FINGERPRINTS OF THE KHOEKHOEN: GEOMETRIC AND HANDPRINTED ROCK ART IN THE CENTRAL LIMPOPO BASIN, SOUTHERN AFRICA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Adistinctivegeometrictraditionofrockpaintingsandengravingshasrecently been introduced to rock art studies in southern Africa. Thegeneral characteristics and the overall distribution of this art are nowknownandtheauthorshipofthisarthasbeenprovisionallyassignedtoKhoekhoe herders. But, many aspects of this new art tradition remainobscure. This paper advances our knowledge of Geometric Traditionart by focusing on a specific geographic area in which it is found inunusual abundance: the Central Limpopo Basin. The paper summa-rizesthefindingsofmorethan14yearsofrockartfieldsurveysinthisarea. It sets out the first published typology for the art, investigates itsorigins, and examines the relationships between this art and the otherrockartsoftheareabeforemakingconclusionsaboutthelikelihoodofaKhoekhoe authorship. THE ROCK ART OF THE CENTRAL LIMPOPO BASIN TheCentralLimpopoBasin(CLB)issituatednearlyequidis-tant between the rock art concentrations of the Maloti/Drakensberg Mountains of Lesotho/South Africa and theMatopo Hills of Zimbabwe and comprises four separateand distinct rock art areas: the Limpopo–Shashe ConfluenceArea (LSCA), Northern Venda, the Soutpansberg and theMakgabeng Plateau (Fig. 1). The region is relatively wellresearched (e.g. Schoonraad 1960; Willcox 1963; Pager 1975,1977, Eastwood 1999, 2003, 2005; Eastwood & Blundell 1999;Eastwood & Cnoops 1999; Eastwood