Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes

In The News:

Jan 27 2016 - 7 Days, 1,500 Miles in Namibia; Sarah Khan; NY Times

Twyfelfontein (Patrick Giraud/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0).

Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes has one of the largest concentrations of petroglyphs, or rock engravings in Africa.

Most of these well-preserved engravings represent rhinoceros.

The site also includes six painteelephant, ostrich and giraffe, as well as drawings of human and animal footprintsd rock shelters with motifs of human figures in red ochre.

The objects excavated from two sections, dated from the Late Stone Age.

The rock art engraving and paintings form a coherent, extensive and high quality record of ritual practices relating to hunter-gather communities in this part of southern Africa over at least two millennia and, eloquently reflects the links between ritual and economic practices of hunter-gatherers in terms of the value of reliable water sources in nurturing communities on a seasonal basis over the millennia.

The authentic imagery work of the art suggests it is part of the belief system of hunter-gathers, the San, who lived in the area until partly displaced by Damara herders about 1,000 years ago and finally displaced by European colonists within the last 150 years.

The setting of the Twyfelfontein rock art is also authentic as other than one small engraved panel which was removed to the National Museum in Windhoek in the early part of the 20^th century, no panels have been moved or re-arranged.