ROCK ART INCORPORATED: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY OF CERTAIN HUMAN FIGURES IN SAN ART Anne Solomon Town Cape of Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Cape Town UniversityAugust 1995 #·-:-•.. ~ ,r::,,_,,_--·I The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the Universityof of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University Abstract Rock art incorporated: an archaeological and interdisciplinary study of certain human figures in San art. Anne Solomon Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town August 1995 Understanding a widespread motif in San rock art - a human figure depicted in frontal perspective with distinctive bodily characteristics - is the aim of this study. A concentration of these figures in north eastern Zimbabwe was first described by researchers in the 1930s and subsequently, when one researcher, Elizabeth Goodall, described them as 'mythic women'. Markedly similar figures in the South African art have receiyed little attention. On the basis of fieldwork in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, the south western Cape (South Africa) and Zimbabwe, and an extensive literature survey, a spectrum of these figures is described. In order to further understanding of the motif, existing interpretive methods and the traditions which inform them are examined, with a view to outlining a number of areas in need of attention. It is argued that analysis of rock art remains dependent on a range of dualistic notions which may be linked to retained structuralist ideas. It is suggested that the dominant model in rock art research, in which the rock art is seen as essentially shamanistic, perpetuates distinctions between mind and body, myth and ritual, and sacrea and protane;-"While in its search for general truths concerning the rock art, and its central focus on iconography, the model retains traces of linguistic structuralism. It is proposed that the 'mythic woman' motif, with its gendered and sexual characteristics, is not well accounted for by reference to southern San ritual and religious practice alone. Drawing on contemporary theories concerning temporality and embodiment, it is argued that the motif is better understood in relation to recurrent themes of death and regeneration in San mythology and oral narratives, with shamanistic practice enacting related themes. The motif may be seen as representing San history in terms of culturally specific temporal schemes arising from San experience of the world. The 'ethnographic method', by means of which San accounts are used to illuminate features of the art, is reassessed and extended. Hermeneutic theories are drawn upon in order to address questions regarding the way in which ethnographies and art may be mutually illuminating, and to account for the inevitability of multiple interpretations arising from the situated process of reading or viewing. Prominent themes, images and devices in San myth and oral narrative are discussed in an attempt to move beyond a narrowly iconography-centred approach and in order to account for devices and stylistic features of San arts which are evident in both verbal and visual media. Implications of the research. for investigating an archaeology of gender, and the writing of San history, are discussed. Contents {\..cknowledgements Notes on illustrations, orthography, 111 terminology, referencing and style T~~ v Maps v Chapter 1: Figures 1 Chapter 2: Background 33 Chapter 3: Aspects of theory and rock art research 49 Chapter 4: Sites, landscapes and fieldwork 70 Chapter 5: Ethnographies and San rock art 87 Chapter 6: San ethnographies and mythology 103 Chapter 7: Mythic women in San visual arts 130 Chapter 8: Beyond text-matching 154 Chapter 9: Mythic women - towards understanding 177 Appendix 1: Site records examined in the Natal Museum 200 Appendix 2: Quantificative studies: a brief foray 203 References 206 Acknowledgements Assistance and support from many people and institutions made this study possible, and are gratefully acknowledged. In the Archaeology Department at the University of Cape Town, many thanks are due to my supervisor Professor Martin Hall, as well as to Professor Judith Sealy; Professor John Parkington; Royden Yates and Tony Manhire; Dr. Yvonne Brink; Dr. Duncan Miller; Dawn Fourie; John Lanham; Pieter Jolly and, in fact, almost all of the staff and many postgraduate students for help of various kinds at some time or another. Ms. Leonie Twentyman-Jones and her colleagues were endlessly helpful when I was working on the Bleek and Lloyd Collection in the University of Cape Town's Manuscripts and Archives Department. Many people assisted me with field work in Kwa­ Zulu Natal and elsewhere. The Natal Museum gave me access to collections, and I am particularly grateful for the support of Dr. Tim Maggs and Dr. Aron Mazel of the Archaeology Department, as well as Mrs. Val Ward. Visiting rock art sites was made possible by many people and institutions. The Natal Parks Board and their staff were most generous, with especial thanks due to Bill Small and Petrus Ndlovu. The help of assistants and companions on field trips was invaluable; especial thanks to Aron Mazel, Frans Prins, John Morrison and Patrick Solomon. Without the extensive help of Peter and Barbara Mitchell and Felicity Morrison in Pietermaritzburg, this research might never have materialised. Many thanks are owed to Sven Ouzman of the Rock Art Department at the National Museum, Bloemfontein, for his hospitality. Field work in Zimbabwe was made possible by Dr. Michael Cronin, and Dr. Peter Garlake gave us valuable. advice. Dr. Janette Deacon most kindly invited me to the northern Cape to view engravings. Field trips in the south western Cape were facilitated by many colleagues, with particular thanks to Emma Bedford of the South African Nation.al Gallery, and Shaen Adey for professional photographic assistance. The advice and inputs of Sue Williamson and her staff were invaluable. Many farmers generously gave me permission to view sites on their land; the hospitality and assistance of Mr. Piet Brower were particularly appreciated. I wish to thank Dr. Janette Deacon, of the National Monuments Council for permission to use her unpublished outline of the contents of the Bleek and Lloyd Collection; Professor Meg Conkey for encouragement and for material not available in this country; Pippa Skotnes and Dr. Marion Arnold for art historical inputs; Jill Wenman, Carol Hampshire and Cara Turner for illustrations; Dan Wilson, Information Technology Services and the Department of Surveying, University of Cape Town, for assistance with producing maps; Professor George Silberbauer for discussion and argumentation regarding San anthropology; Ann Turner and Ashraf Jamal for many other discussions; Dr. Patricia Davison of the South African Museum for various access to resources; and to Dr. Lyn Wadley and members of the Rock Art Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand, and interaction with post-graduate students at that University. Without the monumental works of Professor David Lewis-Williams and Dr. Patricia Vinnicombe, this dissertation would not have been possible. The financial support I have received from the following bodies is very gratefully acknowledged; the Centre for Science Development (HSRC, South Africa), and the University of Cape Town's Research Committee, for doctoral scholarships; the Swan Fund, Oxford, and the Department of Sociology, University of Natal, Durban, for funding of fieldwork in Kwa-Zulu Natal; and the Harry Oppenheimer Fund, Institute for African Studies, University of Cape Town, for awards which enabled me to complete further field work in the south western Cape, as well as attending various conferences and other meetings. Financial assistance from the Rock Art Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, also enabled conference attendance, and subvention by the University of Cape Town Publications Committee assisted in publication of an aspect of the research. Opinions expressed in this work and conclusions reached are those of the author, and are not to be attributed to any of the funding bodies. The work is my own, in concept and execution, apart from the normal guidance from my supervisor, and responsibility for any deficiencies is entirely mine. Heartfelt thanks are also due to friends, family, neighbours, fellow students and house/cat­ sitters. Ann Turner, Bastienne Klein, Jill Wenman, Elaine Pieters, Caroline Powrie, Lesley Miles, Hugh and Nancy Solomon, Sandra and John McKenzie, Emma Sealy, Maria Loopuyt, Judy Stevenson, Hilda Boikonyu, John Alessandri and undoubtedly others, all contributed in various ways towards the realisation of this research. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my cat, who is sitting on my lap as I type, and who has been a constant companion, substitute hot water bottle and infallible alarm clock. "The financial assistance of the Centre for Science Development (HSRC, South Africa) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed in this work, or conclusions arrived at, are those of.the author and are not to be attributed to the Centre for Science Development" 11 Notes on illustrations, orthography, terminology, referencing and style Illustrations