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Using the archive to formulate a chronology of rock art in the South-Western Cape, South Africa
Includes bibliographical references.
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| Main Author: | |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Archaeology
2014
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| _version_ | 1867614025162948608 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Mguni, Siyakha |
| author2 | Parkington, John |
| author_browse | Mguni, Siyakha Parkington, John |
| author_facet | Parkington, John Mguni, Siyakha |
| author_sort | Mguni, Siyakha |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Includes bibliographical references. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9296 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:45:28.758Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publishDateRange | 2014 |
| publishDateSort | 2014 |
| publisher | Department of Archaeology |
| publisherStr | Department of Archaeology |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/9296 Using the archive to formulate a chronology of rock art in the South-Western Cape, South Africa Mguni, Siyakha Parkington, John Includes bibliographical references. With absolute dating still limited, relative chronologies remain useful in contextualising painting interpretations. This study vouches for the archival capacity of rock art and hence the archival perspective can be used to analyse paintings sites to build a framework their chronological and interpretative formulations. The sequence of paintings in the south-western Cape is customarily accepted to span hunter-gatherer phase from over 10,000 B.P.; then herding/pastoralism from ca. 2,000 B.P., and finally the historical-cum-colonial period several centuries ago. Several painting traditions with distinct depiction manners and content are conventionally linked to these periods. This study does not replace but evaluates this schema in order to refine the diverse hunter-gatherer, herder and colonial era painting contexts and history. Using superpositions as one of my analytical tools, the notion of datum aided the referencing and correlation of layered image categories into relative sequence. Visible differences occur between painting traditions, but indistinguishable within a single tradition. Some themes such as elephants, fat-tailed sheep, handprints and possibly geometric forms and dots were found to occur in various levels, even as parts of different traditions. Such divergences were analysed through the archival concept of respect des fonds to clarify graphic variations through the chronology. Probing other sources of information revealed that change from earlier to later imagery phases reflected shifts in the socio-economic, cultural and political circumstances of the region. These histories through time are indicated by the choice and sustenance of particular thematic subjects although their meaning and form changed. The ensuing sequence and interpretation of selected painted themes is a descriptive template reflecting the organic character in the creation, the order of painting phases and cultural continuities and disjunctions in the use of symbolism. This agenda in part reviews the changing social and historical landscape in order to understand variation of painting over time and to project possible interpretative transformations in the sequence. Painting sequences and cultural (dis)continuities are thus intricately entwined and can be disentangled through an analysis that uses the recursive relationship between the archaeological, ethnographic, and historical sources. This amalgamated approach has the ability to produce historicised past narratives and contextual image meanings. The chronology can be understood through first accepting the social, economic, political, and cultural subtleties of painting production. 2014-11-07T09:13:57Z 2014-11-07T09:13:57Z 2014 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9296 eng application/pdf Department of Archaeology Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Mguni, Siyakha Using the archive to formulate a chronology of rock art in the South-Western Cape, South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | Using the archive to formulate a chronology of rock art in the South-Western Cape, South Africa |
| title_full | Using the archive to formulate a chronology of rock art in the South-Western Cape, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Using the archive to formulate a chronology of rock art in the South-Western Cape, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using the archive to formulate a chronology of rock art in the South-Western Cape, South Africa |
| title_short | Using the archive to formulate a chronology of rock art in the South-Western Cape, South Africa |
| title_sort | using the archive to formulate a chronology of rock art in the south western cape south africa |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9296 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mgunisiyakha usingthearchivetoformulateachronologyofrockartinthesouthwesterncapesouthafrica |