Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
October 2000
Rock paintings and engravings are Africa’s oldest continuously practiced art form. Depictions of elegant human figures, richly hued animals, and figures combining human and animal features—called therianthropes and associated with shamanism—continue to inspire admiration for their sophistication, energy, and direct, powerful forms. The apparent universality of these images is deceptive; content and style range widely over the African continent. Nevertheless, African rock art can be divided into three broad geographical zones—southern, central, and northern. The art of each of these zones is distinctive and easily recognizable, even to an untrained eye.
Not all rock art in these three zones is prehistoric; in some areas these arts flourished into the late nineteenth century, while in other areas rock art continues to be made today. In the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa, a number of rock paintings depict clashes between San (Bushmen) people and European colonists mounted on horses and armed with rifles. Many of the Drakensberg works use subtle polychrome shading that gives their subjects a hint of three-dimensional presence. The product of many authors, time periods, and cultures, the flowing naturalism and lively sense of movement of the best rock art attests to the conviction of masterful hands and trained eyes.
Citation
Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “African Rock Art.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rock/hd_rock.htm (October 2000)
Further Reading
Blundell, Geoffrey, ed. Origins: The Story of the Emergence of Humans and Humanity in Africa. Cape Town: Double Storey, 2006.
Coulson, David, and Alec Campbell. African Rock Art: Paintings and Engravings on Stone. New York: Abrams, 2001.
Garlake, Peter. Early Art and Architecture of Africa. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Le Quellec, Jean-Loïc. Rock Art in Africa: Mythology and Legend. Paris: Flammarion, 2004.
Lewis-Williams, J. David. Images of Mystery: Rock Art of the Drakensberg. Cape Town: Double Storey, 2003.
Lewis-Williams, J. David, and David G. Pearce. San Spirituality: Roots, Expression, and Social Consequences. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press, 2004.
Smith, Benjamin. Zambia's Ancient Rock Art: The Paintings of Kasama. Livingstone, Zambia: National Heritage Conservation Commission, 1997.
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: 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. “Apollo 11 (ca. 25,500–23,500 B.C.) and Wonderwerk (ca. 8000 B.C.) Cave Stones.” (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. “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 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. “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. “Mangarevan Sculpture.” (October 2003)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Tahiti.” (October 2003)
Related Essays
- African Rock Art: Game Pass
- African Rock Art: Tassili-n-Ajjer (?8000 B.C.–?)
- African Rock Art: The Coldstream Stone
- 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 of the Southern Zone
- Apollo 11 (ca. 25,500–23,500 B.C.) and Wonderwerk (ca. 8000 B.C.) Cave Stones
- Arts of the San People in Nomansland
- Great Zimbabwe (11th–15th Century)
- Ife (from ca. 6th Century)
- Ife Pre-Pavement and Pavement Era (800–1000 A.D.)
- Ife Terracottas (1000–1400 A.D.)
- Inland Niger Delta
- Introduction to Prehistoric Art, 20,000–8000 B.C.
- The Monumental Stelae of Aksum (3rd–4th Century)
- Pachmari Hills (ca. 9000–3000 B.C.)
- San Ethnography
Chronology
- Central Africa, 1400–1600 A.D.
- Central Africa, 1600–1800 A.D.
- Central Africa, 1800–1900 A.D.
- Central Africa, 1900 A.D.–present
- Eastern Africa, 1600–1800 A.D.
- Eastern Africa, 1800–1900 A.D.
- Eastern Africa, 1900 A.D.–present
- Eastern and Southern Africa, 1000–1400 A.D.
- Eastern and Southern Africa, 1400–1600 A.D.
- Eastern and Southern Africa, 500–1000 A.D.
- Egypt and North Africa, 1800–1900 A.D.
- Egypt and North Africa, 1900 A.D.–present
- Southern Africa, 1600–1800 A.D.
- Southern Africa, 1800–1900 A.D.
- Southern Africa, 1900 A.D.–present
- Western North Africa (The Maghrib), 1000–1400 A.D.
- Western North Africa (The Maghrib), 1400–1600 A.D.
- Western North Africa (The Maghrib), 1600–1800 A.D.
- Western North Africa (The Maghrib), 500–1000 A.D.
- Western North Africa, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
- Western North Africa, 1–500 A.D.
- Western North Africa, 2000–1000 B.C.
- Western North Africa, 8000–2000 B.C.