"The Rock Art of Hunter-Gatherers" Lesedi #23, L. Jobard, C. Dudognon, C. Bourdier (coord.)

http://www.ifas.org.za/research/2020/lesedi-23-november-2020/

From the stylistics of paintings, landscapes and networks of ornamented sites, lithic industries, archaeozoology, conservation and heritage enhancement issues, this issue aims to illustrate the multidisciplinary aspect of rock art studies in Zimbabwe.

This special issue, was coordinated by Léa Jobard (CNRS PhD student at TRACES laboratory – University of Toulouse – and at IFAS-Research, Johannesburg), Carole Dudognon (UMR 5608 TRACES – Université Jean Jaurès, Toulouse) and Camille Bourdier (UMR 5608 TRACES – Université Jean Jaurès, Toulouse).

“After a century and a half of research, Southern African rock art is today built up on remarkable archaeological materials that make it possible to conceive, in the long term, the history of the hunter-gatherers who, for a long time, have been deprived of it. While the artistic testimonies of contemporary groups have drawn researchers’ attention at the very time when these populations were disappearing (Ego, 2000), the ethnographic and linguistic stories of the latest artists have tried to give meaning again to these works (Bleek, 1874, 1932; Orpen, 1874). Considered for a long time as the expression of the recent history of San populations, these artistic productions offer a visual quality that was lauded as early as the 19th century. They have been reproduced on the occasion of many redrawing campaigns, some of which have initiated parallels with European prehistory (Breuil, 1948).”