BUSHMEN IN AFRICA

Taranaki Daily News, 26 April 1930, Page 31 (Supplement)

BUSHMEN IN AFRICA

PAINTINGS IN A CAVE. FIND OF IMPORTANCE. The existence of typical Bushman paintings in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, has hitherto been considered a remote possibility. Yet, in a cave at Fish Hoek there have now been discovered paintings belonging to what archae ologists term “the last Bushman per iod” or “the Wilton industry.” In an interview with a representative of the Cape Times recently, Mr. B. Peers, of Fish Hoek, who for the last four years has been conducting extensive investigations in the large rock shelter or cave, “Skildegat,” in the valley, explained the unique importance of the paintings. said, “that Fish Hoek and its adjacent “It is not generally known,” he valley were once thickly populated by aboriginal folk for centuries prior to the coming of the first white people. There are many sites in the valley containing a vast assortment of cultural remains, and the most important of these once occupied sites is the large roeh shelter known as ’Skildegat,’ where primitive man must have lived centuries ago.” Mr. Peers said that few caves, even in the interior of South Africa, have disclosed such a wealth o f material as Skildegat. The excavations there had readied the 10ft level, and already three distinct periods of occupation by different peoples had been traced, two of which contained skeleton remains. ■ The deepest interment was of an almost unknown individual, whose type Jiad now l>cen definitely pronounced to be that of the “ancestoral Bushman.” This type must be considered the “master hand” in the manufacture of stone implements, of which a large collection had been unearthed. “It has long been debated,’ said Mr. Peers, “by archaeologists of the Periinsula why no typical Bushman paintings • have ever been discovered here. The most southerly paintings found so far were in the Stellenbosch range of hills. “Undoubtedly the little people did paint, both the cave walls and themselves, but the exposed condition of the most convenient sites probably accounts for the absence of paintings. The softness of the sandstone formation of the -rocks in the Peninsula allows of considerable weathering of the walls of all cavities, which must have borne paintings hundreds of years ago, and which have now been obliterated for ever by natural causes. “The first site of interest visited by L’Abbe Brenil when he was here was the eave Skildegat and at the conclusion of his tour-lie spent a day working in the deposits. “Before' his arrival, the likelihood of any discovery of paintings was considered remote, but he saw that among the accumulation of incoherent modern .scratchings of names on the wall, there were traces of pigments. “After clearing off an accumulation of fungus and charcoal, vivid colourations in yellow and red were brought out clearly by a special process, and a surprising series of peculiar chaiacteis were revealed.” Mr. Peers said that the peculiarity of these paintings was that they were not of the usual “man, woman, and animal type,” but were of a ‘’geometric’ tvpe, consisting of a scries X)f fingerdots, or dabs, -strokes and smears, and were, without' doubt, of a symbolic nature representing language expression in code signs. “It is quite certain,” he went on, “that this painting was not the outcome of leisure pastime or of any individual artistic temperament, but was done for some specific reason. “The theory may be advanced that the signa indicate that headmen of note lived and died in the shelter, for the burials support this theory. On close examination of the various characters, it is clearly seen that three different peoples have been at work with three different coloured pencils and paints, the one working over the other in apparent disgust of the former writer. This fact does actually exist in the interior where actual and beautiful drawings of animals and men are drawn deliberately one on top of the other. “But here in the Skildegat cave, we may consider the super-imposition of the characters to be a simple endorsement by some new arrival on that of the old; the former, having read and understood the message, either crossed it off or painted or scratched another message over it. "It is interesting to note the colour index of the characters. As a base there is white paint, then black, yellow, red, and vermilion pencil strokes. “Circumstances show these to be of the latest period of occupation, and may be attributed to the ‘Wilton industry,’ which is termed ’the last Bushman period,’ forming the- last and uppermost deposit in the shelter. From i this floor at a height of BJft, the paintings occur. Considering that the little ‘ people concerned were only about sft hmh, great difficulty must have been experienced in reaching go high. “The Wilfa.fa industry derived its name from the site, or farm, Wilton, in the Albany district, where the industry was first -extensively worked up by Mr. Hewitt, the Director of the Albany Museum at' Graham’s Town. No painting from that part actually resembles these from Fish Hoek. The true Wilton hands from the east coast are actual impressions of the hands after covering them with paint, whereas the local ones are carefully drawn, as the odd shapes and irregular number of fingers show, “One would think it easier to leave an actual impression of the hand at this height rather than a careful drawing. but 5 the queer little people knew what they were doing, and it is for ub to find out the reasons.”