Origins Centre Rock Engraving Archive

The engravings were made by the San and Khoe, the first peoples to inhabit southern Africa. Many of the engraved depictions are realistic animal forms, unlike much of the San painted rock art. The engraving in the foreground depicts a giraffe.

The majority of the engravings are on dolerite and sandstone boulders, and a few on the softer, blue wonderstone. Various techniques have been used to engrave the images, including pecking and fine-line engraving using a sharp object. The engraving in the foreground depicts a wildebeest.

Some of the engravings can only be seen with carefully positioned lighting, as would have been the case in their natural landscape. At certain times of day the engravings would have 'magically' appeared, which was presumably the intention of the engraver, and added to the impact of the image.

Engraved (pecked) juvenile elandThis eland is only 17 cm in height, yet the folds and details of the skin of the eland are perfectly depicted.

Rhinocerous were sometimes engraved near the rocks they used to rub against. Engraved perhaps an act of brokering relations with the beasts that were associated with these places.

This boulder forms part of the collection, but the smoothing was not produced through human activity, but from rhinoceros' rubbing against the stone to ease an itch. These rocks are used again and again by many rhinos.

The eland is the largest of all the antelope and the one which all San groups agree has the most supernatural potency. This potency was summoned at the healing dances through song and rhythm.

The rock on which these engravings are made is incredibly hard, yet the artists were still able to perfectly and skillfully depict animals' forms.

The head of an eland is depicted here, showing the distinctive dewlap at the base of its neck.

Rhinoceros

Fine-line engravings are often made with continuous and often flawless strokes.

Fine-line engraved elephant

Engraved (pecked) geometric designThe symbolism and meaning of many geometric designs, such as in this example, are still unclear.

The Origins Centre Rock Engraving Archive with the Rock Art Research Institute aims to gain new information and understandings about these rock engravings and the people that engraved them.

Engraved (pecked) geometric sun-like design.These geometrics are thought to represent (Khoe and San) girls’ personal designs on their skin aprons at coming-of-age initiation ceremonies.

These engravings cannot be dated. Given the known movements of people in and around Southern Africa, some are likely more than 2000 years old, perhaps even many thousand years older.

In the early 1900s, engravings were removed from the landscape and placed in museums in South Africa for protection, study and display. Today, every effort is made to conserve rock engravings and painted rock art in their original context. However, rock art is salvaged when mining and other developments place them under threat. Origins Centre is honoured to curate, protect and display these beautiful and powerful national treasures.

The Origins Centre has an Augmented Reality (AR) App that's bringing the museum to life! Get a sneak peek into this fun experience from home, by downloading the OriginsCentreAR app for free (available on IOS and Android). Choose 'Engravings', scan these orange re-drawings, and watch the animals appear on your screen