Rock+Art

  **Rock art, when view in relationship to Western art simply acts as an "introductory device". This means that it is used to provide an example of the** **beginning of the "Real" art that Western art is considered as being. However, interpretation of rock art in ** **southern African has had a profound effect on the study of rock art world-. South African rock art is said to have been created by shamans who act as guides  and links to the spirit world. There is an ongoing debate as to whether the depictions on the rock are of actual events, a representation of daily life, or a representation of the spirit world as seen through  the eyes of the shaman artist. Some believe that the shaman would go into a trance and paint the visions that are received from the spirit realm. **


 * Popular reproductions of rock art commonly depicts scenes of people hunting, however hunting scenes are rare in South African rock art. In fact only 29 of the 3909 paintings actually show hunting, and far less than that show an animal being killed.  However there is an abundance of art that depict animals and objects may suggest that these are indications of contact with people outside of hunter-gatherer realm and even Africa. Since these are depictions of everyday life, the idea of a purely spiritual demeanor may not be true entirely. **[[image:african-art-ant3145/battle-cave-historyofsouthafrica.jpg width="440" height="350" align="right" caption="San People, Battle Cave, South Africa"]]