It seems to me that there's little doubt that the first
'humans' came from Africa. Rather
than wander down some evolutionary rabbit hole about where in this huge
continent this actually happened, suffice it to say that there is archaeological evidence of continuous human habitation in southern Africa for over 150,000 years. Today, scientists feel that the San people of South Africa are the branch of humanity that stayed behind while the rest of those early inhabitants migrated away to colonize the earth. We've
come to Citrusdal expressly to explore the San rock art on the Sevilla trail,
one of many ancient rock art sites in Africa and dating back over 6,000 years.
We're tucked into a most lovely guesthouse, run by Les, a whirling dervish of hospitality. Her 'Starry Nights' retreat comes complete with a swimming pool, which is lovely as it's gotten quite hot and A/C is not common in SA. A short drive away is an old site known as The Baths. Discovered by early Boer trekkers and prised for its healing waters, it has remained authentic and boasts an enormous hot pool which is just the ticket for my aching muscles. So before we do any rock art exploring, it's off to The Baths.
This enormous pool was the temperature of a spa and ohhhhh so soothing!
And, amazingly, we had it almost all to ourselves! One lone bather kindly offered to take our photo.
Before our pick-up by Debbie and Paul, we head to McGregor's, the onsite restaurant, for lunch and sit on a most lovely balcony, surrounded by the flame trees of Africa.
The next day we take a hike to a local waterfall with, Maria, a friend of Les's, who lives off the grid a few kilometers out of town.
Our destination is this idyllic waterfall where Maria promptly plunges into a cooling pool. None of us do, however, and by the end of the hike I realize that I may have overdone it and have to pass on the hike to the Sevilla San rock art trail the following day. But, Tim, Debbie, and Paul do a masterful job of recording the sites, and I am in awe of the artistry of these ancient people.
All nine of these sites are on private land, and access is via a 'Traveller's rest padstal (farm stand)' which issues walking permits and has a small coffee shop. Fortunately each site is numbered, and a very handy guide tells where to look and what to look for.
Experts think this painting is of a large group - perhaps an extended family.
Before our pick-up by Debbie and Paul, we head to McGregor's, the onsite restaurant, for lunch and sit on a most lovely balcony, surrounded by the flame trees of Africa.
The next day we take a hike to a local waterfall with, Maria, a friend of Les's, who lives off the grid a few kilometers out of town.
Our destination is this idyllic waterfall where Maria promptly plunges into a cooling pool. None of us do, however, and by the end of the hike I realize that I may have overdone it and have to pass on the hike to the Sevilla San rock art trail the following day. But, Tim, Debbie, and Paul do a masterful job of recording the sites, and I am in awe of the artistry of these ancient people.
All nine of these sites are on private land, and access is via a 'Traveller's rest padstal (farm stand)' which issues walking permits and has a small coffee shop. Fortunately each site is numbered, and a very handy guide tells where to look and what to look for.
Experts think this painting is of a large group - perhaps an extended family.
This site has been dubbed the 'Cave of the Monsters' because of its fantastic creatures - dinosaurs???
Many of these photos involved a lot of scrambling onto and under rock. Rather than step through each site, I decided to let these remarkable works of art speak for themselves . . . while I wondered about the events that gave rise to them.
Was this painted after a successful hunt or after a trance in which the hunters or shaman visualized the hunt?
Who are these beings with hooks for heads? Was this some sort of headdress? Were they shamans or is this simply a hot weather hairdo?
I read one analysis that said the arc of this bow is part of a perfect circle, the bow strings are of equal length, and the archer's hands are perfectly placed on the radius of the circle!
Bringing home dinner! Was the smaller drawing on the left one that got away or maybe even an early dog-like companion?
Tim and Paul concluded that the distortion of the legs in these paintings reflected the fact that good strong legs were essential - you could walk long distances and run fast! I couldn't help but wonder if the tiny, pert breasts were those of females. The guidebook says that the enlarged buttocks (steatopygia) are another remarkable feature of these ancient people, allowing them - especially women - to store fatty reserves.
Backpack, game, baby carrier??
Experts think the animal depicted here is a quaqqa, an extinct zebra that was striped over only half its body.
A family group? Are they about to move to another site or are they marking this as their new home??
The detail and artistry of these paintings is absolutely breathtaking. Forget boar's hair brushes, a palette of 100+ paint colors (oil and acrylic), custom-designed palettes and easels, and pre-stretched canvas. They were drawing on the wall of a cave, working with sticks, their fingers, animal hairs, leaves . . . using blood, egg white, dried lassie dung, boiled plant roots, and leaves.
And this was probably my favorite - a child's handprint. I couldn't help but think of the timelessness of this; I still have the plaster handprints my boys made in nursery school . . .
A very happy Tim who has made it to the end of the trail and now only has to hike 3km back to the car!
