Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
October 2000
The earliest history of rock painting and engraving arts in Africa is uncertain. Increasing archaeological research in Africa demonstrates that many sites remain to be discovered. In addition, artworks on exposed rock walls are vulnerable to damaging weather and harsh climates, and although many do survive, only tentative steps have been made toward direct dating techniques.
Much more easily datable are painted and engraved rocks that have been buried deliberately, or that have fallen off the wall and become submerged in soil. Radiocarbon dating provides an estimate of when these rocks were buried, although it is still not possible to determine how old the images were before burial.
The seven slabs of rock with traces of animal figures that were found in the Apollo 11 Cave in the Huns Mountains of southwestern Namibia have been dated with unusual precision for ancient rock art. Originally brought to the site from elsewhere, the stones were painted in charcoal, ocher, and white. Until recently, the Apollo 11 stones were the oldest known artwork of any kind from the African continent. More recent discoveries of incised ocher date back almost as far as 100,000 B.C., making Africa home to the oldest images in the world.
Incised stones found at the Wonderwerk Cave in the Northern Cape province, South Africa, suggest that rock engraving has also had a long history on the continent. The stones, engraved with geometric line designs and representations of animals, have been dated to circa 8200 B.C. and are among the earliest recorded African stone engravings.
Citation
Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Apollo 11 (ca. 25,500–23,500 B.C.) and Wonderwerk (ca. 8000 B.C.) Cave Stones.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/apol/hd_apol.htm (October 2000)
Additional Essays by Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “La Venta: Sacred Architecture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “La Venta: Stone Sculpture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Monte Albán.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Monte Albán: Sacred Architecture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Monte Albán: Stone Sculpture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Teotihuacan: Mural Painting.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Teotihuacan: Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Valdivia Figurines.” (October 2004)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Hopewell (1–400 A.D.).” (October 2002)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Indian Knoll (3000–2000 B.C.).” (October 2003)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Poverty Point (2000–1000 B.C.).” (October 2003)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “African Rock Art.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “African Rock Art: Tassili-n-Ajjer (?8000 B.C.–?).” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “African Rock Art: The Coldstream Stone.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Monumental Stelae of Aksum (3rd–4th Century).” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Tikal.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Tikal: Sacred Architecture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Tikal: Stone Sculpture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Art and the Fulani/Fulbe People.” (October 2002)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Great Zimbabwe (11th–15th Century).” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Ife Pre-Pavement and Pavement Era (800–1000 A.D.).” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Foundations of Aksumite Civilization and Its Christian Legacy (1st–8th Century).” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Ife (from ca. 6th Century).” (originally published October 2000, last revised September 2014)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Inland Niger Delta.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Lydenburg Heads (ca. 500 A.D.).” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Nok Terracottas (500 B.C.–200 A.D.).” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Empires of the Western Sudan.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Empires of the Western Sudan: Ghana Empire.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Empires of the Western Sudan: Mali Empire.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Empires of the Western Sudan: Songhai Empire.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (7th–14th Century).” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Mangarevan Sculpture.” (October 2003)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Ancient American Jade.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Jade in Costa Rica.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Jade in Mesoamerica.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “La Venta.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Fulani/Fulbe People.” (October 2002)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Great Serpent Mound.” (October 2002)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Cave Sculpture from the Karawari.” (October 2003)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Tahiti.” (October 2003)
Related Essays
- African Rock Art
- African Rock Art of the Southern Zone
- Introduction to Prehistoric Art, 20,000–8000 B.C.
- African Rock Art of the Central Zone
- African Rock Art of the Northern Zone
- African Rock Art: Game Pass
- African Rock Art: Tassili-n-Ajjer (?8000 B.C.–?)
- African Rock Art: The Coldstream Stone
- Blackwater Draw (ca. 9500–3000 B.C.)
- Chauvet Cave (ca. 30,000 B.C.)
- Fell’s Cave (9000–8000 B.C.)
- Lascaux (ca. 15,000 B.C.)