Interesting Facts about San or Bushman Rock Art

Drakensberg bushman rock art eland cave cathedral peak
Drakensberg bushman rock art eland cave cathedral peak
Bushman rock art in the Drakensberg – Eland Cave – Cathedral Peak
  • Bushman rock art in the Drakensberg in South Africa and Lesotho is particularly well known for its beauty and vibrancy and for the sheer quantity of it.
  • The San or Bushmen are considered to be the “First Peoples” of southern Africa.
  • Bushman rock art represents the daily happenings in their lives, as well as depictions containing numerous religious beliefs and symbols.
  • Rock art “paints” were made from different coloured ochre, ground to a fine powder and then mixed with animal fat and sometimes blood.
  • Bushman made brushes from animal hair or a small single feather.
  • Eland and other antelope like Hartebeest and Reybuck feature in Bushman art, but plants are not commonly depicted.
  • The Drakensberg has more than 40000 bushman rock art images in more than 600 sites.
  • The Drakensberg Mountain’s rock art is amongst the finest in the world.
  • Rock engravings or petroglyphs are found in the interior of southern Africa and, unlike paintings which occur in caves and overhangs, are found on rocky outcrops or, indeed, on rocks in the open veld.

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