A book on the ancient rock art of the San -- the story behind the research. Ways of discovering rock art. The aesthetic approach. The narrative approach. Rediscovering the San. The interpretative approach: San beliefs. The interpretative approach: pictures in the brain. Ducks and rabbits. Battling it out. Many meanings. The broken string. Fragile heritage.

San rock paintings, scattered over the range of southern Africa, are considered by many to be the very earliest examples of representational art. There are as many as 15,000 known rock art sites, created over the course of thousands of years up until the nineteenth century. There are possibly just as many still awaiting discovery. Taking as his starting point the magnificent Linton panel in the Iziko-South African Museum in Cape Town, J. D. Lewis-Williams examines the artistic and cultural significance of rock art and how this art sheds light on how San image-makers conceived their world. It also details the European encounter with rock art as well as the contentious European interaction with the artists’ descendants, the contemporary San people.

This volume brings together the work of a number of scholars in the field of rock art studies who engage the so-called trance hypothesis in terms of their own empirical data and theoretical interests.

Contains more than two hundred photographs of Africa's rock art, coupled with historical and interpretive analyses, compiled to raise public awareness of the variety, importance, and frailty of these works.

The Cape Herders explodes a variety of South African myths - not least those surrounding the negative stereotype of the 'Hottentot', and those which contribute to the idea that the Khoikhoi are by now 'a vanished people'.

"In this unique collection of folk stories, the voices of long-dead "Bushmen," or San people, of southern Africa speak to us about their lives and beliefs. We are given glimpses into their thought-world. We listen to them recounting their poignant myths and beliefs".--BOOKJACKET.

This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of the indigenous people of the Western Cape. The past is vividly brought to life through the stories and photos, and information about heritage sites is included