Dating rock paintings in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg and the Biggarsberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Results are reported from the second phase of a rock art dating project in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg and the Biggarsberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Eight accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon determinations, obtained on oxalates underlying and overlying rock paintings, show that uKhahlamba-Drakensberg parietal art predates 2000 b.p. and is older than previously believed. Moreover, age estimates obtained from excavated deposits and rock paintings support each other in indicating that hunter-gatherers abandoned the area between 1600 and 600 years ago. Finally, the conclusion that parietal art in the Biggarsberg predates 3000 years, reached through the excavation of painted slabs at Maqonqo Shelter, is confirmed.