The Rock Engravings of Twyfelfontein, Namibia. Cryptic Messages in Stone

Description

Twyfelfontein has one of the largest concentrations of petroglyphs (rock engravings) in Africa. Most of these well-preserved engravings represent rhinoceroses, elephants, ostriches and giraffes, as well as drawings of human and animal footprints. The site also includes six painted rock shelters with motifs of human figures in red ochre. The objects excavated from two sections date from the Late Stone Age. The site forms a coherent, extensive and high-quality record of ritual practices relating to hunter-gatherer communities in this part of southern Africa over at least 2,000 years and eloquently illustrates the links between the ritual and economic practices of hunter-gatherers.

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14 min 30 sec

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Geography

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