CATTLE IN AFRICAN ROCK ART:

Cattle. Photograph TARA

(Trust for African Rock Art)

Pretty much anywhere you find rock art one of its most important themes is going to be involved with primary sources of food for the indigenous population. This is why there are so many horses and reindeer illustrated in the painted caves of Europe, and so many bison in the rock art of North America. In Africa, the San people (so-called Bushmen) illustrated their most sought after game animals, especially eland but also giraffes and others. However, in the tribal cultures of Africa the predominate animal in their rock art has been cattle images.

"Crying cows" of Algeria.

Photographs TARA.

"Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that domestication of cattle occurred 10,000 BP in Western Asia. After this migrations of humans and cattle about 8,000 years BP occurred followed by interbreeding with wild cattle in Northern Africa to produce breeds local to the continent. More than 60% of the rock art of the Sahara depicts cattle or cattle related activities reflecting the importance of these events. All around Africa however, cattle depictions in rock art abound." (TARA 2016:1)

African cow petroglyph.

Photograph after Noguera.

Red painted African cattle with herders.

Internet photograph - public domain.

I assume that originally these people lived a classical pastoral lifestyle, relying on their herds for food and resources. In a recent paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences a team consisting of Katherine M. Grillo, assistant professor of anthropology at University of Florida, Fiona Marshall of Washington University, and Julie Dunne (who led the study) at the University of Bristol looked for traces of milk consumption on ancient pottery to confirm that the cultures relied on this food resource. "After excavating pottery at sites throughout east Africa, team members analyzed organic lipid residues left in the pottery and were able to see evidence of milk, meat and plant processing. 'This is the first direct evidence we've ever had for milk or plant processing by ancient pastoralist societies in eastern Africa,' Grillo said. 'The milk traces in ancient posts confirms the story that bones have been telling us about how pastoralists lived in eastern Africa 5,000 to 3,000 years ago - an area still famous for cattle herding and the historic way of life of people such as Maasai and Turkana,' Marshall said." (Heritage Daily 2020)

African cattle petroglyphs.

Internet photographs - public domain.

But the role of cattle in these societies goes way beyond the role of mere foodstuffs. Perhaps inevitably, the herds became not only signs of wealth but acquired spiritual value because of that importance. "Today many people see cows (and the consumption thereof) either as a contributor to environmental destruction, or as a solution to feeding the world's population. Both views are centered on the (important) role that cows play in providing food primarily in the form of milk and meat. But cattle are more than that. Through millennia and in different places in Africa, cattle have been imbued with significant symbolic and social meanings in addition to their role as food providers." (TARA 2016)

Red painted African cattle with herders.

Internet photograph - public domain.

This importance of cattle led to their portrayal in many cases as discrete individuals instead of generic cattle. "Cattle were perceived as having unique horns, especially among longhorn cattle which occupied a large population. For instance, some cattle were given lyre-shaped horns. Cattle were known to have a large financial, cultural, and environmental impact on the people of the Ennedi highlands. They were also given distinct coats to individualize these animals, and rock art at some sites including the Chiguéou II site, includes cattle figures in extravagant geometric designs. Cattle were found all among the highlands, while other animals, such as horses, were not." (Stanley 2015)

Painted cow, Wadi el Firaq,

Internet photograph - public domain.

Therefore, African rock art portraying cattle must be viewed as a much more complex phenomenon than just groceries or even wealth. They are viewed as beautiful, objects of devotion and desire as well as a means of sustenance. "So there are many reasons why cattle were, and still are, prized and cared for in many African societies: beauty, hardiness, religio-spiritual use, social and political value - and food." (TARA 2016)

In other words, African cattle images can carry meanings and have implications pointing to virtually all aspects of a culture and its value systems.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

Heritage Daily,

2020 Milk Pioneers: East African Herders Consumed Milk 5,000 Years Ago, https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/04/milk-pioneers-east-african-herders-consumed-milk-5000-years-ago/127612

Noguera, Alessandro Menardi

2016 The Chiguéou II Rock Art Site Revisited (Ennedi, Chad), February 8, 2016, https://independent.academia.edu/AlessandroMenardiNoguera

Stanley, David

2015 Prehistoric Rock Paintings at Manda Guéli Cave in the Ennedi Mountains - Northern Chad, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51016097

TARA (Trust for African Rock Art),

2016 Cattle in African Rock Art and Traditions, January 22, 2016, https://africanrockart.org/news/cattle-in-african-rock-art/