Rock art regionalism and identity : case studies from Trans-Pecos Texas and Mpumalanga Province, South Africa
This work addresses two key issues in current rock art research, the first theoretical, the second exemplary. Researchers often write of rock art regions without according the concept sufficient theoretical consideration. I argue that rock art regions are more usefully defined by the presence and absence of ethnographically informed motifs than by aesthetics. I support my argument by reference to two understudied rock art regions: the Texas Trans-Pecos, USA, and Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The parallels between the two regions are enlightening: both are cultural âcrossroadsâ with complex histories of migrations, group interactions, and colonial settlements. Both provide archaeological evidence of hunter-gatherer, herder, and farming peoples. Moreover, both regions are adjacent to other, better-known rock art corpuses that have been explicated using ethnographic analogy and other anthropological approaches. Using these heuristic tools, I explain some of the motivations and meanings behind the production and consumption of rock art in the Trans-Pecos and Mpumalanga. I argue that the most effective method for understanding the significance of the motifs â many of which are also found in the neighbouring
Hampson, Jamie
rock art ; archaeology ; Texas ; South Africa
Rock art regionalism and identity : case studies from Trans-Pecos Texas and Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. This work addresses two key issues in current rock art research, the first theoretical, the second exemplary. Researchers often write of rock art regions without according the concept sufficient theoretical consideration. I argue that rock art regions are more usefully defined by the presence and absence of ethnographically informed motifs than by aesthetics. I support my argument by reference to two understudied rock art regions: the Texas Trans-Pecos, USA, and Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The parallels between the two regions are enlightening: both are cultural âcrossroadsâ with complex histories of migrations, group interactions, and colonial settlements. Both provide archaeological evidence of hunter-gatherer, herder, and farming peoples. Moreover, both regions are adjacent to other, better-known rock art corpuses that have been explicated using ethnographic analogy and other anthropological approaches. Using these heuristic tools, I explain some of the motivations and meanings behind the production and consumption of rock art in the Trans-Pecos and Mpumalanga. I argue that the most effective method for understanding the significance of the motifs â many of which are also found in the neighbouring
rock_art regionalism identity case_study trans province south_africa work address two_key issue current rock_art first theoretical second exemplary often write rock_art region without accord_concept sufficient theoretical_consideration argue rock_art region usefully define presence_absence ethnographically inform motifs aesthetic support_argument reference understudied rock_art region trans usa province south_africa parallel two_region enlighten cultural crossroad complex history migration group interaction colonial settlement provide archaeological_evidence hunter_gatherer herder farm people moreover region adjacent better known rock_art corpus explicate use_ethnographic analogy anthropological approach using heuristic tool explain motivation meaning behind production_consumption rock_art trans argue effective method significance motifs many also_find neighbour