Wildlife species diversity on prehistoric rock paintings in Africa

Bc. Hana Hrabalová

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Rock art is a term widely used for prehistoric markings which were made by men on natural stone. It is present on every continent, except for Antarctica. However, no continent has such a wide variety of it as Africa, where also the oldest pieces of rock art, dating back to 27,000 years ago, can be found. The rock art can provide us with many valuable information about lifestyles of our ancestors, such as when people lived, what they made, whether they owned livestock, moved seasonally, buried their dead, we can also learn more about their social activities, cognitive systems, abstract thoughts and concepts of reality. The main aim of the thesis was to describe the species diversity on prehistoric rock art (paintings and engravings), especially in relation to human expansion in Africa. From the available information about rock art found in specialized sources, I created the database of primary description of archaeological sites with 301 records. Then, other two databases, with only biologically significant records, were created, focused on animals abundance and species diversity. The total number of 68 species was detected across the Africa, with cattle having the most depictions and being most oftenly displayed specie in Sahara and East regions, due to the emergence of the pastoralism. In the South region, most oftenly depicted specie was antelope (particularny eland), having a spiritual meaning for local inhabitants - Bushmen. Another often depicted species from wild animals were mostly large fauna species, such as giraffes, elephants or rhinoceros. From domestic species were depicted (except for the cattle) also horses, camels, dogs, goats and sheeps, with visible more depictions in the Sahara region, which is closer to the domestication center of these animals and had the best conditions for settling down.

Keywords

rock art, rock painting, rock engraving, petroglyph, pictograph, domestication, agriculture

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 27. 4. 2017

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: prof. RNDr. Pavla Hejcmanová, Ph.D.
• Reader: Daniel Frynta, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Master programme / field:
Tropical Agriculture / Wildlife Management in the Tropics and Subtropics