Artifacts

South Africa’s San rock art has long been admired for its elegance and mystery, but a new study suggests many of its most dynamic “dance scenes” may be far more specific than previously assumed. By systematically reviewing painted panels from KwaZulu-Natal to the Western Cape, researchers argue that the art preserves visual clues to trance dances, girls’ initiation ceremonies, and other communal rituals that once structured San life. The key takeaway is that the paintings do not simply show people moving; they encode recognizable ritual elements - like clapping women, dancers in circles, and altered postures associated with trance - mirroring ethnographic descriptions of San healing and initiation practices, reports Archaeology Magazine . Trance Rock Art of Nsangwini - Communing