San rock art reveals myths, not dinosaur sightings
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David Witelson of the University of Oxford challenged long-held beliefs about interpretations of San and Basotho rock art in southern Africa.
For decades, some paleontologists have suggested that Indigenous people in the region recognized and depicted dinosaur fossils in their art and stories. Witelson’s research, published in Southern African Humanities, argues these claims lack evidence and stem from Western scientists projecting their own understandings onto Indigenous cultures. Witelson examined two specific claims.
The first involved a red shape interpreted as a dinosaur footprint linked to the mythical being ǁKhwai-hemm. He found no San songs or myths connecting ǁKhwai-hemm to ancient footprints or fossils, but rather identified the shape as representing a personified veld fire, a wildfire, from stories recorded in the Digital Bleek and Lloyd Collection. The second claim centred on a supposed depiction of a tusked rain animal inspired by dicynodont fossils.
Witelson determined that inaccurate copies of the rock art, created by George Stow, and a translation of an account from a San woman named ‘Kou’ke’ led to this misinterpretation. He rephotographed the original art and found the “tusks” were actually a smear of black paint. Furthermore, no San myths mention giant, tusked beasts or connect to fossil remains. The art more likely depicts a rain animal, a common subject in San storytelling.
Witelson cautions against imposing Western perspectives onto other cultures, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based interpretations.
