Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Rock paintings'

Archaeological sites in the New World are the fragile and non-renewable remains of cultures which flourished for thousands of years prior to European contact and displacement. Sites which escape the effects of erosion and development often fall victim to vandalism. Cultural resources, including rock art and other archaeological sites, are protected by state and federal laws which prohibit the removal or disturbance of the sites, whether from development or from vandalism. Vandalism is frequently seen as a problem for law enforcement rather than a problem for cultural resource management. Management plans which include cultural resource protection provisions and guidelines often focus on threats to cultural resources from development, and omit planning which targets vandalism. The rock art sites of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area ("Scenic Area") have been affected by developments such as The Dalles Dam and by the vandalism. In this study, the nature and degree of vandalism to the rock art sites in the Scenic Area is considered in the context of public awareness of, and access to, these sites. Rock art sites which are easily located and which have been the focus of public awareness are hypothesized to be the most severely vandalized. To test this hypothesis, fifteen of the 44 rock art sites in the Scenic Area were selected for study, and were assessed for kind and degree of vandalism, and means and ease of access. The results of analysis yielded two statistically significant associations of variables which support the hypothesis: an association between vandalism and public awareness of sites, and an association between vandalism and the primary means of access. The analysis suggests that public awareness is one of the most important issues which land managers must address when designing cultural resource protection plans.

Most researchers who study rock image sites tend to be interested in the meaning of images, even though they could obtain more empirical information about these images and their physical location. Furthermore, very little of the work done in the past on rock image sites has been systematic. In this thesis I address the dearth of detailed information on the images and their context. This thesis presents a thorough examination of the images of the twenty-seven pictograph sites in the Lake of the Woods, in the Canadian Shield. These pictograph sites were selected because they exhibit traits evident in rock image studies in other parts of the world.
This study is based on data collected during three months of fieldwork conducted in 2001. Images were found on cliff faces and inside caves. New images and new sites were found and identified.
Here, as elsewhere, the choice of theoretical approach influences the fieldwork, analysis, and search for meaning. Each prescribes the types of questions asked and determines the levels of understanding obtained about whichever form of archaeological evidence is being considered. The different but complementary theoretical approaches should be employed in a definite order. The same data must be examined in sequential order using these different approaches to increase the potential quantity and quality of information gained. Archaeologists should use the following sequence of approaches: culture-historical, contextual, followed by either the homological, or analogical approaches, or a combination of the latter two.
Classifying and describing any image is very difficult, since the level of description given to an image affects the way in which it can be analysed, and heavily influences the possible outcome of any discussion of perceived meaning. A rigorous examination of the images of these sites was conducted to (a) identify the possible vocabulary of images, (b) determine whether combinatory, rules exist, (c) reconstitute the life history of each site, and (d) ascertain whether the images can be related to other indigenous images to determine if this can provide information about the meaning(s) of the rock images. In assessing the meaning of the rock images, the images of a few birch bark scrolls were considered, since it was posited that a detailed investigation of the scrolls, the ethnographic record, and their pictographs might provide some answers regarding the meanings of the images found on the rock faces.

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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
This paper intends to present a Brazilian past known by few people, engraved rock paintings throughout Brazil s territory. For that, we focused our research on rock paintings found in The Serra da Capivara National Park, close to São Raimundo Nonato city in PI, an abundant source of information. As part of the history of our ancient society, these rock paintings made thousands of years ago tell the story of hunters and gatherers groups. Voicing their wishes, needs, beliefs and feelings, the paintings speak for their people. These paintings show how people related among themselves and with other groups, they are similar to an instruction s manual because they taught people at that time how to live, and now, are part of our cultural patrimony. They show the place s fauna and flora. A strong dynamism can be seen in running, walking, hunting, sex and juggling scenes allowing us to know a little bit about their lifestyle. The paintings are divided in three rock traditions known as the Northeast, Agreste (dry land), and Geometric. Most of them are part of the Northeast group which has there its main point of propagation. The evidences studied are the trail of our own history and contribute to build our national identity. Exposed for millions of years, they were only shown publically about 30 years ago, thanks to the archeologist Niède Guidon who created The Serra da Capivara National Park and the American Man Museum Foundation, both known internationally to protect the history of our country. It is also maintained by the Foundation schools, workshops, training centers to instructors and teams to protect the Park. The paper shows that rock paintings inspired a number of artists in Art History, including some in the São Raimundo Nonato area. Current artists and buyers are mentioned. It is also presented a connection between pre-historical rock paintings and the mural art seen nowadays
Esta tese procura desvelar um passado brasileiro pouco conhecido, mas que se encontra inscrito em suportes rochosos espalhados pelo território nacional, ou seja, as pinturas rupestres. Para isso, focamos nossa pesquisa nas pinturas do Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara, próximo à cidade de São Raimundo Nonato PI, uma fonte inesgotável de informações. Compondo parte da história de nossa sociedade mais antiga, essas pinturas, produzidas há milhares de anos, narram a história de grupos caçadores e coletores. Anunciando seus desejos, suas necessidades, suas crenças e seus sentimentos, elas são porta-vozes dos povos ancestrais. Mostram o modo como eles se relacionavam entre si e com os outros grupos, são um manual de instrução, pois ensinavam a lidar com a vida e constituem um acervo cultural. Apresentam a fauna e a flora da região. Um forte dinamismo é visto nas cenas de corridas, andanças, caçadas, sexo e malabarismos, permitindo conhecer o modo de vida dos grupos. As pinturas estão divididas em três tradições rupestres , a Nordeste, a Agreste e a Geométrica. A maioria, contudo, pertence à Nordeste, que tem ali seu principal foco de difusão. Os vestígios analisados são registros de nossa ancestralidade e contribuem para a formação da identidade nacional. Expostos há milhares de anos, só foram revelados ao grande público há mais ou menos trinta anos, graças a arqueóloga Niède Guidon, que se empenhou na criação do Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara e da Fundação Museu do Homem Americano, ambas de reconhecimento internacional, para resguardar a memória do país. A Fundação mantém escolas, oficinas, centros de treinamentos para guias e equipes para conservação do Parque. A tese mostra que as pinturas rupestres serviram de inspiração para inúmeros artistas plásticos na História da Arte, inclusive alguns da região de São Raimundo Nonato. São lembrados os produtores e os usuários atuais. Também é apresentada uma relação entre as pinturas rupestres da pré-história e a produção mural de hoje

Les peintures rupestres de l’Ontario font partie du grand ensemble de l'art rupestre du Bouclier Canadien. Ce terme recouvre une réalité géologique autant qu'ethnographique, puisque cette région est essentiellement habitée par les Algonquiens. La retraite des glaces laissa un paysage criblé de lacs et de cours d'eau dont les artistes amérindiens peignirent les roches riveraines. Les peintres élirent de préférence des rochers de granit ou de gneiss, lissés par les glaces et plongeant, le long des rivages, presque à la verticale dans l'eau.

Depuis une dizaine d'années, les recherches en art rupestre se développent de plus en plus :de nouvelles techniques, ainsi que des interprétations récentes, prenant plus en compte les autres domaines scientifiques font leur apparition. Toutes ces approches sont largement diffusées par des colloques, des congrès et des périodiques spécialisés. Néanmoins, elles sont encore peu appliquées dans de nombreuses régions, les représentations ne faisant généralement l'objet que d'un relevé succinct, d'une identification des principaux motifs et d'une chronologie relative incertaine. Dans les années '60, Leroi-Gourhan rejetait, à juste titre pour l'art pariétal européen, le comparatisme ethnologique et il préconisait de "recevoir directement du Paléolithique ce qu'il apportait spontanément". Les spécialistes européens se focalisèrent alors sur les peintures et gravures et les étudièrent de la même manière que n'importe quel artefact archéologique (typologie, chronologie, carte de répartitions, analyse quantitative…). Au contraire, en Amérique et en Australie, où l'approche ethnographique et ethnologique est possible, les chercheurs se concentrèrent principalement sur ce dernier axe de recherche. Les dernières recherches en Europe de l'art pariétal paléolithique ont démontré l'importance d'une approche à la fois plus objective, plus exhaustive et plus contextuelle, approche qui fait encore malheureusement très largement défaut dans les travaux consacrés aux art rupestres, notamment les peintures rupestres du Bouclier canadien. Or, ces manifestations "esthétiques" sont susceptibles de nous livrer des informations non seulement sur le fonctionnement mental et spirituel des hommes qui les ont réalisées, par l'analyse des contenus graphiques mais aussi sur leur fonctionnement social grâce à la reconstitution des diverses chaînes opératoires mises en œuvre pour leur obtention. Il est donc désormais indispensable de lier les deux approches et de traiter ces documents archéologiques, tant d’un point de vue anthropologique qu’archéologique. C’est-à-dire, en analysant les peintures dans leur contexte (importance du rocher et des fissures, position du rocher sur le lac et importance de la voie de communication) et en les reliant à ce que nous connaissons de la mythologie et des pratiques culturelles des sociétés amérindiennes.

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres, Orientation histoire de l'art et archéologie
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The object this research are the paintings and rock engravings present at the archaeological site, inserted in the Serra Sarapó/Tapuias, in the community of Canudos, in the Municipality of Riachão das Neves, State of Bahia. The objective of the study was to analyze and describe the traces, lines, colors and forms that are present in the paintings and in the rock engravings at the Sarapó/Tapuias site, not only from the registration perspective, but also to compare them with other Brazilian traditions in the sense of relating them to a possible tradition of the engravings, as well as in the identification, understanding and analysis, perceiving if they show characteristics of manifestations of the sacred, considering the disposition, location and support in which they were made. To reach these goals, we went from the idea that they are cultural, religious and historical representations with different reading possibilities, produced by different indigenous groups. Due to the fact that the site is located in western Bahia, there was a need to describe aspects of the historical constitution of the region near Riachão das Neves, and the great technological advance of the present. From the investigations and comparisons made in the analysis of the paintings, we find that they can be related to the graphic representations inserted in the São Francisco tradition and in the Geometric Tradition for they present similarities in the colors, lines and forms. And they are manifestations of the sacred by characteristics presented as to the disposition and location. Thus, in light of what we have analyzed, we infer that they present features present in two rupestrian traditions: São Francisco and Geometric and belong to the sacred universe.
O objeto desta pesquisa são as pinturas e gravuras rupestres presentes em um sítio arqueológico localizado na serra Sarapó/Tapuias, na comunidade de Canudos, Município de Riachão das Neves, no Estado da Bahia. O objetivo do estudo foi analisar e descrever os traços, linhas, cores, formas e suportes presentes nas pinturas e gravuras rupestres no sítio Sarapó/ Tapuias, não somente na perspectiva de registro, mas também de comparação com outras tradições brasileiras e de relação com uma possível tradição rupestre. Trabalhou-se, desse modo, a identificação, a compreensão e a análise, bem como a apresentação ou não de características de manifestações do sagrado, considerando a disposição, localização e suporte em que foram realizadas. Para atingir estes objetivos, partiu-se da ideia de que são representações inseridas no contexto da arte, cultura, religião e história por apresentar diferentes possibilidades de leitura. Pelo fato do sítio arqueológico estar localizado em terras do oeste baiano, houve a necessidade de descrever aspectos da constituição histórica da região próxima a Riachão das Neves e o grande avanço tecnológico da atualidade. A partir das investigações e comparações realizadas nas análises das pinturas, foi constatado que elas estão relacionadas com as representações gráficas inseridas na tradição São Francisco e na Tradição Geométrica por apresentar semelhanças nas cores, linhas e formas. Observou-se, também, pelas características apresentadas quanto à disposição e localização no espaço, que são manifestações do sagrado. Para essas constatações, foram utilizados aportes teóricos da arte, cultura, religião, arqueologia, antropologia e outras áreas do conhecimento.

Bibliography: pages 134-166.
Southern African archaeology has experienced several changes in theoretical perspectives over the past few decades. More recently there have been renewed calls for a more social and theoretical approach to the analysis of the prehistoric past, especially the Late Stone Age. This thesis is an account of the last 4000 years in the southwestern Cape, where material culture is analysed in terms of contextual meaning. Contextual meaning is used in conjunction with social identity theory to analyse the interaction between Khoi herders and San gatherer-hunters. I use the active processes of identity formation and maintenance to argue that both the isolationist and revisionist arguments have simplified the concepts of identity, where identity is seen to have a passive role in interaction. I argue that identity is dynamic and changeable, and that individuals have several social identities which are made salient according to the context of interaction. I use specific fine line images in the rock art to argue that these images, in conjunction with scraper styles, were used as strategies by San males to increase their self-esteem. I further argue that interaction would result in unequal gender relations and San females used specific adzes to reassert their gender identity within San society. I further argue that finger paintings and handprints may have been painted by Khoi females as part of their menstruation and/or menarche rituals. I use both the gender and social identities from the Khoi and the San to argue that these are interrelated and cannot be separated. I argue that interaction would result in unequal gender and social practices and these practices would be expressed in the material culture of that group.

Austronesians are a genetically-related people, recognized by the similarities in their languages, and with a shared past evidenced by material culture. Research into the origin and migration route of Austronesians has progressed through the disciplines of Linguistics, Archaeology, and Genetics. Out of Taiwan is currently the dominant theory with strong evidence from the three disciplines involved. Consequentially, the Philippines is the first stop of the migrating Austronesians, and therefore the closest link to the homeland in Taiwan linguistically, archaeologically, and genetically. The archaeological approach to understand the Austronesian diaspora has been tracing material culture like nephrite and ceramics. However, rock art as a traceable material culture has been underutilized, especially in places like the Philippines where the rock art is relatively unknown and lacks research. The two rock art styles that have been identified in Borneo, East Timor, and Southwest Pacific and have been linked to Austronesians are the Austronesian Painting Tradition (APT) and the Austronesian Engraving Style (AES). The aim of this research has been to test the validity of APT and AES in the Philippines. An inventory of rock art of the Philippines was needed to enable descriptions and comparisons with the region. This was achieved through low-cost 3D modelling using Structure-from- Motion (SfM) photogrammetry. However, the physical and socio-economic environment in the Philippines makes rock art research a difficult undertaking. One of the challenges of studying Philippine rock art was the geological condition obfuscating the rock art at some of the sites. Remote sensing techniques were used during this research to address the issue. Specifically, an innovative method of combining SfM and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) algorithms was developed so that obscure engraved rock art was made clearly visible. Being able to properly identify the rock art allowed for a more accurate inventory, thereby increasing the reliability of the interpretations. There are 22 verified rock art sites in the Philippines and seven areas with alleged sites. Of the verified sites, four have engravings, 16 have black figures, and two have predominantly orange figures. Four of the sites (three engraving and one painting site) were completely recorded with 3D models which resulted in spatially-linked databases of the three engraving sites. All other sites were described from past publications, museum reports, and empirical observations. By compiling the rock art in an inventory and comparing the inventory to the prescribed qualities of APT and AES, it is evident that APT and AES are not descriptive of Philippine rock art. Furthermore, primary sources of Taiwanese rock art reveal that it is highly unlikely APT originated in Taiwan since there is no known painted rock art on the island. Although the Taiwanese engraved rock art matches the description of AES and could therefore originate in Taiwan, it is inconclusive because the description of AES is too generic. A systematic quantitative literature review of the rock art of Southeast Asia and Micronesia was compiled to ascertain the amount of research conducted and to compare the inventory of the Philippines with the rock art of the region. For example, parallels in anthropomorphic depictions are found within the Philippines and between the Philippines and the region. Aside from determining similarities, conspicuous absences in motifs and styles were also noted, such as hand stencils and painted boats. An example of the unique aspect of Philippine rock art is the textured vulva-forms of Alab because they are not similar to the few other examples of engraved vulva-forms in Southeast Asia. In addition, a summary of Micronesian rock art is provided which might be the first for the region. Micronesian rock art potentially has information of an Austronesian style of rock art. The first colonizers of Micronesia were Austronesians and they remained the sole inhabitants for millennia on some islands until European contact in the 16th century, making the rock art found in Micronesia very likely Austronesian. Cost-effective techniques were emphasized throughout the research, not just as an efficient way to conduct this particular research but also to encourage the continuity of the research into Philippine rock art. Beyond the Philippines, the methods are relevant to any rock art research on a limited budget, which is typical of most rock art projects. It should be noted that the methods employed, while low-cost, were still state-of-the-art for rock art recording. With a baseline of the current conditions of the rock art sites, a longitudinal study can be organised for the quantitative monitoring of change. In addition to answering archaeological questions, the inventory can be used to develop conservation plans and influence government policies.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Hum, Lang & Soc Sc
Arts, Education and Law
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Les répertoires iconographiques rupestres du Sahara central ont pâti du contexte historique et humain de leur découverte, puis de leur gestion tant scientifique que patrimoniale. Leur profusion et les difficultés du terrain saharien ont été et sont toujours des facteurs pénalisants, mais la méconnaissance dont souffrent encore ces productions des cultures préhistoriques, plus d’un siècle et demi après leur révélation, incombe clairement aux acteurs passés et présents de leur étude. Même si nous admirons ces images pour leurs qualités esthétiques, ce sont des vestiges archéologiques à part entière, devant être étudiés comme tels. De nos jours, les outils numériques et informatiques permettent, d’une part, d’améliorer quantitativement et qualitativement leur documentation grâce aux logiciels d’amélioration d’image utilisés pour l’enregistrement et le relevé ; d’autre part, d’interroger plus objectivement ces œuvres par le biais d’autres outils et de méthodes performantes d’analyse des données, au travers desquels leur différenciation stylistique peut être mise en évidence. L’application des démarches développées dans cette recherche à quelques parois ornées du site de Séfar, lieu emblématique de la Tasīli-n-Ăjjer (Algérie), montre que l’usage de ces outils, sous-tendu par des bases théoriques et méthodologiques rigoureuses, permet de proposer une nouvelle approche de ces images rupestres, plus conforme à leur nature de données scientifiques
The rock images of the central Sahara have suffered from the historical and human context of their discovery and then from both their scientific management and their heritage management. Their abundance and the difficulties of the Saharan field have been and are still negative factors, but the lack of knowledge from which these productions of prehistoric cultures are still suffering more than a century and a half after their discovery, clearly falls to those studying them in the past and present. Even if we admire these images for their aesthetic qualities, these form an integral part of the archaeological remains and should be studied as such. Nowadays, the digital and computerised tools enable us, firstly, to quantitatively and qualitatively improve their documentation thanks to image enhancement software used for the recording and the tracing; secondly, to more objectively investigate these artefacts by using other effective data-analysis tools and methods thanks to which their stylistic differences can be highlighted. The application of the processes developed in this research to several adorned walls at the Sefar site, an emblematic area of the Tasīli-n-Ăjjer (Algeria), shows that the use of these tools, supported by rigorous theoretical and methodological basis, allows us to offer a new approach to these rock images, more appropriate to their characteristic of being scientific data

I have been working on my Master degree work at art residenci in Gedok art centrum in Stuutgart,Germany. Thecollection of work is consist of approximately 15-20 works.Medium is painting, technique oil on canvas. The serie of paintings has different kind of measures, from 80x90cm to 200 x 200cm.

À la différence des arts rupestres du Sahara ou d’Afrique australe, richement documentés, ceux d’Afrique centrale restent encore aujourd’hui largement méconnus. L’art rupestre du Bas-Congo s’étend de Kinshasa à la côte atlantique et du nord de l’Angola au sud du Congo-Brazzaville. Bien que signalé dès le XIXe siècle par James Tuckey, lors de sa reconnaissance du fleuve Congo, il n’a jamais fait l’objet d’une recherche de grande ampleur et son âge reste toujours incertain.

Peuplé par les Ndibu, un des sous-groupes kongo, le massif de Lovo se trouve au nord du royaume de Kongo. Bien que ce royaume soit l’un des mieux documentés de toute l’Afrique, tant par les sources historiques à partir de 1500 que par les sources ethnographiques et anthropologiques pour les périodes plus récentes, son archéologie reste méconnue. Avec 102 sites (dont 16 grottes ornées), le massif de Lovo contient la plus importante concentration de sites rupestres de toute la région, ce qui représente plus de 5000 images rupestres. Sur environ 400 km2 se dressent des centaines de massifs calcaires au relief ruiniforme, percés de nombreuses grottes et abris sous roche.

Par mon étude qui tente de croiser les points de vue ethnologique, historique, archéologique et mythologique, j’ai pu montrer que l’art rupestre a bel et bien une part importante dans la culture kongo. Au même titre que les sources historiques ou les traditions orales, il peut apporter aux historiens une documentation de premier plan et contribuer à reconstruire le passé de l’Afrique.

In contrast with the Sahara and Southern Africa, Central Africa is superficially presented and largely overlooked in general publications and compilations regarding rock art research. The rock art of Lower Congo is concentrated in a region that stretches from Kinshasa to the Atlantic coast and from Northern Angola to Southern Congo-Brazzaville. Although already reported in the nineteenth century by James Tuckey during his exploration of the Congo River, it had never been a subject of thorough investigation. As a result, its age has long remained uncertain.

Presently inhabited by the Ndibu, one of the Kongo subgroups, the Lovo Massif is situated north of the ancient Kongo kingdom. Although Kongo has been, since the end of the fifteenth century, one of the best-documented kingdoms of Africa, both through historical records and through ethnographic and anthropological studies in more recent times, in archaeological terms it remains largely unknown. With 102 sites (including 16 decorated caves), the Lovo Massif has the largest concentration of rock art in the entire region. Hundreds of limestone outcrops with carved surfaces, punctuated by numerous caves and rocky overhangs, rise up over an area of about 400 square kilometers. 

Through the research I have undertaken, it has been possible to determine for the first time direct dates for the rock art of Lower Congo. The study of the previously unknown decorated caves of Tovo and Nkamba, in particular, has allowed me to ascertain the chronology and the interpretation of these rock images.

Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie
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Widely found throughout the archaeological and artistic records in capacities ranging from burial contexts to early evidence of artistic expression, red ochre has been studied in archaeological and art conservationist communities for decades. Despite this, literature discussing binders is disparate and often absent from accessible arenas. Red ochre is important historically because its use can be used to help further the understanding of early humans, their predecessors, and their cognitive capabilities. However, there is not much written speculation on the processes involved in binder selection, collection, and processing. Based on the idea of these three activities associated with binders, I propose a schema for what the use of already prepared and obtained items doubling as binders might look like in the archaeological record. Using an experiment in which I used red ochre mixed with various binders to paint standardized shapes on a rock surface, I propose ways in which more experiments could be done in this vein. I suggest ways in which scales of desirability can be created based on different traits painters might have found important in the binder selection process, such as ease of paint reconstitution, texture of the paint, and the appearance of the paint mixture once on the stone. This research is one small step in the direction of expanding and diversifying the literature on binders in prehistoric paintings, and opening new avenues of conversation about the choices and motivations of early painters.

Deserted and disintegrating barns, houses, and silos have always perplexed me when driving through the country. I am fascinated by how this leisurely decay reveals their structural integrity in a slow, reverse process of construction. It is as if humanity and nature consciously collaborated to create these gigantic memento mori for a steady stream of highway viewers. These monumental tributes to inevitable decline, along with my own adventures in gardening, childrearing, eldercare, and travels, have led me to explore the universal cycles of life. The dilapidated buildings in my work are rendered in a tight, sharp, close-up viewpoint so that the viewer is forced to engage them. I will often layer images of seeds, leaves, and rocks on top of images of houses to symbolize the different stages of the life cycle. I see seeds and buildings as containers and incubators of potential. Any foliage represents a fulfillment of that potential, while rocks stand for the fossilized remains, or the achievements of one’s life accomplishments.

Fundação de Apoio a Pesquisa e à Inovação Tecnológica do Estado de Sergipe - FAPITEC/SE
People visiting a place with rock art invariably experience, at some point, different relationships and feelings between body-painting-stone. Materialized rock art invades us, our body is crossed by the visibility of the invisible, by what it is not said. The objectives of this study follow this line. I immersed myself in the colors of the rock paintings of the Archaeological Complex of Lagoa da Velha, located in Morro do Chapéu, Bahia. I wanted to perceive the existence of criteria of intentionality in the use of colors in the rock painting, as well as possible interrelations between these colors, the landscape and the body, considering the painting as a result / product of the interaction between the artists and the landscape. In this study, I sought to understand the different relationships between color and body during the aesthetic experience, both in production and perception of rock paintings, in a phenomenological perspective, showing its sensory dimension. Through a committed approach and a first-person narrative, I tried to study the paintings and their insertion in the landscape, from the relationships and connections between motives, panels and scenes. It was also under investigation, to observe how these elements can show the intention and preferences of the people who produced them, and impact on the people who see them.
As pessoas que vivenciaram um lugar com arte rupestre, em algum momento, experimentaram diferentes relações e sensações entre corpo-pintura-pedra. A arte rupestre materializada nos invade, nosso corpo é atravessado pela visibilidade do invisível, do não dito. O objeto deste estudo segue este caminho. Nele, mergulho nas cores das pinturas rupestres do Complexo Arqueológico Lagoa da Velha, localizado no município de Morro do Chapéu, estado da Bahia. Busquei perceber a existência de critérios de intencionalidade no uso das cores na arte rupestre e as possíveis inter-relações entre essas cores, a paisagem e o corpo, considerando a pintura como resultado/produto da interação entre artistas e paisagem. Neste volume busquei perceber as diferentes relações entre cores e corpo na experiência estética, tanto na produção quanto na recepção das pinturas rupestres, em uma perspectiva fenomenológica, evidenciando sua dimensão sensorial. A partir de uma abordagem engajada e através de uma narrativa em primeira pessoa, procurei perceber as pinturas e sua inserção na paisagem a partir das relações e conexões entre motivos, conjuntos e cenas. Também foi objeto desta pesquisa, observar o modo como esses elementos podem revelar intencionalidades e preferências das pessoas que os produziram, bem como agir sobre as pessoas que os percebem.

En el planteamiento previo de este trabajo nos propusimos cinco objetivos que hemos desarrollado a lo largo del estudio y que se detallan a continuación. 1) Documentación del mural La documentación gráfica del mural ha consistido en la realización de un calco digital del mural en base al programa Photoshop y con la ayuda de la aplicación DStrech. A partir de la documentación gráfica hemos identificado 194 motivos en distintas categorías de figuras animales, humanas y elementos esquemáticos y abstractos distribuidos en cinco sectores de la cueva. Todos estos motivos están reproducidos a escala en el calco general y situados en la planimetría de la cavidad. Además, hemos elaborado una aplicación de base de datos específica para nuestras investigaciones referentes al arte rupestre de las sierras centrales de Baja California. La intención es tener unas descripciones estandarizadas que permitan comparar los datos formales de las figuras de una cavidad entre sí y respecto a otros murales. En este estudio incluimos la descripción de la base de datos y su funcionamiento, así como la información perteneciente a la cavidad de El Ratón en forma de ficha individual de cada figura. 2) Proceso de realización del mural La documentación del mural ha servido para establecer el orden de superposición de las figuras que están en contacto y muestran una estratigrafía cromática. El establecimiento de estas superposiciones no está exento de problemas, derivados principalmente de la apreciación del anclaje de los pigmentos, las transparencias de los colores, los repintes y las reelaboraciones de las figuras. A partir de esta información hemos establecido el proceso de ejecución del mural. Para ello hemos tenido también en consideración elementos compositivos y rasgos formales de las figuras pintadas. El resultado son siete fases consecutivas dentro del proceso muralista. Hemos detallado los puntos en la documentación en los que nos hemos basado para establecer el proceso para que pueda juzgarse su idoneidad, y proponemos estudios más detallados que incluyan la elaboración de láminas delgadas en algunos puntos del mural para cerciorarnos de las superposiciones. Por otra parte, hemos confrontado la propuesta de fases que hemos establecido en El Ratón con las fases que R. Viñas propuso para La Pintada y hemos podido apreciar que algunas formas que caracterizan fases consecutivas de La Pintada siguen el mismo patrón en El Ratón. Esto es especialmente apreciable en la evolución del perfil de los cuerpos y la posición de las patas de los cuadúpedos. 3) Contexto cronocultural Durante mucho tiempo los Grandes Murales se han considerado como un fenómeno relativamente homogéneo vinculado con la cultura Comondú, en un periodo de tiempo incluido en las últimas fases de la prehistoria bajacaliforniana. A partir de las observaciones en distintos murales, nuestro equipo de trabajo advirtió que las fases pictográficas que se observan en algunos frisos podían contravenir esta idea inicial y descubrir que el proceso pictográfico de las sierras centrales de Baja California es dilatado en el tiempo. La documentación realizada por R. Viñas en La Pintada y ahora la que presentamos para el caso de El Ratón confirman esta hipótesis: hay una diversidad de momentos pictóricos en los murales que evidencian cambios culturales en un proceso diacrónico dilatado. R. Viñas propone una distinción entre los Grandes Murales con distintas fases internas —en La Pintada propone cuatro fases para los Grandes Murales—; otra etapa pictórica con la inclusión de nuevas formas gráficas que mantendrían elementos de los Grandes Murales, a la que llama «Tradición Gran Mural», y una etapa final en la que predominan los elementos esquemáticos y abstractos y que se desvincula formalmente de los Grandes Murales. Este esquema coincide con nuestras observaciones en El Ratón, donde las fases 1-3 corresponden plenamente a los Grandes Murales, las fases 4 y 5 se incluirían en esa «Tradición Grandes Murales» y las 6 y 7 se apartan formalmente de esta tradición. No obstante, esta propuesta no deja de ser un esquema inicial y el fenómeno rupestre en Baja California es muy complejo como para pensar que a esta tendencia general no le podremos añadir nuevos matices cuando se documenten un mayor número de cavidades pintadas. Las fases finales del arte rupestre de Baja California corresponden a los habitantes de la península que conocieron a los colonizadores europeos. Otra cuestión es establecer el inicio del proceso y las fases intermedias. Las fechas directas sobre los murales establecen una antigüedad que se remonta al Arcaico temprano. La fecha que consideramos fiable obtenida del puma n.º 41 de la cueva de El Ratón (4.845 ±60 BP) es coherente con este entorno de dataciones. Sin embargo, no podemos dar la cuestión por zanjada. En el futuro se deberán establecer proyectos de datación que persigan objetivos específicos. Proponemos la búsqueda de fechas radiocarbónicas que relacionen figuras de las fases de la cronología relativa que se deriva de la documentación, en espera de una coherencia que dé sentido al estudio del proceso y que, posteriormente, sea comparable con el estudio de otros murales. En el caso de El Ratón, la documentación presentada facilita el proceso de selección de figuras potencialmente interesantes para confirmar o corregir la propuesta de las fases pictóricas. 4) Análisis de la composición gráfica del mural El análisis de la composición gráfica del mural nos ha permitido identificar relaciones entre distintas figuras o elementos internos de las pinturas que hemos interpretado como códigos del lenguaje muralista. Los pintores han utilizados los motivos iconográficos, formas, colores, contactos entre figuras, relaciones de simetría, ubicación en el espacio, líneas visuales, sucesiones, actitud y posición de las figuras para crear estos códigos. Estos se manifiestan en ocasiones por su valor recurrente, otras por contraste u oposición y se hacen evidentes en la composición de manera que resultan significativos. Las relaciones codificadas permiten identificar la temática representada dentro del mismo mural, y observar diferencias de estos tratamientos entre sus distintas fases. Conforme avance el estudio de los murales podremos establecer la distribución en extensión geográfica y profundidad histórica de estos códigos y así se convertirán en un elemento para discernir el proceso histórico de los murales rupestres de Baja California. Podremos ver también cómo estos recursos se asemejan o diferencian entre las sierras de San Francisco, Guadalupe y San Borja en una visión amplia del fenómeno de los Grandes Murales. 5) Funcionalidad de la cueva de El Ratón Las cuevas pintadas de la sierra de San Francisco han sido consideradas, a menudo, como agreggaton sites. Tal como fueron definidos para el Paleolítico, estos son yacimientos donde se reúne un grupo numeroso de personas para llevar a cabo una serie de rituales y actos sociales y se caracterizan por una ocupación de mucha gente por poco tiempo. Se espera que esto se refleje de alguna manera en el sedimento arqueológico y en consecuencia quede rastro de la estacionalidad que caracteriza a estas reuniones. Por otro lado, el sitio ha de reunir unas condiciones que permitan concentrar un número importante de asistentes, abundancia de elementos rituales muebles y un panel decorado que presente elementos singulares y decoraciones genéricas. En nuestra opinión, no todas las cuevas pintadas del área de los Grandes Murales cumplían la misma función. Esta apreciación deriva de las obvias diferencias entre distintos tipos de cuevas pintadas que conocemos en las sierras de San Francisco. No es lo mismo una cueva como La Pintada con más de mil figuras, una temática muy variada, muchas fases de realización del mural y una extensión considerable, que pequeñas oquedades que pueden encontrarse en varios barrancos con un número reducido de pinturas, u otras cavidades de mediano tamaño, un mural relativamente con pocas pinturas y una temática unitaria. Pero por el momento, no tenemos unas características definidas que categoricen los distintos tipos de cueva pintada ni siquiera estos sitios de congregación. En el caso de la cueva de El Ratón hemos confrontado sus datos con los provenientes de La Pintada, La Serpiente y El Porcelano y hemos visto que participan de ciertas similitudes y diferencias significativas. En primer lugar, las cuevas de La Pintada y El Ratón son amplias y con una terraza que permite la reunión de un grupo considerable de personas. La cueva de La Serpiente es una grieta en el cantil que apenas puede albergar un número muy reducido de personas y El Porcelano es una cueva mediana sin mucho espacio para grandes reuniones. Si a estas propiedades morfológicas añadimos las características de los respectivos murales vemos que El Ratón y La Pintada comparten rasgos comunes en contraste con los casos de La Serpiente y El Porcelano. Las cuevas de El Ratón y La Pintada presentan una considerable variabilidad de rasgos estilísticos y de recursos técnicos, una paleta de colores amplia y un repertorio iconográfico extenso, a tal punto que los porcentajes son muy similares. Por el contrario, El Porcelano y La Serpiente muestran una gran homogeneidad interna de rasgos estilísticos y de recursos técnicos, una paleta de colores casi monótona y poca variabilidad iconográfica. Es decir, tienen unos rasgos formales muy homogéneos en sus respectivos murales aunque sean dispares entre sí. Por otra parte, en El Ratón y La Pintada existe un proceso de realización prolongado en el tiempo, con distintas fases pictóricas y numerosas superposiciones. Las características de cuatro cuevas pintadas no son suficientes para caracterizar sitios arqueológicos complejos como son los murales pintados de Baja California. Sin embargo, esta comparación orienta en la búsqueda de estas características. De manera provisional y presumiblemente incompleta proponemos que las características que pueden definir los lugares de congregación en la sierra de San Francisco: — Lugares amplios que permitan la reunión de un número importante de gente. — Murales que presenten una considerable variabilidad de rasgos técnicos, estilísticos, cromáticos e iconográficos. — El proceso muralista será dilatado en el tiempo y mostrará diferentes fases. — Probablemente presentarán un tema principal que se complementará en las sucesivas etapas pictóricas y, en algunos casos, se añadirán nuevos temas. Distintos a estos grandes santuarios, podemos encontrar sitios con pinturas que respondan a una temática muy particular, realizados en un momento histórico concreto sin que el uso más o menos continuado del sitio haya requerido ampliar o modificar el mural. Pensamos que corresponden a lugares donde se han celebrado rituales más privados o que han sido pintados por algún motivo muy concreto. Por lo que se refiere al sedimento arqueológico, hemos de advertir que en las cuevas pintadas de estas sierras la potencia estratigráfica es pobre y que el número de excavaciones de que disponemos es escaso. Por eso no nos atrevemos a predecir cómo sería este sedimento en relación con las cuevas pintadas en lugares de congregación. En todo caso, diremos que en El Ratón no hemos identificado disposiciones de material significativas más allá de una concentración del material en hilera paralela a la pared, y que sí hemos documentado unas estructuras de combustión peculiares en cuanto a su función, que pensamos que están relacionadas con los rituales que se llevaron a cabo en este santuario rupestre. Hemos de añadir que la temática representada la cueva de El Ratón muestra una serie de relaciones con temas mitológicos documentados etnográficamente en el entorno cultural, lo que permite una propuesta interpretativa del mural en relación con aspectos astronómicos ligados a los solsticios y, por lo tanto, a la mitología de la renovación estacional y mantenimiento de la periodicidad. Esta propuesta precisa de un estudio más detallado que incluya observaciones in situ en los periodos señalados —especialmente durante el solsticio de verano— y cálculos arqueoastronómicos que abarquen los periodos históricos que nos interese documentar. Para finalizar, presentamos este trabajo del mural de El Ratón como un elemento a tener en cuenta en el estudio global de los Grandes Murales y con la esperanza de crear discusión al respecto. Consideramos que para avanzar necesitamos documentaciones exhaustivas de los murales y el análisis individualizado de los mismos para poder, luego, contrastarlos. Para ello es necesario desarrollar metodologías de documentación que permitan comparaciones parangonables. En este empeño seguiremos trabajando.
The archaeological site of El Ratón Cave: A painted cave in the Sierra de San Francisco (Baja California Sur, Mexico). The painted mural. Albert Rubio i Mora In a previous proposal of this work, we set out five aims which have been developed throughout the present research. These are described below. 1) Recording of the mural painting The visual recording of the mural painting consisted of making a digital carbon copy of the mural using the Photoshop software and with aid of the DStrech plugin. Using this visual record, we have identified 194 motifs of various classes, animal figures, humans, schematic and abstract designs, scattered over five sections in the cave. All of these motifs have been reproduced to scale on the general copy and located in the planimetry of the cave. Additionally, we have compiled a special database for researching the rock art of the Baja California central mountain ranges, or sierras. The aim is to create a resource of standardised descriptions that will allow researchers to compare the formal qualities of the motifs at both the intra- and inter-site levels. In this study, we have included the description of the database and its use, as well as documentation of the data from El Ratón Cave in individual records for each figure. 2) The creation process of the mural The work of recording the painted mural has been useful to establish the order of superimposition of the overlapping figures, which has revealed a chromatic stratigraphy. Determining the order of superimposing images is not without its problems, particularly due to the difficulty of perceiving the pigment background, the colour overlay, and the repainting and modification of the motifs. Using this information, we have been able to establish the sequence of the creation process of the mural. To reconstruct this process, we have also taken into account the composition and formal properties of the figures. The result reveals seven consecutive phases of the painting process. We have detailed the aspects of the record upon which the reconstruction of the work process is based so that it can be assessed. We suggest more specific studies that include making thin prints of some mural sections to corroborate the superimpositions. Finally, we have contrasted our proposal of sequential painting phases at El Ratón with the phases suggested by R. Viñas for La Pintada. We concluded that certain forms which characterize the consecutive phases at La Pintada follow the same pattern at El Ratón. This is better appreciated in the evolution of the profile of the bodies and the position of the quadruped’s feet. 3) Chrono-cultural context For a long time, the Great Murals were considered a relatively homogeneous phenomenon linked to the Comondú culture, which belongs to the latter period of the Baja Californian prehistory. According to the observations made in several rock art sites, our research team noticed that the sequential pictorial phases of some of the panels seemed to contradict that initial assumption and showed that, to the contrary, the painting tradition of the central mountain ranges of Baja California had a long time depth. The recording of La Pintada by R. Viñas and our own research at El Ratón corroborate the hypothesis that there are different painting events in the mural tradition which reflect cultural changes in a long diachronic process. R. Viñas has distinguished various internal phases within the Great Murals. Based on the analysis at La Pintada, he has suggested four Great Mural phases, one pictorial period that includes novel motifs that keep to the elements of the Great Murals, which he has called Great Mural Tradition, and a final phase dominated by schematic and abstract motifs, which is formally removed from the Great Murals. This scheme coincides with our observations at El Ratón, where phases 1 to 3 clearly correspond with the Great Murals, phases 4 and 5 belong to the Great Murals Tradition, and 6 to 7 move away from that tradition. Nevertheless, this proposal is only an initial scheme and the rock art of Baja California is too complex to think that this trend will remain unchanged as more painted sites are recorded. The final phases of the rock art of Baja California belong to the peoples that inhabited the peninsula when the European pioneers arrived. A more pressing issue is to establish the age of the initial and intermediate phases. The direct dates obtained from the paintings suggest an age going back to the early Archaic. The most reliable date, obtained from figure no. 41, the puma, at El Ratón Cave (4,845 +60 BP) is coherent with the range of those dates. However, the issue is not completely resolved. Future dating projects should have well-defined aims. We suggest that radiocarbon dates should concentrate on relating specific figures to the phases of the relative chronology derived from our observations, in order to make sense of the creation process and create a data set that may be compared across mural sites. In the case of El Ratón, our recording can help towards the selection of motifs that could be used for sampling, to test the sequence of pictorial phases. 4) Analysis of the mural’s visual composition The analysis of the visual composition of the mural has thrown light on the associations among figures or internal elements of the paintings, which we interpret as the codes of the mural’s language. To create such codes, the artists seem to have used the iconographic motifs, forms, colours, image overlaps, symmetry relations, location in space, visual lines, sequences, attitude and situation of the motifs. These codes may be identified by their recurrence, contrast, or opposition and become evidently meaningful in the total composition. The codified associations allow us to identify the themes represented in the mural and to distinguish differences between those associations across the various phases. As the research of the murals moves forward we will be able to establish the geographical distribution and historical depth of such codes so that they will become a component that will aid in clarifying the history of the Great Murals of Baja California. We may also be able to observe whether the codes are similar or different across the sierras of San Francisco, Guadalupe and San Borja, in order to obtain a general picture of the Great Mural phenomenon. 5) The function of Cueva del Ratón The painted caves of sierra de San Francisco have often been considered as ‘aggregation sites’. These type of sites, initially defined for the European Palaeolithic, are locations where a numerous group of people convene to carry out a series of rituals and social activities. Thus, they are characterized by a short but intensive occupation. This would somehow be reflected in the archaeological record, leaving some traces of the seasonality that generally typifies such gatherings. Furthermore, the aggregation site should comply with certain conditions to allow the concentration of a large number of attendants, and it should contain portable ritual objects and decorated panels that show singular elements and general motifs. In our opinion, not all painted caves in the region of the Great Murals had the same function. This observation is based on the obvious differences between the various types of painted caves that are known in Sierra de San Francisco. For example, a cave like La Pintada – with over a thousand figures, varied themes, a mural with several creation phases and a large extension – is not the same as the small crevices scattered across the various cliffs with only a few paintings, or the medium-sized rock shelters that contain panels with relatively few figures and one theme. For now, we do not have a fixed set of criteria to categorise the different types of painted caves, or the aggregation sites. In the case of El Ratón Cave, we have contrasted our data against the data from the sites of La Pintada, La Serpeinte and El Porcelano, and we have been able to observe certain meaningful similarities and differences. First, the caves of La Pintada and El Ratón are big and both have a gallery that would allow the gathering of a large group of people. La Serpiente cave is a cliff crevice that can allow access to only a small number of people, and El Porcelano is a medium-sized cave with not much space for a gathering. If these morphological characteristics are seen side by side with the properties of each site’s paintings, we observe that El Ratón and La Pintada share several common traits , whereas this is not the case with La Serpiente and El Porcelano. The caves of El Ratón and La Pintada both show a considerable range of stylistic properties and techniques, an extensive colour palette and iconographic repertoire, to the point that their percentages are quite similar. In contrast, El Porcelano and La Serpiente show a great internal homogeneity of stylistic properties and techniques, an almost monotone colour palette, and little iconographic variety. That is to say, the formal properties of each site’s paintings are very homogeneous, although very different between them. Furthermore, El Ratón and La Pintada reflect a long creation process with different painting phases an numerous superimpositions. The characteristics of just four painted caves are not enough to embody the complex archaeological phenomenon that is the Great Mural rock art of Baja California. However, our observations can guide our search for such criteria. Provisionally and presumably incompletely, we suggest certain characteristics that may define the aggregation sites in the sierra de San Francisco: - Large sites that allow the gathering of a great number of people. - Murals that show considerable variability of techniques, styles, colours, and motifs. - The creation process will have a long time depth and will show several work phases. - Are likely to depict a main theme that will be expanded upon in successive painting stages, and in some cases, new themes will be added. In contrast to the large sanctuaries, there are sites with paintings that portray a singular theme, painted in one single historical moment. Even if these sites were sometimes used continuously over time their murals were not extended or modified. We think that these sites may have been used to celebrate more private rituals or were painted with a very particular aim. Regarding the archaeological sediment, we must point out that the painted caves of the Baja Californian sierras have a poor stratigraphy and the number of excavations has been scarce. For this reason, we can not make any suggestions as to how the sediment of the painted caves would differ from that of aggregation sites. In any case, we will mention that at El Ratón we have not been able to identify any relevant accumulation of archaeological material apart from a concentration of objects aligned to the cave wall. We also recorded some peculiar combustion structures whose function, we believe, may be related to the rituals that were carried out at this rock sanctuary. In addition, the theme depicted at El Ratón Cave has a series of similarities with mythological subjects documented in the ethnography of the cultural region. This allows us to suggest an interpretive reading of the mural in regards of astronomical topics related to the solstices, and consequently to the myth of the seasonal rebirth and cyclic continuity. This suggestion requires a more detailed study that should include in situ observation of the mentioned dates – especially, the summer solstice- and archaeoastronomic calculations that include the historical period we want to research. --- Finally, we present this study of El Ratón mural as a contribution to the global study of the Great Murals, and with it we hope to open a scholarly discussion. We believe that to move forward in this field we need extensive records of the murals and an individual analysis that can be tested afterwards. To this aim we need to develop recording methods that allow us to make reasonable comparisons. We will keep working towards that end.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1987.
Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-137).

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. October 2015.
A call for a more systematic approach to site protection and management has long been made for rock art conservation in South Africa. This study heeds the call as it aims to develop a conservation model for rock art in South Africa from a management perspective. Site protection and management principles that have been successfully implemented in Australia and America have seldom been implemented in South Africa. Conservation researchers argue that it is relatively easy to identify theoretically the requirements of a management or conservation policy; however, developing a conservation model and policy that will successfully maximize the conservation opportunities is an abstract task. As such building a conservation model founded on abstract concepts on conservation would not lead to an improved conservation practice and would be unsuccessful. In world heritage systems there are, however, essential agreed upon principles on assessment, criteria, guidelines, standards, and implementation. Such systems therefore, underscore that the problem is perhaps not with theory but with conservation practice in South Africa. This study presents new and original research on rock art conservation interventions assessment on rock art. As a point of departure this study investigated the history of conservation practice in South Africa using a conservation assessment model developed by Kathleen Dardes (1998) for museums in America. The history on conservation practice has identified inconsistencies in the management of conservation treatments and approaches to interventions. Conservation interventions are still based on inductive, emergency salvage approaches with no thorough understanding of either site or environmental conditions in South Africa. There is little attention paid to indigenous sensitivities with conservation practices and there are no standard systems of monitoring and reporting. While far more data is required to provide definitive conservation strategies, this study proposes a three step conservation model for rock art in South Africa from a management perspective. This model focuses on initiating, planning and controlling conservation projects.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2016.
This dissertation examines the role of remote sensing on rock art survey and is motivated by two key objectives: to determine if remote sensing has any value to rock art survey, furthermore if remote sensing is successful to determine if these individual remote sensing components can contribute to a predictive (site locating) model for rock art survey. Previous research effectively applied remote sensing techniques to alternate environmental studies which could be replicated in such a study. The successful application of google earth imagery to rock art survey (Pugin 2012) demonstrated the potential for a more expansive automated procedure and this dissertation looks to build on that success. The key objectives were tested using three different research areas to determine remote sensing potential across different terrain. Owing to the nature of the study, the initial predictions were formulated using the MARA database – a database of known rock art sites in the surrounds of Matatiele, Eastern Cape – and were then applied to surrounding areas to expand this database further. Upon adding more sites to this database, the predictions were applied to Sehlabathebe National Park, Lesotho and then 31 rock art sites in the areas adjacent to Underberg. The findings of this research support the use of predictive models provided that the predictive model is formulated and tested using a substantial dataset. In conclusion, remote sensing is capable of contributing to rock art surveys and to the production of successful predictive models for rock art survey or alternate archaeological procedures focusing on specific environmental features.
LG2017

This study aimed to: 1) characterise the individual San parietal art rock art paint colours; 2) relate paint compositions to erosion susceptibility; 3) determine if paint pigments can be related to pigment samples excavated from a Shelter deposit, and/or a variety of field samples; and 4) determine if paint samples from geographically distinct sites can be distinguished on their composition. A combination of mineralogical (X-ray diffraction (XRD), synchrotron micro-XRD (μ-XRD)) and chemical (energy dispersive X-ray micro-analysis (EDX), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), and synchrotron micro-XRF (μ-XRF)) analytical techniques were used. Maqonqo Shelter (MQ), 35 km south-east of Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was the primary study site chosen as it contained both a large number of paintings, as well as a large deposit. Thirty paint (of various colours) and 3 blank wall samples were collected using Silver Mylar tape and analysed using a combination of EDX, μ-XRD and μ-XRF techniques. Sixty two large (> 2.5 g) ‘ochre’ pieces were selected from the upper three layers of the deposit and analysed using XRD, XRF and EDX. A further 63 small pieces (< 2.5 g) were analysed using μ-XRD and μ-XRF techniques. To compare the MQ paint samples with potential source materials, three distinct sample sets were collected. The first included samples of the Shelter wall and surface rocks located near the painted panel (analysed by XRD, XRF and EDX). A second sample set of 17 samples was collected from the surrounding landscape (± 3 km radius of MQ; analysed by XRD and XRF). Their selection was based on ease of accessibility, degree of pulverulence, and perceived Fe content i.e., red and/or yellow colouration. No white sources were found. A third set of 11 samples (obtained from six sites, analysed using XRD and XRF) was collected within ± 50 km distance of the Shelter. Their selection was based on old mining survey reports that detailed the location of Fe ore outcrops. Paint samples from three additional shelters i.e., Fergies Cave (FC), Giants Castle Game Reserve, central Drakensberg; Sheltered Vale (SV), Mount Currie District, south-western KwaZulu-Natal; and Twagwa Shelter (TW), Izingolweni District, southern KwaZulu-Natal, were collected to compare paint composition over distance. Site selection was determined according to the following criteria: 1) the shelters had to reside a significant distance away from the primary site so as to minimise any possible interaction that might have existed between the authors of the respective artworks (each site is at least 100 km distant from the other); 2) each had to be located upon a distinct geological formation so that external influences from different regions, and their possible affects on the paint samples, could be noted; and 3) the climatic regimes of each of the shelters should be relatively distinct. Fifteen paint and nine blank wall samples were collected from the three shelters (three each of red, white and blank samples; analysed using EDX, μ-XRD and μ-XRF), with the exception that no white samples were collected from FC. In total, 673 EDX, 212 μ-XRD, 378 μ-XRF, 98 XRD, 98 XRF and 6 ICP-MS traces were produced and analysed. Due to the extremely heterogeneous nature of the paint samples at the microii scale, the more generalised EDX reduced window scans were used as the basis of the paint samples’ characterisation, with the data obtained from the more precise μ-XRD and μ-XRF techniques providing additional supportive information. Irrespective of colour, almost all of the MQ paint samples had elevated Ca contents that tended to increase in the order of black < orange £ red and yellow < pink < white. The predominant Ca-based mineral was gypsum, although Ca-oxalates, whewellite and weddellite, were also present. The blank samples collected from MQ also had high gypsum content, but no Ca-oxalate. It is thus proposed that the Ca-oxalates formed after the painting event and were derived from the original paint constituents. The white pigments consisted of gypsum (dominant), anhydrite, bassanite and whewellite, or a combination thereof. Whewellite increased within increasing paint depth, while gypsum showed the reverse trend. This indicates that, whilst both gypsum and whewellite were originally present within the original paint pigment, additional gypsum has been added via secondary evaporite deposition. Although initially considered to be sourced along with the gypsum, another potential whewellite source is organic additives. The most likely source for the white pigments would be precipitates found on sandstone walls of shelters near MQ. Of more immediate importance, however, is that the pigments, being gypsum based, are water-soluble and thus susceptible to erosion. Most of the orange paints had an elevated Al content and contained gibbsite, suggesting bauxitic material associated with locally sourced dolerite within the Ecca Series within KwaZulu-Natal (as evidenced by their respective Ti levels). Two samples were so similar that it is likely that the same pigment was utilised in the creation of both images. Two samples did not contain high Al contents, however, indicating that they were probably sourced from the soft, ochreous material found within local Fe nodules. A consistent combination of goethite and haematite, together with a low Al and elevated Ti content, indicate that the yellow and red samples were probably sourced from Fe nodules found locally, the red samples differing from the yellow pigments primarily in their higher haematite content. A low Si and relatively low Fe content discounts red sands/clays and Fe-ores as sources of the red pigments. The red samples were ‘thinner’ than the other samples with quartz contents comparable to those of the blank samples. The thin nature of the red paints, the erratic distribution of whewellite upon the paint surfaces, the dominance of gypsum and, to a certain extent quartz, all strongly suggest that the red paints are at least partly absorbed into the surface of the Shelter wall. This, together with the strong staining ability of haematite, is probably the most important reason that the red pigments have outlasted images painted in other colours. It may also account for the high degree of variability found within the red paint dataset, though age differences between the sampled images could also be a contributing factor. The single dark red paint sample, except for an elevated Mn content, was very similar in many ways to the red paint samples analysed. The only readily available pigment source identified that had both low Al and high Fe and Mn contents, was plinthite. The pink samples represented the ‘middleiii ground’ between the red and white paints, suggesting that this colour was the result of a blending of the two. The black paint sample had the highest recorded Fe content of the entire paint dataset. A high Mn and relatively low Al content suggest that a soft inner core of an Fe nodule was used in its manufacture. The presence of maghemite and a dark colouration strongly suggest that the manufacture also involved calcination. The initial distinction between the paint and excavated samples was that the former all exhibited elevated Ca and S values due to the deposition of secondary evaporite minerals. Even when taking these additional deposits into account, however, the two datasets still remained distinct indicating that the excavated materials sampled were not utilised in the manufacture of the MQ paints. A potential exception concerned the orange paint samples, which were similar in composition to both doleritic samples from deeper excavated layers and the local (weathered doleritic samples) and distant (bauxite samples) field samples. Whilst weathered dolerite/bauxitic material was clearly the source of the orange pigments, a more detailed investigation is needed to find a precise location. No other relationships between the paint pigments and the excavated pigments and field samples were established. A comparison of the blank samples from all four study sites showed that the techniques used could distinguish between different sites despite sampling the smallest and, relatively speaking, poorest quality samples. The FC blank samples had elevated C and Ca contents (associated with Caoxalates). The conditions within this Shelter favour the formation of weddellite and whewellite, the former not typically found at the other three sites. In addition, low K, Si and Al contents (often associated with sandstone matrix minerals) indicate that the surface of the relatively dense, compact Cave sandstone is more resistant to physical erosion compared to the other sites, and/or FC shelter experiences a high amount of secondary deposition, with the result that a majority of the samples are composed of evaporite minerals. The SV samples were composed primarily of the evaporite-type minerals, with only minor sandstone ‘contamination’ indicated by quartz and kaolinite. The quartz content, whilst not always high, was present in most of the samples analysed, possibly indicating a greater amount of more uniform surface erosion (relative to the other sites). The TW blank samples were distinct from the other shelters’ as they contained no Ca-based minerals but did contain the very rare mineral schlossmacherite. A comparison of the paint colours also revealed differences between the different shelters. Whilst the white samples from SV and MQ are dominated by whewellite and gypsum (minerals probably present within the pigments when they were applied), the presence of quartz, sanidine and apatite in the SV samples indicated a degree of shelter wall ‘contamination’, with anhydrite, bassanite and glushinskite suggesting climatic variations that favoured various evaporite depositional regimes. The TW white paint contained minimal secondary deposited minerals common in the other shelters. The one mineral that is dominant within the TW samples is minamiite. As this mineral was not identified in any of the blank samples, it is likely that this mineral originates from the original pigment source. The TW white paints also contained 10 to 40 times more Zn than those recorded for any of the other paint samples. This was possibly present within the structure of greigite. The red SV samples could be distinguished from MQ red samples by the presence of wall ‘contaminants’ in a manner similar to that described for the white samples. The TW samples indicate a change in pigment source and/or manner of paint manufacturing technique, for these red samples contained minamiite. This mineral is white and thus its selection could not have been based on colour but rather it must represent a paint additive. With the exception of only one sample from TW, no goethite was found within any of the red samples collected from the three additional sites indicating a different haematite source to that of MQ. An interesting facet of this study, although not directly addressed, concerns what the results do not show with respect to the compositional nature of the pigments analysed. Most texts available today list a number of pigment sources stated to have been utilised in the manufacture of the San parietal rock art. This study has shown that very few of these potential sources were utilised within the four shelters investigated. In addition, this study has also highlighted the presence of minerals about which little is known, yet which appear to be commonly associated with parietal rock art.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2014.
This thesis presents data collected during the 2012 and 2013 recording of painted sheep imagery from five painted rock shelters in the northern Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Through studying the micro- and macro-context of these paintings, I try to understand their presence in the rock art here. Paintings of sheep are believed to have been made by San hunter-gatherers and thought to be relatively old. Using multiple strands of evidence from the rock art, the excavated record, ethnographies, and drawing on human-animal theory, I explore when the sheep were painted, whose sheep were painted and for what reason.