.
Parkington believes the pictures -- some painted as recently as 200 years ago, others up to 10,000 years old -- reflect the way the hunter-gatherers saw nature and their place in it, and include elements of shamanism.
Full Article
CNN.com
POSTED: 0903 GMT (1703 HKT), November 22, 2006
A rock painting made by the San people in the Drakensbreg mountains eastern South Africa.
CLANWILLIAM, South Africa (Reuters) -- In the caves of South Africa's Cederberg mountains, an ancient people left a legacy of rock art that could teach modern man a valuable lesson or two about living in harmony with nature.
That is the view of John Parkington, professor of archaeology at the University of Cape Town, who has spent 40 years in the Cederberg and neighboring areas researching rock paintings and other artifacts left by the pre-colonial hunter-gatherers who once roamed southern Africa.
The Bushmen, or San, left tens of thousands of paintings in ochre and clay, most depicting humans or three or four key animal species, and some showing men with the heads of animals.
Parkington launched the Living Landscape Project in the Cederberg town of Clanwilliam, about 250 km (155 miles) north of Cape Town, five years ago to increase understanding of the region's archaeological assets and use them to attract tourists.
The project has trained local people to work as guides to the rock art sites. Some are members of South Africa's mixed-race, or colored, population who trace their ancestry back to the hunter-gatherers.
Parkington believes the pictures -- some painted as recently as 200 years ago, others up to 10,000 years old -- reflect the way the hunter-gatherers saw nature and their place in it, and include elements of shamanism.
Full Article
