NIKU 1994 1999 Kulturminneforskningens mangfold Grete Gundhus, Elisabeth Seip og Eli Ulriksen (red.) NIKU Norsk institutt for kulturminneforskning
Gundhus, G., Seip, E. & Ulriksen, E. (red). 1999. NIKU 1994-1999 Kulturminneforskningens mangfold. NIKU temahefte 31 Tilgjengelighet: Åpen Prosjekt nr.: 29823 (opptrykk april 2002, prosjektnr.: 29826000) Oppdragsgiver: NIKU Ansvarlig signatur: Oslo, august 1999 ISSN 0807-5948 ISBN 82-426-1056-8 Rettighetshaver : NINA NIKU Stiftelsen for naturforskning og kulturminneforskning Publikasjonen kan siteres fritt med kildeangivelse De fleste artiklene i NIKU temahefte nr. 31 er tidligere trykket i et vidt spekter av fagtidsskrifter og bøker. Med utgivernes tillatelse har vi i størst mulig grad gjengitt dem slik de fremkom i det enkelte tidsskrift eller den enkelte bok. Dette medfører imidlertid en del forskjeller artiklene i mellom, fordi de er basert på ulike redaksjonelle maler. Særlig gjelder dette bibliografioversiktene. Vi takker bidragsytere og utgivere for godt samarbeid. Redaksjon: Grete Gundhus, Elisabeth Seip og Eli Ulriksen Design og layout: Elisabeth Mølbach, Tegnekontoret NINA NIKU Sats: NINA NIKU Trykk: Digital Copy Studio Opplag (1. opptrykk): 250 Trykt på miljøpapir Kontaktadresse: NIKU Postboks 736 Sentrum 0105 Oslo Tlf.: 23 35 50 00 Faks: 23 35 50 01 Internett: www.niku.no
Referat Gundhus, G., Seip, E. & Ulriksen, E. (red.) 1999. NIKU 1994-1999 Kulturminneforskningens mangfold. - NIKU temahefte 031 I anledning Norsk institutt for kulturminneforsknings femårs jubileum utgir NIKU en samling på 21 artikler for å markere omfanget og kvaliteten på instituttets forskningsvirksomhet. Artiklene er skrevet enten på engelsk eller norsk og er i hovedsak tidligere publisert i nasjonale og internasjonale fagtidsskrifter. Emneord: Antropologi Arkeologi Begravelser Bergkunst Bosetting Bygningsforskning Båter Evenker Frihåndsdekor GIS Humanosteologi Kirker Konservering Kvinneforskning Kulturlandskap Kulturminneforskning Limfarge Middelalderarkeologi Middelalderbyer Middelalderkirker Middelalderkunst Samer Stavkirker Tjære Urbefolkning Vikingtid 1600-tall Buskerud Oslo Otterøy Røldal Sibir Søgne Sør-Afrika Abstract Gundhus, G., Seip, E. & Ulriksen, E. (eds.) 1999. NIKU 1994-1999 The Diversity of Cultural Heritage Research. - NIKU temahefte 031 (In English and Norwegian) The present publication marks the fifth anniversary of NIKU, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research. This compilation of 21 articles, most of them previously published in national and international scientific journals, serves to demonstrate the diversity as well as the quality of cultural heritage research carried out by NIKU. The articles are in English or Norwegian. Key words: Aboriginal population Archaeology Boats Building research Burial Churches Conservation Cultural heritage research Cultural landscapes Distemper Free-hand decorations Gender research Geographic Information System Hunter-gatherer societies Medieval archaeology Medieval art Medieval cities Medieval churches Physical anthropology Rock art Settlements Seventeenth century Social anthropology Stave churches Tar Viking period 3
Forord Norsk institutt for kulturminneforskning ble etablert 1. september 1994 som del av Stiftelsen for naturforskning og kulturminneforskning. I denne tiden er det utgitt mer enn 120 egne publikasjoner i tre publikasjonsrekker; oppdragsmeldinger, fagrapporter og temahefter. Det har dessuten vært en betydelig vitenskapelig produksjon i form av artikler og konferansebidrag som er publisert i anerkjente nasjonale og internasjonale fagpublikasjoner. NIKU har valgt å markere fem års virke med å utgi en samling av enkelte av disse artiklene, i tillegg til noen helt nye. De er gjengitt slik de ble trykket opprinnelig derfor er noen på norsk og noen på engelsk. Hensikten er å gi smakebiter på instituttets vitenskapelige produksjon og å vise litt av bredden i virkefelt og kompetanse. En evaluering foretatt av Norges forskningsråd viser at NIKU på denne korte tiden har klart å bli et kraftsentrum i kulturminneforskningen slik vi håpet og trodde. Det vil heller ikke være mangel på utfordringer fremover. Jeg tror at instituttet og dets dyktige og engasjerte stab har lagt et godt grunnlag for å møte dem. Jeg ønsker NIKU lykke til med jubileet og håper at leserne av dette heftet kan finne noe til nytte, glede eller provokasjon innenfor sitt interesseområde, men også inspirasjon til videre lesing på andre felt. 4
Innhold The First Lady of Norway Berit J. Sellevold & Birgitte Skar......................................................................... 6 Aspects of Rock Painting Preservation in Southern Africa Terje Norsted......................................................................................... 12 Reindeer Hunters and Herders: Settlement and Environmental Impact Ole Grøn, Inger Marie Holm-Olsen, Hans Tømmervik & Oleg Kuznetsov....................................... 20 Farms in Transition. A Study of Settlement Patterns in Eastern Norway 300 BC AD 1200 Wencke Helliksen..................................................................................... 27 Båtgrav som kilde. Konstruksjon og rekonstruksjon av båt fra vikingtid Eli Ulriksen.......................................................................................... 32 Oslo i middelalderen. Resultater av arkeologiske utgravninger Petter B. Molaug...................................................................................... 37 Urbaniseringsprosessen på kvinners vilkår? Sæbjørg Walaker Nordeide............................................................................. 44 De tidlige kirkene. Hvem bygde dem, hvem brukte dem og hvordan Hans Emil Lidén..................................................................................... 49 The Landscape of the Dead. Was Burial in the Parish Churchyard Obligatory in the Middle Ages? A. Jan Brendalsmo.................................................................................... 53 Rik mann, fattig mann, tigger, tyv Berit J. Sellevold..................................................................................... 61 Røldal, stavkirke eller... (With English Summary) Jørgen H. Jensenius................................................................................... 67 Kiln-Produced Tar Inger Marie Egenberg.................................................................................. 74 Otterøykrusifikset kilde til middelalderhistorie Tine Frøysaker....................................................................................... 79 Power Relations and Social Space: A Study of the Late Medieval Archbishop s Palace in Trondheim Tom Saunders........................................................................................ 90 Eight Seventeenth-Century Decorative Paintings One Painter? Tone Marie Olstad & Kristin Solberg..................................................................... 97 Frihåndsdekor Jon Brænne......................................................................................... 104 Den glemte kirken ved Christianias torv Ola Storsletten...................................................................................... 110 Gud til Ære og kirken til Pryd Mille Stein.......................................................................................... 113 If you can measure a Fly, why not a Cultural Monument? Monitoring Cultural Monuments and Sites, a Preliminary Approach Wencke Helliksen, Birgitte Skar & May-Liss Bøe Sollund................................................... 116 Røtter og skudd (With English Summary) Elisabeth Seip & Ola Storsletten........................................................................ 121 Den tredje dimensjon (With English Summary) Anne Fikkan........................................................................................ 129 5
BERIT J. SELLEVOLD AND BIRGITTE SKAR The First Lady of Norway This article is the result of recent research and is published for the first time here. During the summer of 1994, Helge Bentsen, a land owner at Hummervikholmen in southern Norway, found remains of the earliest Norwegians, in Søgne, west of Kristiansand (see Fig. 1). He was cleaning the sea bed in an inlet on the island where his cabin is located when he discovered the skeletal fragments. The water is c. 1 meter deep in the inlet, and the sea bottom consists of a mixture of silt and sand and crushed shells. The calciferous condition of the sea bed had preserved the bones rather well. The discovery of the oldest human remains in Norway is, in fact, the result of a collaboration between an observant land owner, an alert amateur archaeologist in the region, the local cultural monuments authorities, the Norwegian Maritime Museum and NIKU. Thanks to these parties, these remarkable finds came to light, giving us the possibility of obtaining further knowledge about the earliest people in Norway - how they looked, how they lived, and perhaps, through future research, from whence they came. In the summer of 1995, the Norwegian Maritime Museum (NMM) started marine archaeological investigations in the inlet, and more bones and fragments were found - an almost completely preserved thigh bone, a somewhat damaged shin bone, more cranial fragments, and some teeth. Later the same summer, Helge Bentsen found a fragment of a frontal bone. In the summer of 1996, the NMM did not investigate, but Helge Bentsen found yet another cranial fragment - an occipital bone (neck bone). In the summer of 1997, the NMM resumed their investigation, and three more cranial fragments and a tooth were found. 1 The investigations at the site are not yet completed, and will be continued in the fall of 1999. Most of the skeletal parts and fragments must be characterised as stray finds, since they were lying dispersed on the sea bed. Only the first skull fragment and the thigh bone were lying in marine clay. We do not have conclusive information about the original depositional context of the other bones and fragments.. THE SKELETAL REMAINS The bone fragments have been examined macroscopically, and a series of measurements have been made. 2 A head- and face reconstruction of one of the individuals has also been done, based on a computer tomographic (CT) scanning of the most complete skull. Anthropological analyses At least two, but perhaps as many as five individuals are represented in the extant material. The assemblage consists of an almost complete skull (the lower jaw mandible - is missing): Individual 1. A frontal bone fragment represents a second individual: Individual 2. There is also an occipital bone fragment, an almost intact left femur and a damaged left tibia. In Fig. 2, the fragments are registered on schematic skeleton drawings. The extant fragments are marked in black. All bone fragments are from grown individuals. So far, only females have been identified. The largest skull, called Individual 1, is of a female, c. 35-40 years of age at death. The skull is of Fig. 1. The photo and the map show the location of the site of Hummervikholmen. Photo Arve Kjersheim. 6
Fig. 2. Surviving skeletal material Fig. 3. The skull of Individual 1 and the frontal bone of Individual 2. Photo: Anne E. T. Winterthun. Fig. 4. The upper jaw of Individual 1, showing chipped enamel around the chewing surfaces of the teeth. Photo: Anne E. T. Winterthun. Fig. 5. The right side of the upper jaw of Individual 1, showing linear enamel defects on the upper right canine tooth. Photo: Anne E. T. Winterthun. medium breadth relative to the length, with a high upper face and rather low eye sockets. 3 The lower jaw is missing. The skull is robust, just like other Scandinavian Mesolithic female skulls. The chewing apparatus had been in vigorous use, evidenced by the well developed attachment areas of the chewing muscles. The pattern of dental attrition is of a typical hunter-gatherer type, that is, a helicoidal pattern. 4 The enamel around the edges of the chewing surfaces of the teeth had been chipped, which means that the food had contained hard particles such as, for example, grit, shell fragments and the like (see Fig 4). In addition to normal functioning, the dentition had most probably also been used as an auxiliary tool. There were slight to moderate defects in the enamel on several dental crowns, so-called linear enamel hypoplasia (see Fig 5). The defects are the results of arrested enamel formation during periods of disease, malnutrition and/or famine when the individual was between two and four years old. In addition to the skull of Individual 1, the bone assemblage includes cranial fragments from one or two other individuals. There is a frontal bone from a second individual (see Fig 3), and an occipital bone which may belong to this individual or to a third individual. Both in size and shape these cranial bones resemble the corresponding parts of the skull of Individual 1. It is therefore reasonable to assume that these cranial bones also derive from a female (or two females). On the frontal bone fragment, the area above the eye sockets (glabella) is almost identical in shape to that of Individual 1, and on the occipital bone, the muscle attachment area of the neck muscles the external occipital protuberance is almost identical to the corresponding area in the skull of Individual 1. Both of the fragments are from grown individuals. The postcranial bones are gracile. The almost intact thigh bone (femur) derives from a female with a calculated stature of 155,9 cm. 5 The shin bone (tibia) is very well preserved, but lacks the upper part, that is, the knee joint. Both in size and shape it clearly seems to belong with the thigh bone. Both postcranial bones are from grown individuals. It is not yet possible to state unequivocally which of the bones in the assemblage belong to which individual or individuals. This question may be resolved through additional finds of bones, and not least, through DNA-analyses. Reconstruction In connection with an exhibition of the Søgne find at the Historical Museum in Oslo in 1998, it was decided to make an attempt at reconstructing the head and face of Individual 1. In order to do this, the skull was put through a computer-tomographic scanning, which means that the skull was X-rayed in a series of layers. The information was digitalized and a data model of the 7
Fig. 6. Computerized reconstruction of the head of The First Lady of Norway. skull was created. This model formed the basis for reconstructing the soft parts of the head and face. The result is seen in Fig. 6. Subsequently, a three-dimensional model was created by a computer-guided knife which cut out the head in styrofoam. THE SCANDINAVIAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONTEXT There are very few finds of human remains from the Mesolithic period in Scandinavia, that is, from the period between c. 10.000 and c. 5.800 (before the present time (BP). In Norway, only four finds are securely allocated to the Mesolithic, while there are more finds from Southern Sweden and Denmark, although few are as old as, or older than the Søgne find. Norway The Søgne find is dated to c. 8.600 BP, and is thus the earliest find of human remains in Norway. The other three Mesolithic finds of human skeletal remains are: Bleivik in Rogaland, consisting of skeletal parts of a c. 50-60 year old female, dated to 7.950 +/- 110 BP (T.2882); Skipshelleren in Hordaland, consisting of a few finger bones from a grown individual of indeterminate sex, dated to c. 6.000 BP; Svarthola in Viste on Jæren in Rogaland, the skeleton of a young boy of c. 15 years, dated to c. 5.000 BP. The Viste grave has been reconstructed and is on exhibit at the Archaeological museum in Stavanger. Denmark The earliest find of Mesolithic human remains in Scandinavia are from Koelbjerg on the island of Fyn (Funen) in Denmark. The skeletal parts of a young adult woman of c. 25-30 years were found during peat digging, and the find has been dated to c. 9.300 BP. 6 Her stature has been calculated to c. 155 cm, that is, almost the same as the Søgne female. The find is on exhibit in Fyns Stiftsmuseum at Hollufgård near Odense. From several locations in Denmark there are finds that are slightly younger or contemporary with the Søgne finds. These mostly consist of fragments from early excavations such as, for example, Mullerup I, Lundby I, Ravnstrup, Sværdborg I (1917, 1921 and 1943) and Vinde-Helsinge. 7 One of the best preserved cemeteries from the Scandinavian Mesolithic was also found in Denmark, at Bøgebakken in Vedbæk on Sjælland (Zealand). It is dated to c. 7.000 BP, 8 and is therefore younger than the Søgne finds. The cemetery contained graves with remains of men, women and children who were buried in their costumes, with ornaments made of animal teeth, and with weapons and tools. There was an abundance of ochre around the skeletons. An infant had been buried next to a young adult female, and had been laid down on a swan s wing. Many of these graves have been reconstructed and are on exhibit at Gammel Holte Gård in Søllerød north of Copenhagen. Sweden From Southern Sweden there are numerous finds from the Mesolithic, but only two of the finds are older than the Søgne find. Store Mosse in Skåne (Scania). The find consists of the skull of a young girl. It has been dated to c. 9.000 BP. Huseby Klev on the West Coast near Göteborg (Gothenburg). The find consists of a few dispersed skeletal parts, and is also dated to c. 9.000 BP Other Swedish finds are (almost) contemporary with the Søgne find: Bäckaskog in Skåne, dated to c. 8.730 BP, is a find which has become famous among archaeologists and anthropologists: The skeleton of a middle-aged individual was found in a squatting position in a grave pit surrounded by hunting gear. At first it was assumed to be the skeleton of a man because of the robusticity of the skull and the presence of the hunting gear. But further investigations revealed that the skeleton in fact was of a female. It has even been claimed that the female had given birth to several children because of some minor changes in the pelvic bones of the skeleton. A reconstruction of this grave is on exhibit at the National Historical Museums in Stockholm. Another Swedish find which is contemporary with the Søgne find is from Bredgård east of Göteborg. The skeleton of a male was found in a bog near Ulricehamn. 9 It has been dated to 8.645 BP +/- 95 år (Ua-6629). Skeletal finds from Kams on Gotland and Uleberg in Bohuslän are also from the same time range as the Søgne finds. 10 In Sweden, two relatively large burial grounds have been excavated at Skateholm. These are contemporaneous with the Bøgebakken cemetery in Denmark. The oldest of the Swedish cemeteries, Skateholm II (22 graves), is dated to between 4480 +/- 140 BC and 4140 +/- 180 BC. The youngest 8
cemetery, Skateholm I (64 graves), is dated to between 4340 +/- 95 BC and 3980 +/- 125 BC. The Skateholm cemeteries show a great diversity in burial customs, comprising graves of individuals buried alone, or with dogs, and also dog graves, that is, complete grave constructions containing only a dog. THE CULTURAL HISTORICAL CONTEXT The shoreline displacement of southernmost Norway is poorly understood, and, judging by the knowledge we have today, it is relatively complicated. From the few geological investigations made in the area, 11 a general impression is that the post-glacial marine regression minimum falls below today s sea level from the area just west of Kristiansand on the south coast and accelerates towards the Stavanger area on the south-west coast. It is therefore likely that the small inlet where the finds were made was dry land about 8000-9000 years ago. However, ongoing geological investigations on the site indicate that the layer surrounding the bones was a marine deposit. 12 This layer is dated by pollen analysis to between 8400 BP and 8000 BP, which means that the layer was deposited at approximately the same time as the bones, or a little later. But it is a question whether the human remains were originally deposited on land or in a shallow bay. The bay is quite sheltered from the open sea since it is situated in the inner Søgne archipelago. The narrow bay is protected by a small skerry, thereby making it unlikely that the findings are the remnants of drowned Mesolithic people that have floated in from the open sea, and by coincidence have been deposited together in this particular bay. The radiocarbon datings that we have at present state that one of the individuals is c. 500 years younger than the other(s), which would support a conclusion of intentional deposition rather than accidental deposition. The fact that the various skeletal remains belong to at least two, and potentially five individuals, strengthens the interpretation of the deposition as intentional. The main hypothesis is therefore that we may have remnants of at least two, and perhaps three burials. Whether the burials were on land or in the sea has yet to be established. If the latter assumption turns out to be correct, the Søgne finds could represent one of the oldest burial grounds in Scandinavia. The custom of burying the dead in a cemetery or burial ground is a tradition which is normally attributed to the later part of the Mesolithic (the late Kongemose and early Ertebølle cultures of southern Scandinavia). 13 So far, no objects or other archaeological material has been found that can be associated with the human bones in Søgne. 14 However, almost half of the inlet, and possibly the least disturbed part, has not yet been investigated, and finds may still be made. Several of the later Mesolithic cemeteries found in Scandinavia are associated with settlement sites. In connection with the Søgne finds, a preliminary archaeological survey on the island and in the sea around Hummervikholmen was carried out in 1996, but no archaeological sites were found. The closest known contemporary site is on the mainland in Hummervika, just north of the island. From here we have stray finds, i.a., a pickaxe of a type that has recently been dated to about 8000-9000 BP. 15 It is therefore possible that the people that met their final destination on the small island lived some 350 meters away on the mainland. The locality of the skeletal remains, however, supports the assumption that these people must have had boats. There are no findings of Mesolithic boats in Norway, but there are numerous Mesolithic sites on islands far from the coast. This conclusion is therefore not surprising. The extant Norwegian Mesolithic skeletal finds do not provide a basis for establishing a possible common burial custom. The younger Atlantic and Subboreal finds from Svarthola in Viste and Skipshelleren, however, indicate a practice which was similar to the one seen in contemporary Danish shell middens, where the dead were deposited directly in the refuse heaps. The 13 C-signatures of the bones in the Søgne assemblage were obtained in connection with the 14 C-datings. The analyses yielded a 13 C value of 13.4, which means that 86% of the diet consisted of marine elements. This is indeed a very high level of marine ingredients in the diet. However, it fits very well with the estimate for Atlantic period man in southern Scandinavia, whereas the values for Boreal period human and dog bones in southern Scandinavia show a tendency towards a larger terrestrial component in the diet ( 13 C value of -25 ). The latter value, however, is not surprising, since all the Boreal samples derive from inland sites. 16 The location of the Søgne site on a small island in an archipelago in no way contradicts the 13 C values established here. Our general knowledge of the Boreal period in southern Norway is very limited. 17 There have ben no systematic excavations of localities from the same time period as, and in the vicinity of the Søgne find. It is likely that such sites in the area west of Kristiansand would be situated either on the beach or a bit below the present sea level. The dating of the locality of Tørkopp in Østfold, however, is almost contemporary with the Søgne finds. 18 Even though Tørkopp is situated many hundred kilometres from Søgne, the tool inventory most likely corresponds to what one would find on a settlement site belonging to the Søgne people: lanceolate and hulling type microliths, core axes, ground stone axes, pickaxes, conical microblade- and macroblade cores with an acute platform angle, as well as less diagnostic tools such as scrapers, retouched pieces, burins etc. The people on these coastal sites were strongly dependent on the sea. They subsisted on fishing, hunting sea birds and sea mammals, collecting eggs and shellfish as well as occasionally hunting larger terrestrial mammals such as red deer, roe deer, wild boar or elk. The vegetation on the site would be open, dominated by smaller pine and birch trees. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The Søgne find has been dated by five samples from the dispersed skeletal parts. Four of the datings may be considered to be contemporaneous when the standard deviation is taken into account. The skull of Individual 1 has been 14 C-dated to 8.600 years BP +/- 95 years (TUa-1257). The date has been 9
calibrated to between 7.435 and 7.210 BC, incorporating the correction for the marine component, that is, approximately -300 years. In spite of the correction, the dating is still well within the boreal chronozone (9000-8000 BP). 19 The occipital bone from Individual 2 has been dated to 8635 years BP +/- 75 years, calibrated to between 7445 and 7270 BC (TUa-2106). The thigh bone (femur) has been dated to 8700 years BP +/- 70 years, calibrated to between 7490 and 7375 BC (TUa-2107). For the shin bone (tibia), there is a preliminary dating of 8455 years BP +/- 75 years, calibrated to between 7260 and 7018 BC (TUa-2108). The analysis of this dating, however, is not entirely completed at the time of writing. 20 The frontal bone turns out to be somewhat younger than the other skeletal fragments. The dating is 8095 BP +/- 55 years, calibrated to between 6665 and 6527 BC (TUa-2105). According to the NTNU radiocarbon dating laboratory, this result makes it very likely that the bone belongs to an individual deposited about 500-700 years later than the other remains. The similarity of the datings of four of the individual samples from Søgne makes it reasonably certain that the bones are contemporaneous. Based on this conclusion, the stature of one (female) individual may be calculated to c. 156 cm. With a robust skull of medium breadth and length, a gracile postcranial skeleton, and a stature of c. 156 cm, the skeletal remains of this Søgne female closely resemble other Southern Scandinavian Mesolithic female skeletal remains. The 13 C-values for four of the dated fragments is 13.4 (we do not yet have the exact value for the TUa- 2108 sample). This means that 86% of the diet of the individuals derived from marine resources. The marine contents in the diet of the Søgne people was almost similar to a traditional Greenland Inuit diet. Of particular interest in connection with the analyses of the Søgne find is the fact that the 13 C-signature of the contemporary Swedish find, the Bredgård male skeleton, showed that more than 80% of the man s food derived from inland resources, whereas the Søgne people chiefly subsisted on a marine diet. This demonstrates that, just like in southern Scandinavia, there were also different ways of adapting to the environment among the first hunters and gatherers in middle Scandinavia; some population groups stayed inland while others lived by the ocean. CONCLUSION The ongoing investigation program for the Søgne finds includes DNA-analyses. These may establish the number of individuals in the find, and may provide information about heritable diseases and other genetic traits. They may also establish whether or not there was a biological relationship between the individuals in the find. The results of DNA analyses may also constitute a starting point for further investigations of a potential genetic relationship between individuals living in the periphery of Europe during the Mesolithic. Such a research project, however, must be undertaken on a broad basis of collaboration between institutions and scientists in the relevant countries. The fact that the people living around the North Sea Basin shared a very similar material culture in the period between 9000 and 8000 BP, and the physical closeness of the land areas, makes it likely that there was an interchange of genes as well as of cultural elements. DNA analyses may even reveal a biological relationship between the people of the Mesolithic in the area and present-day inhabitants of Norway. In England, DNA analyses established that a history teacher, Mr. Target, of the village of Cheddar in Wessex in Southeast England, is a direct descendant of the so-called Cheddar Man, a Mesolithic skeleton which was discovered in a cave near Cheddar. 21 These skeletal remains, by the way, were dated to 9.000 BP, and are thus almost contemporary with the Søgne find. Analyses of trace elements and isotopes in the bones will give us more detailed knowledge about Mesolithic marine nutrition and the diet of the individuals. The results will also contribute in current research of present day pollution conditions and consequences by establishing the levels of trace elements and isotopes in a clean world. The archaeological and anthropological investigations will be continued, especially with regard to comparative analyses. It is of vital importance that the Norwegian Maritime Museum, which so far has invested much energy, competency and economy in this project, should be given the possibility to complete the marine archaeological investigations in the inlet. Based on the knowledge so far gained in the investigations, it is highly probable that there are more human skeletal remains in the more undisturbed areas of the sea bed. It is of great importance to secure these finds for future studies. REFERENCES Ballin.T. B. & Jensen, O. L. 1995. Farsund prosjektet - stenalderbopladser på Lista. - Varia 29, Universitetets Oldsaksamling, Oslo. Bennike, P. (1986). Kvinden fra Koelbjerg på Fyn. En antropologisk vurdering af det ældste menneskefund i Danmark. - Fynske Minder: 13-27. Borrman, H., Engström, E. U., Alexandersen, V., Jonsson, L., Gerdin, A.-L. & Carlsson, G. E. 1996. Dental conditions and temporomandibular joints in an early mesolithic bog man. - Swedish Dental Journal 20: 1-.14. Danielsen, L. 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Larsson, L. 1990. Dogs in fraction - symbols in action. - In P. M. Vermeersch & P. Van der Peer (eds.), Contributions to the Mesolithic in Europe. Studiae Praehistorica Belgica. 5: 153-160. Leuwen, Leuwen University Press. Mangerud, J., Andersen, S. Th., Berglund, E. & Donner, J. J. 1974. Quaternary stratigraphy of Norden. A proposal for teminology and classification. Boreas 3: 109-128. Martin, R. & Knussmann, R. 1988. Anthropologie. Handbuch der vergleichenden Biologie des Menschen. - Gustav Fischer Verlag. Stuttgart, New York. Mikkelsen, E. 1978. Seasonality and Mesolithic Adaptation in Norway. - In K. Kristiansen & C. Paludan- Müller (eds), New Directions in Scandinavian Archaeology: 79-119. - National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. Newell, R. R., Constandse-Westermann, T. S. & Meiklejohn, C. 1979. The skeletal remains of Mesolithic man in Western Europe: an evaluative catalogue. - Journal of Human Evolution 8/1: 1-228. Nielsen, E. Kannegaard & Petersen, E. Brinch. 1993. Burials, people and dogs. - In S. Hvass & B. Storgaard (eds), Digging into the past: 76-81. Århus, Århus Universitetsforlag. Nygaard, N. Noe. 1997. Atlantic time palaeoenvironmental changes. The transition between the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic cultures in Denmark. Paper given at the research conference The Ecological Setting of Europe: from the Past to the Future. - European Research Conferences, Castelvecchio Pascoli, Italy sept. 1997. Petersen, H. C. 1988. Studier over dansk stenalders biologiske antropologi. - Institut for Genetic og Økologi. Århus, Århus Universitet. Smith, B. H. 1984. Patterns of molar wear in hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists. - American Journal of Physical Anthropology 63: 39-56. Trotter, M. & Gleser, G. 1952. Estimation of stature from long bones of American Whites and Negroes. - American Journal of Physical Anthropology 10: 463-515. Trotter, M. & Gleser, G. 1958. A reevaluation of estimation of stature based on measurements of stature taken during life and long bones after death. - American Journal of Physical Anthropology 16 (1): 79-124. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Several people and institutions have been involved in the investigations of the surviving skeletal parts, and the work is still going on at the time of writing. We would like to bring our sincerest thanks for a constructive collaboration, both with individuals and with institutions. So far, the anthropological investigations have been completed, 22 and preliminary archaeological investigations on the small island have been done. 23 The marine archaeological investigations have been carried out on and off since 1995, but lack of financial resources has slowed down the work. 24 14 C- and 13 C analyses have been carried out by the Laboratory of Radiological Dating at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim (NTNU). 25 A reconstruction of the head of Individual 1 was made in a cooperative effort between three institutions: the Sentrum Roentgen Institute in Oslo, 26 Toshiba Medical Systems Europe in Holland, 27 and the Galton Laboratory at University College London. 28 To each and everyone involved we bring our warm gratitude. NOTES 1 These cranial fragments and the tooth have not yet been made available for anthropological investigations. At the time of writing, the material is at the Norwegian Maritime Museum. 2 The measurements have been made according to guidelines given by Martin & Knussman (1988). 3 The cranial breadth-length index is 75.6 (mesocrane). Because the mandible is missing, the facial index could not be calculated. But the upper facial index is 55.0 (leptene), which means that this part of the face is high relative to the breadth. The orbital apertures are rather low, with indices of 75.6 for the right orbit and 73.9 for the left (chamaekonch). The nasal index could not be calculated. 4 Smith (1984). 5 The stature calculation is based on the maximum length of the femur (thigh bone), using the regression equations developed by Trotter & Gleser (1952; 1958). 6 Petersen (1988). See also Bennike (1986). 7 See, for example, Newell et al. (1979). 8 14 C-dated to between 4330 +/- 90 BC and 3860 +/-105 BC. 9 Borrman et al. (1996); Jonsson & Gerdin (1997). 10 Larsson (1989). 11 Hafsten (1983). 12 Danielsen (1996). 13 Larsson (1989); Nielsen & Petersen (1993). However, Larsson (1990) maintains that most Mesolithic finds of dog bones can be attributed either to dog graves or to ritual depositing of dog bones at a very early time, and refers to the graves at Hornborgasjõen which are dated to 8485 +/- 105 og 8740 +/- 120 BP. 14 This, however, was also the case for several of the graves on Skateholm I (Larsson 1989). 15 Hemdorff, pers. comm. (1995). 16 Nygaard (1997). 17 For example Mikkelsen (1978); Ballin & Jensen (1995). 18 The Tørkopp site was excavated by Egil Mikkelsen. 19 Mangerud et al. (1974). 20 Oral communication by Steinar Gulliksen, the National Radiocarbon Laboratory, NTNU Trondheim (1999). 21 From The Independent, March 8, 1997. 22 By Berit J. Sellevold, who was a research scientist at the National Museum of Antiquities at the University of Oslo at the time when the find was made. Later she joined NIKU Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, and the Søgne find investigations have been continued there. 23 By Birgitte Skar, who was the county archaeologist in Vest-Agder when the find was made. Later she joined NIKU, and her work has also been continued there. 24 First Michael Teisen and later Dag Nævestad at the Norwegian Maritime Museum have been responsible for the excavations. 25 The analysis was done by Steinar Gulliksen. 26 Lars Garberg did the computertomographic scanning of the skull. 27 Arthur Voorpool converted the data from the CT scan. 28 Robin Hennessy and his colleagues did the reconstruction of the head from the CT scan of the skull. 11
TERJE NORSTED Aspects of Rock Painting Preservation in Southern Africa Preprints: Konserveringsmidler og konserveringsmetoder (Consolidants and Conservation Methods). Nordisk Konservatorforbund, IIC Nordic Group, XIV Congress. NKF-N, Oslo 1997: 265-278. Since rock art is found in most parts of the world, regional associations of rock art researchers have united in a world wide federation, IFRAO (The International Federation of Rock Art Organisations). This federation supervises a yearly world rock art congress which takes place in different parts of the world. I have had the pleasure of taking part in the last two of these congresses. Their most remarkable feature has been the versatility of professional approach. Fortunately, stress has been laid on important practical aspects such as documentation and preservation. During the 1995 congress several papers gave attention to the growing world-wide problems of rock art conservation. Apparently this subject is going to be a regular element of the future IFRAO congresses, too. The 1996 congress was organised by SARARA (The Southern African Rock Art Research Association) and took place in Swakopmund, Namibia. To us this might appear to be a far-off place, but in fact Namibia can boast of numerous rock art sites that belong to the most spectacular in the world. Before and after this congress I had the opportunity to travel in the eastern part of Orange Free State, Republic of South Africa, and to Erongo, Brandberg and Twyfelfontein in Namibia. These tours gave me the possibility to see more than 30 rock painting sites, of which several are considered as essential. This paper is partly based upon observations noted down during the travels. Southern Africa (consisting of Namibia, Botswana, Republic of South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and the southern part of Mozambique) have ten thousands of painted or engraved sites. Regrettably these riches are far from lasting. In fact, the paintings of South Africa seem to disappear faster than any rock art of the world. THE LANDSCAPES As a rule the paintings are found in shelters formed by inward sloping or overhanging rocks. Apart from this common feature, the supporting rock and the landscape surroundings of the South African paintings are quite different from those found in Namibia. The heart of the South African rock art heritage is found in the hills along the imposing Drakensberg - Maluti Mountains. These hills are built up by sandstone beds overlain by basaltic flow. The youngest of these sediments, called Cave Sandstone, is seen as cream or yellowish cliff faces that tend to be heavily weathered. The result is the striking shelter formations running horizontally as krantzes along the hillsides, situated above grassy slopes and below an overhanging, darker basaltic cap. Often similar shelters are found in lower beds, too. They give the landscape a very distinctive step-like character and form an impressive setting for paintings. Cave Sandstone is a massive finegrained rock of varying thickness. It is chiefly made up of grains of quartz with subordinate feldspar. Calcareous concretions are common, especially in the lowest parts of the shelters. The calcareous constituents tend to make the rock less resistant. The paintings in Namibia are surrounded by a landscape which forms a striking contrast. A remarkable feature is the pinkish granite mountains that rise dramatically up from the semi-desert plains, especially in the Damaraland region. These inselbergs have attained extremely rugged and fantastic formations because much of the granite tends to be very coarse, showing a low resistance to weathering. Shelter formations are very common. In addition, the weathering has caused the mountains to be strewn with balancing boulders, many as large as houses. Numerous paintings are found on the inward sloping faces of these boulders. The granite massif of Brandberg is the highest in Namibia at 2573 m. Its wild and forbidding character is mitigated by green oasis-like areas in the upper parts, where the high mountain climate retains water reservoirs in rock depressions well into the dry season. Fig. 1. The progressive stages in the formation of a sandstone rock shelter (redrawn after Pager, 1971) 12
Fig. 2. A huge sandstone shelter with paintings near Fouriesburg, Orange Free State (photo Terje Norsted) This is a common feature of the largest inselbergs. As a rule, the paintings are found not far from the water resources. THE AGE OF THE PAINTINGS In 1969 a few hand-sized slabs with monochrome paintings of animals were found during archaeological excavations in a shelter named Apollo 11 in Huns Mountains, southern Namibia. The slabs were found in a cultural layer which was dated to more than 26 000 years before the present. They represent the oldest pieces of African art known today, and show that figure painting on rocks had developed in southern Africa at a very early stage. Until now the direct connection of rock paintings with archaeological evidence has been the universally accepted dating method. Unfortunately very few rock art sites have been excavated. One of them is the Red Giant Shelter in Brandberg, where fragments which have flaked off from the painting were found in cultural layers aged about 3000 years. A similar discovery of fragments from a painting were found during the excavations of a site in Matopo Hills, Zimbabwe. Here the dates range from 13 000 to 5 000 years BP. The Zimbabwean rock is a granite which is obviously less prone to weathering than that of Namibia. Archaeological evidence shows that people have lived in the shelters for hundreds or thousands of years, at least seasonally, and numerous shelters have been painted repeatedly. The date of the youngest cultural layer may suggest the minimum age of the paintings. Surprisingly, a well-known Zimbabwean shelter with very advanced paintings was abandoned as early as 6 000 years ago. A common minimum age of the South African paintings along the Drakensberg - Maluti Mountains is about 200 years, but obviously the tradition of rock painting has a very long history in these regions, too. During the last decade direct minimum dating of the paintings has been improved. A very interesting method, which has confirmed much of the archaeological evidence, is accelerated mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating of oxalate-rich deposits that may form on top of the paintings, especially when the rock contains quartz. Carbonaceous material found in silica crusts covering the paintings can also be dated in this way. THE PAINTERS As observed by some witnesses, a rock painting tradition survived in remote parts of Drakensberg into the nineteenth century. Most of these witnesses have recorded that the painters were Bushmen. Apart from the painters of Drakensberg, we have slender knowledge about the creators of the prehistoric rock paintings in southern Africa. The pictures are often referred to as Bushman Art. Admittedly, it is generally believed that most paintings were made by the predecessors of the present San people, or Bushmen. However, no proof shows us that these paintings originate from only one ethnic group. Notwithstanding, the paintings were obviously executed by huntergatherers belonging to the so-called Khoisan family. The surviving San represent one member of this family. The modern Central Kalahari San peoplerepresent one of the few ethnic 13
groups who have retained a traditional life as hunters and gatherers almost into the present. During the 1950s and 1960s they were studied extensively, and in fact we have a broad knowledge of their social life and religious belief. But since there are no inselbergs in this region, the Kalahari San have no traditional knowledge of rock art. Notwithstanding, the Kalahari studies have revealed a feature of great importance to rock art interpretation. The San of this remote region have retained a trance dance which has obviously a long and widespread history. According to San experience, the collective effort of clapping, singing, and dancing activates a supernatural energy. This is conveyed to selected dancers, enabling them through hyper-ventilation to enter a state of trance and a world of hallucinations. While in trance they might be able to perform out-of-body travels and to control the game and the rain-giving animals. Besides the trance granted the capacity to cure illness and solve social conflicts. Thus the trance experience has been a central force in San life. This is frequently reflected in the rock art. During the 1870 s interviews with /Xam Bushmen from Cape resulted in a most valuable written record which includes chapters on spiritual aspects. Both this record and the Kalahari studies show that the San people experienced the natural and the supernatural aspects of life as a coherent totality. This is relevant to the understanding of their rock art. THE PAINTINGS The common motifs are life-like humans and animals put together to create scenes with a strong element of movement and story-telling. The colours range from white through yellow, red and brown to black. With a few exceptions the individual figures are rather small, about 10 to 30 cm of length. In Namibia, and especially in Zimbabwe, the motifs tend to have a rather broad scope, reflecting several aspects of the society in which they were created. In South Africa everyday scenes appear to be few compared to motifs which are directly connected to trance and other-worldly experiences. We may come upon renderings of clappers and trance dancers, but more often the paintings seem to depict metaphorical scenes referring to the experience of trance, the out-of-body travelling and the hallucinatory encounter with mythological beings that convey their supernatural potency. Numerous motifs are enigmatic, and the fact that lots of shelters have been repainted several times to form superimpositions adds to the difficulty of interpretation. During the last generation, however, extensive research has given us a deeper understanding of these motifs. Thousands of the southern African rock paintings display an amazing feeling for form and movement. In fact, it has been suggested that the best Brandberg paintings were executed by special artists. The motifs which reflect a trance experience were probably painted subsequent to the dance by the trancers themselves. Most likely this was done in connection with rituals to confirm the presence of supernatural potency. Fig. 3. A panel of shaded bichromes depicting standing and resting antelopes in a sandstone shelter between Fouriesburg and Ficksburg, Orange Free State. The colours are black and white, subdued by a light grey silica crust (photo Terje Norsted) 14
Fig. 4. An elegant woman taking part in the White Lady scene of Maack s Shelter, Brandberg, Namibia. Note the white body paint and the exquisite adornments. The colours are brownish red and white (photo Terje Norsted) The southern African rock paintings display numerous variations as regards contents and pictorial mode of expression. Consequently, it may be precarious to use the terms style and development, even within a certain region. However, three pictorial modes may be distinguished. These are 1) monochrome, 2) bi- or polychrome, and 3) shaded (blended) bi- or polychrome. The third mode is often found in the paintings of the Drakensberg- Maluti Mountains region. Here adjacent colours, usually red ochre and white, or yellow ochre and white, are sensitively blended to render the natural colouring of the animals. Furthermore, some of the animals are painted foreshortened as seen from the front or from the rear. THE PAINTING MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES Archaeological evidence from Late Stone Age and Middle Stone Age deposits shows that the prehistoric Khoisan people used earth pigments, especially red iron oxides. In fact, red pigment mining in southern Africa dates back to about 200 000 BP, and several pits have been exploited into our century. The presence of pigments lumps in painted shelters is abundant, and several grinding stones with colour stains have been found. The written sources give us little of reliable information on paints used by the rock painters. However, some analytical work has been done during the last decades. At least we have some indications about the use of pigments. In the famous Maack s Shelter, Brandberg, the main colours are white, yellowish through light yellowishbrown to brownish-red, and black. The white is a pure calcium sulphate, while the black is charcoal. The other pigments are unburned or burnt natural ochres which at times have a strong silica content in the form of quartz. In the paintings of the Ndedema Gorge in Natal Drakensberg the whites are calcium sulphate (sometimes mixed with powdered quartz) or kaolin. The yellow and brownish-yellow is natural unburned ochre sometimes mixed with substantial quantities of quartz, while the pink is burnt ochre mixed with quartz. Brown and reddish-brown is burnt ochre with admixtures of clay or quartz. The black is charcoal. In addition to the pigments mentioned warm red to dark maroon iron oxides are most common in the rock paintings. Manganese black has been used, too. Apparently these pigment compositions are rather typical for a very large area, although some local variations should be expected due to varying access of raw materials. For instance, the typical brownish ochre of the Cave Sandstone region may be pure limonite, which is often found in pebblelike nodules that stick out from the wall of the shelters. All students of southern African rock paintings have observed the variations of durability from one colour to another. Usually the paint containing yellow and red earth pigments are 15
relatively permanent. The blacks seem to be less durable, but in some parts they turn out to be well preserved. The whites are the most difficult to classify. In central parts of South Africa observations have shown that there are three different kinds of whites. When wet, some whites retain their colour while others turn black, and a third kind temporarily disappears altogether but reappears upon drying. Furthermore, in this region most whites appear to be rather short-lived. It is very common that an antelope figure appears as an oval red or yellow colour field because the whites of the head, neck, underbelly, and legs are gone. In the Namibian and Zimbabwean paintings, however, the whites are often excellently preserved. Of course these dissimilarities are attributable to the various chemical properties of the pigments. Variations may also be due to the fineness of the pigment particles and the bonding between these particles and the rock minerals. The viscosity and the appliance of the paint may play a role, too. In addition, the nature of the paint medium is considered to be very important. In fact, we know very little about this medium. Or perhaps we should say media, because there might have existed regional variations. Furthermore, we should not exclude the possibility that painters sometimes used different vehicles for each kind of pigment. Most of the early writers mention fatty substances as media for rock paint. Admittedly, various peoples of southern Africa have used animal fats as media for body paint and for colour applied to different objects. A low viscosity fatty vehicle fit for use in rock paint would have required some heating. If the pigments were stirred into the fat while it was still warm, water might have been added to form a dispersion. This could give the possibility to adjust the viscosity of the paint by means of new water additions during the process of painting. Since albumins have been detected in South African and Namibian rock paintings, it has been claimed that blood was widely used in rock paintings. Admittedly, blood is especially suitable for reddish paint. The problem of clotting might have been reduced by whisking to remove the coagulationforming proteins. Subsequent additions of water is needed to make blood a ready vehicle for rock paint. Since the dark colour of dry blood fades, the pigment hue is clearly perceived in time. However, a fresh colourless medium which fits all pigments could have been obtained by the use of serum, which is formed after storing. Some writers have suggested plant sap as a vehicle in rock paintings, and there are records from Drakensberg about the use of Asclepia gibba latex mixed with a powdered clay, probably kaolin. The juice of the genus Euphorbia is claimed to be quite useful, too. To act as paint media, these saps have to be diluted with water. They become colourless upon drying, but their milky appearance in a liquid state might have restricted their use to white pigments. We should not exclude the use of egg. Another possibility is no binder at all. A finely ground pigment which is stirred solely in water would adhere to porous rock surfaces. It is very difficult to obtain any clear opinion about the paint media by means of observation. Various factors have influenced the present appearance, including the weathering and the porosity of the rock. A lean and opaque distemper-like paint is often seen on sandstone, which must have absorbed much of the medium. On the other hand, a large part of the paint on granite tends to appear more like a staining of the rock surface. However, the fine lines found in numerous paintings show that the paint must have been a free-flowing fluid which was easy to handle. The delicate details show that the painters had very good tools, too. Some early writers mention the use of brushes made by attaching hairs from the mane or tail of the wildebeest to a thin reed, and occasionally brush marks are clearly seen in thickly applied paint. Brushes made from animal hair were probably the main tool of the rock painters for a very long time. The perfectly controlled, uninterrupted lines with their subtle modulations of thickness show that some of the brushes were soft and finely pointed. They could hold a substantial quantity of paint and gave the painters an astonishing control and flexibility. The confidence with which most paintings are executed is very striking. The painters appear to have worked spontaneously, and mistakes and unfinished paintings are rarely seen. THE NATURAL CAUSES OF DETERIORATION The survival of the rock paintings of southern Africa is due to their sheltered location. Notwithstanding, the fast disintegration of numerous paintings on sandstone, and especially those found in shallow shelters, shows that they have a limited protection against the natural weathering forces. Water may reach the paintings in several ways. Rain may be driven onto the painted surface when it is located in a shallow shelter. Such shelters also host vegetation that retains moisture. Furthermore, water that drops from the lower edge of the overhang may splash on to the paint. When the overhang has no distinct lower lip, water may also trickle along the underside of the shelter roof and over the paintings. Surface water may break up the adhesion and cohesion of the paint and cause a rapid disintegration. Furthermore, a painted surface which remains wet for long periods may be damaged due to the vegetal growth. In most cases the deterioration of the paintings is caused by the influence of seeping water. When this moisture evaporates due to the contact with hot air, the soluble salts content may create a deposit of crystals on the paintings, causing the colours to be less visible. However, the crystallisation may also take place in the pores of the rock close to the surface. The strong crystalline expanding forces are able to cause severe disruption of the surface layer, including the paintings. Numerous painted shelters are facing the north so that the sun is shining directly on them. This day-time heating causes a particularly strong moisture diffusion to the rock surface. MAN-MADE DESTRUCTION The numerous re-paintings on top of older motifs may appear disturbing to us. However, this did not imply a repudiation of earlier figures. On the contrary, the primeval painting was probably looked upon as imbued with a 16
special potency. Apparently, the succeeding painters did their best to confirm this potent quality. The Black People thought highly of the San s supernatural experience and healing capacity. In addition, the Black People held the potency of the rock paintings in high esteem and believed that the painting materials conveyed a healing power. In fact, many paintings are marred by chip marks that result from attempts to obtain these materials for use in traditional medicine. Furthermore, the Black People themselves now and then contributed by adding new figures. The chip marks and the later additions should be looked upon as documents of cultural importance rather than vandalism. In many South African painted shelters there are low stone walls built by Black herder boys. Furthermore, they have left soot deposits from their Fig. 5. Superimposed antelopes in a sandstone shelter north of Fouriesburg, Orange Free State. Note the man-made destruction which consists of scratching, pecking, and crude black outlining. The colours are yellow ochre, light orange brown, and maroon (photo Terje Norsted) fires, scratched the paintings, and even used the figures as targets. Unfortunately, they also used the shelters as stables. Often the cattle have licked the salty surface and rubbed against the wall, causing disaster to the paintings. Since this rock art is extremely sensitive to touch and moisture, it is easily damaged by acts of thoughtlessness and vandalism. This vandalism is not only attributable to local kids. It may be caused by other visitors, as well. Souvenir hunters have chipped off pieces from the paintings, while others have left their own inscriptions on the painted surface. Other visitors, including those who claim that they have scholarly motives, may for instance spray the paintings with water so that the colours show up better in photographs. In general, tourism without control contributes to the accelerated destruction of the paintings. MEASURES OF PRESERVATION In South Africa, The National Monuments Council policy in the past has been to keep the location of the rock art sites secret in order to protect them from vandalism. This has led to a public ignorance, so today the trend is moving towards a conscious promotion. Selected sites are published, and a serious collaboration with tourism is being established. In their preservation work The National Monuments Council co-operates with regional councils and the rock art department of the regional museums. Usually the museums survey the sites and prepare a report on the state of preservation. They also inspect the sites regularly. The regional councils instruct the owners of farms where the rock art is situated to keep their eyes open and control the visitors. The National Monuments Council evaluates the importance of the various sites, declares chosen ones as National Monuments, and prescribes general measures of physical protection. In addition, all rock art is protected by law under the National Monuments Act. There is similar legislation in the other southern African countries. Time has shown, however, that legislation is of little value unless it is followed up by practical efforts. 17
Water drainage systems have also been tried in South Africa. Sponsored by the National Monuments Council, this work has been going on as a large scale experiment since 1973. The practical work is carried out by the National Building Research Institute. There are many obstacles in this endeavour. Numerous South African shelters are very large and situated far off the beaten track. Since the conditions tend to change from site to site, there is no easy and general solution. However, the installation of a drip ridge to prevent the rain water from flowing along the underside of the roof and over the paintings is considered essential. The prototype of such a drip ridge is a continuous stainless steel strip fastened in a groove which is made along the lower edge of the overhang. This remedy, which is supposed to have a long-term effect, has been followed up by regular inspections. The sandstone pores are likely to contain considerable amounts of seeping water that diffuses through the rock surface. Consequently, any direct conservation of the paintings implies unpredictable elements unless the consolidation medium permits a total moisture diffusion. Until now, direct conservation of paintings on sandstone has given no satisfactory results. In fact, such consolidation has even contributed to the formation of new crusts which are prone to subsequent flaking due to vapour pressure and salt crystallisation. Considering the present risks and possibilities, it is better to direct the main efforts towards preventive measures. If a valuable painting is in a direct danger of destruction the solution might be to remove the entire block and store it safely in a museum. In fact this has been done in South Africa. Fig. 6. A redrawn tracing of the sentral part of the White Lady scene of Maack s shelter, Brandberg, made by Harald Pager. Note the system of different shading which represents the various local colours. Ca 1/8 of actual size (after Kuper, 1996) A new organisation called Rocustus is forming an important part of the practical preservation work in South Africa. Assisted by the regional museums, this organisation strives to increase the knowledge of rock art among the farmers who own property where rock art is found. Besides the aim of Rocustus is to spread knowledge of rock art among the public in general. As a rule, visitors coming to look at rock paintings have to obtain permission from the farmer. Preferably the visitors should be accompanied by a farm worker acting as a guard. In order to establish additional security some National Monument Sites have been surrounded by a lockable metal cage. The Maack s Shelter in Brandberg is protected by a very solid metal lattice which has been put up at the distance of about 3 meters from the paintings. Admittedly this is a rather unpleasant arrangement, but it is considered necessary because of the large number of unpredictable visitors. There is also an artificial drainage system on top of this shelter to prevent the rain water from reaching the paintings. SOME REMARKS ON DOCUMENTATION Old photographs reveal that the deterioration of the paintings on sandstone happens depressingly fast. The combination of many thoughtless visitors and extensive water seepage might cause notable losses after a few years. On account of this a thorough documentation is considered essential. Descriptions of available information, survey drawings, photographs and tracings of the paintings represent the primary material of documentation. To be precise, photographs represent the documentation of the appearance, while tracings are considered important with respect to interpretation and comparative studies. The orthodox tracing method consists of attaching a transparent graphic film to the rock face and tracing the outlines of the painting. The tracings are usually redrawn on paper later on. Using this method, the different motifs of a complex superimposition might be separated and clearly demonstrated. By means of a standardised code system the colour distribution might be shown, too. The tracing method could be harmful to the most friable painted surfaces. Furthermore, the end result is quite alien to the actual appearance of the painting. It is analytic, but never quite objective, since it is based on interpretation from the very beginning. It is difficult to follow faint outlines, and errors might be increased during the redrawing. Nevertheless, tracings have been a most useful tool in the study of southern African rock paintings for several decades. Tracings are very informative, too. Public information represents an important end result of this documentation. By helping the Southern African to understand their unique cultural heritage, this information is perhaps 18
more effective in preserving the rock art than any restrictive measures. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Anita Arnott and Neil Lee, Johannesburg, and Pat and Robert Camby, Windhoek, were my African guides and shared their great enthusiasm and knowledge. Without them this paper had never been written. REFERENCES Avery, Graham. 1975. The Preservation of Rock Art with Special Reference to South African Problems and Conditions. - In: South African Archaeological Bulletin, Vol. 30, p.139-142 Avery, Graham. 1978. Rock Art Conservation in Southern Africa. - In: C. Pearson (ed.) Conservation of Rock Art. Proceedings of the International Workshop on the Conservation of Rock Art, Perth, September 1977, ICCM Sydney 1978, p.66-68 Deacon, Janette. 1995. Promotion of a neglected heritage at Stone Age sites in the Western Cape, South Africa. - In: Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, Vol. 1, p.75-86 Garlake, Peter. 1995. The Hunter s Vision. The Prehistoric Art of Zimbabwe. - London: British Museum Press Haughton, S.H. 1969. Geological History of Southern Africa. - Cape Town: The Geological Society of South Africa Katz, Richard. 1982. Boiling Energy. Community Healing among the Kalahari Kung. - Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press Kuper, Rudolph (Ed.). 1996. Weisse Dame - roter Riese. Felsbilder aus Namibia. - (Koln: Heinrich-Barth- Institut Lee, D. N. and H. C. Woodhouse. 1970. Art on the Rocks of Southern Africa. - New York: Charles Scribner s Sons Lewis-Williams, J. David. 1983. The Rock Art of Southern Africa. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Lewis-Williams, J. David and Thomas Dawson. 1989. Images of Power. Understanding Bushman Rock Art. - Cape Town: Southern Book Publishers Loubser, J. H. N. 1993. A Guide to the Rock Paintings of Tandjesberg. - In: Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum Bloemfontein, Vol. 9, Part 11, p. 345-384 Loubser, P. J. And J. H. P. Van Aardt. 1979. Preservation of Rock Art: Installation of a Drip System at the Beersheba Shelter, Griqualand East District. - In: South African Archaeological Bulletin, Vol. 34, p. 54-56 Pager, Harald. 1971. Ndedema. A Documentation of the Rock Paintings of the Ndedema Gorge. - Graz: Akademische Druck u. Verlagsanstalt Pager, Harald. 1989. The Rock Paintings of the Upper Brandberg, Part I - Amis Gorge. - Koln: Heinrich- Barth-Institut Pager, Harald. 1993. The Rock Paintings of the Upper Brandberg, Part II - Hungorob Gorge. - Koln: Heinrich-Barth-Institut Pager, Harald. 1995. The Rock Paintings of the Upper Brandberg, Part III - Southern Gorges. - Kõln: Heinrich-Barth-Institut Rudner, Ione. 1982. Khoisan Pigments and Paints and Their Relationship to Rock Paintings. - In: Annals of The South African Museum, Vol. 87. Cape Town: The South African Museum, p. 1-281 Rudner, Ione. 1989. The Conservation of Rock Art in South Africa. - Cape Town: National Monuments Council Rudner, Jalmar and Ione. 1970. The Hunter and His Art. A Survey of Rock Art in Southern Africa. - Cape Town: C. Struik Smits, L. G. A. 1975. Preservation and Protection of Rock Art in Lesotho. - In: Conservation in Archaeology and the Applied Arts. Preprints of the Contributions to the Stockholm Congress 2-6 June 1975. - London: IIC, p. 75-77 Smits, L. G. A. 1992. Recording and Deciphering Rock Art. - In: Arkeologiske skrifter, Historisk Museum, Bergen, No. 6. - Bergen: Universitetet i Bergen, p. 53-60 Vinnicombe, Patricia. 1976. People of the Eland. Rock Paintings of the Drakensberg Bushmen as a reflection of their life and thought. - Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press Watchan, Alan. 1991. Age and composition of oxalate-rich crusts in the Northern Territory, Australia. - In: Studies in Conservation, Vol. 36. - London: IIC, p. 24-32 Webb, T. L. 1980. Building Research Assists in the Preservation of Rock Art. - In: South African Archaeological Bulletin, Vol. 35, p. 58-59 Willcox, A. R. 1956. Rock Paintings of the Drakensberg Natal and Griqualand East. - London: Max Parrish Willcox, A. R. 1984. The Rock Art of Africa. - London & Canberra: Croom Helm Woodhouse, H. C. 1979. The Bushman Art of Southern Africa. - Cape Town: Purnell & Sons SUMMARY Southern Africa is an impressive treasury of rock art. The main part consists of paintings, which are found in natural granite and sandstone shelters. The painters were San people ( Bushmen ) or their predecessors. As a rule, the quality of the paintings is truly astonishing. The pigments comprise yellow, red, and brown iron oxides, calcium sulphate, kaolin, and charcoal black. The media appear to be various albumin substances, and the main tool animal hair brushes. The granite rock paintings of Zimbabwe and Namibia may be several thousand years old, while the paintings on South African sandstone are much younger. This is due to the friability of the porous sandstone, which causes the South African paintings to disappear very fast indeed. In addition to manmade destruction, the effects of water and salt crystallisation are the main agents of this deterioration. Generally, preventive measures are considered more effective than direct conservation. In this urgent situation a satisfactory documentation is essential. 19
OLE GRØN, INGER MARIE HOLM-OLSEN, HANS TØMMERVIK AND OLEG KUZNETSOV Reindeer Hunters and Herders: Settlement and Environmental Impact This article is the result of recent research and is published for the first time here. To understand the connection between cultural phenomena and the landscapes that form their setting is a central theme in recent research. The expectations that have already been expressed for this branch of archaeological and anthropological research may seem scaringly high to many researchers, and one has to ask oneself if it will ever be possible to meet such demands. Nevertheless, we remain convinced that there is a sound basis for optimism, especially with regard to the implementation of an integrated scientific and humanistic approach to the matter. Of course, some precautions must be taken. Up until a few years ago, a fundamentalistic ecodeterminism stating that a given ecological setting will result in similar patterns of settlement and of resource utilisation was used by some researchers to interpret and analyse the material remains of lower hunter-gatherer societies, considered in the field of social anthropology to be the initial type of human culture. Today it is obvious that even lower hunter-gatherers are not that simplistic. Their behaviour may be controlled by factors like easy access to drinking water, firewood, food and other resources, but they operate with a buffer that allows survival in critical resource situations (Lee: 1968). Thus most of these communities will have the capacity to engage in activities such as production of ornaments and art, rituals, play, myth telling, etc. that are not directly connected with basic survival behaviour. From an archaeological point of view the idea that landscapes influence the human cultures that live in them and, vice versa, that human cultures influence the landscapes they occupy, seems to be in good agreement with our observations. Hunter-gatherers utilise the available resources in accordance with a strategy that aims to avoid over-exploitation. This has two main elements: population density must be kept low; and the population must be mobile so that its distribution can match seasonal variations in resource distribution. This allows the resources in the environment to regenerate from year to year, and as a result the strategy is more properly one of resource control. But since control over the non-material aspects of landscapes is also important to human cultures, landscapes can no longer be seen merely as wilderness but must be viewed as cultural landscapes with material and non-material features and organisation. To the hunter-gatherer the visible and the invisible represent different but equivalent aspects of the cognitive landscape. This paper will deal with two cases. The first is a case-study concerning the Evenki reindeer hunters of Northern Transbaikal in Eastern Siberia, showing the impact of settlement on vegetation. The latter section of this paper is based on a case-study of Sámi settlements in Northern Norway, and in connection with this we will discuss the possibilities provided by the interpretation of satellite images for distinguishing indirect traces left by settlement. Since both the Sámi reindeer herders who until quite recently also relied heavily on hunting, gathering and fishing (Vorren & Manker:1976) and the Evenki reindeer hunters traditionally use small herds of domesticated reindeer for transportation, there seem to be a lot of common traits in the behaviour as well as in the settlement situations created by the two cultures. Because the Evenki are more conservative in their lifestyle, observations of their culture may be used to elucidate and explain observations from the Sámi area. Where archaeology earlier focussed to a great extent on the question of settlement location, it has lately become obvious that it is important to understand the relationship between culture and landscape in its totality. Of course, it is impossible to reconstruct such an ephemeral thing in detail. A central point is, however, that landscape is not a wild, unorganised tract surrounding settlement sites. It is organised into hunting territories, transportation corridors, settlement zones, burial zones, sacred zones, etc. In virtually every human culture these landscape zones and elements have been incorporated into a cosmology and given a meaning within its frames of reference. Together they constitute the individual culture s cognitive landscape. We must conclude that there exists a complex feed-back process between physical landscape and culture. Both influence, and are influenced by, the other. Since the relationship between landscape and culture encompasses ecological systems as well as cognitive systems, it can only be understood within the framework of an integrated scientific and humanistic approach. The objective of this paper is not to solve or even to describe the problem in its totality. We shall restrict ourselves to a presentation of two cases that focus on the relationship between the various settlements and their surroundings, in order to demonstrate that it is not fruitful to regard these as separated zones. AN EVENKI SETTLEMENT AND ITS SURROUNDINGS AN ETHNO- ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXAMPLE The Northern Transbaikal is located some hundred kilometres to the northeast of the northern point of Lake Baikal, and approximately 1000 km north of Mongolia. The region s aboriginal Evenki population are hunter-gatherers living in a mountainous taiga environment, with open pine and larch forests giving way to grassy steppes in 20