Key Takeaways:
– A mysterious animal in South African rock art may represent an extinct species discovered as fossils in the region.
– The artwork is associated with the San people, indigenous inhabitants of South Africa.
– According to the study, the creature may have been inspired by dicynodont fossils, a tusked animal extinct before dinosaurs emerged.
– The study may reveal a deeper understanding of Indigenous knowledge of paleontology in Africa.
South African Rock Art Conjures Past Epochs
A puzzling depiction of a tusk-bearing creature in South African rock art might signify an archaic species that once existed, surviving today as fossils discovered in the region. This intriguing hypothesis was proposed in a study led by Julien Benoit from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, published on September 18, 2024, in the open-access platform PLOS ONE.
Historic Artwork Unravels Mystery
The artwork in question is part of the Horned Serpent panel, a piece of rock wall adorned with various depicted elements linked to the indigenous San people of South Africa. This rock artwork was initially created between 1821 and 1835, featuring different animal representations, including a long-bodied, down-turned tusk-bearing creature bearing no resemblance to any recognized modern species in that region.
The San people’s traditional art is known to include various elements from their environment, encompassing fossils as well. As a result, Benoit proposes that the depicted tusked beast might have been inspired by a species that had been extinct long before.
The San people’s Link with Extinct Dicynodonts
Renowned for its plethora of well-preserved fossils, South Africa’s Karoo Basin houses relics of tusked creatures known as dicynodonts. Frequently, these ancient fossils are discovered eroding from the ground, revealing antiquities from epochs past.
Benoit re-examined the Horned Serpent panel, finding remarkable likenesses between the tusked figure in the artwork and the dicynodont fossils. This interpretation aligns with the San people’s cultural narratives, rich with exclamations of colossal beasts that once roamed the region, now extinct.
If validated, the tusked creature in the art panel could represent a dicynodont – a species that faded out of existence before the rise of dinosaurs and modern humans. If so, this would mean the art interpretation of the dicynodont predates the first scientific description of these creatures by a decade.
Indigenous Knowledge and Fossil Interpretation
Archaeological evidence suggests the San people may have collected fossils and included them in their artwork. However, the nature and extent of indigenous understanding of paleontology remain largely obscure across Africa. Further study into these cultures could illuminate the ways in which ancient humans embraced fossils within their socio-culture.
In his conclusion, Benoit submits that the rock painting, created no later than 1835, depicted a dicynodont a decade before its scientific unveiling and classification by Richard Owen in 1845. “This work supports that the first inhabitants of southern Africa, the San hunter-gatherers, discovered fossils, interpreted them, and integrated them in their rock art and belief system,” Benoit comments.
By revealing the complex relationship and interaction between the San people and their environment, this study gives us an insight into the early human understanding of extinct species and how they were incorporated into cultural expressions.