Towards an understanding of the late pleistocene and holocene assemblages through the Shiwa Ng'andu rock art in Zambia

Rock art is much more than mere decorations or reflections of everyday concerns or daubing of
figures for idle pastime but a reflection of past people’s relation with their environment. This
study examines Shiwa Ng'andu Rock Art of in the context of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene
hunter-gatherer activities. It reveals that rock art and stone tool making were two aspects of the
hunter-gatherer lifestyle that took place synchronously. The study has established that the
paintings of rock art at Shiwa Ng’andu belong to the later stages of the Nachikufan period.
The study has also established that the Shiwa Ng’andu rock art had a direct link to the BaTwa
rock art of central Africa belong to the schematic art zone whose sites were attributed to the Late
Stone Age and the others to the Early Iron Age period. The Shiwa Ng’andu rock art like many
others provides a rich historical, cultural and ritual significance. This is because of the
application of colour and use of realistic and abstract forms (of the red tradition) and a truly
artistic conception of the ideas which most deeply moved the minds of the people who made the
paintings. The study highlights the connection between rock art in the region and various
challenges in the interpretation of the rock art. Therock art did not only have an aesthetic appeal
to the artist, but acts of cultural significance too.
The study concludes by demonstrating that the social theory in rock art interpretation of Shiwa
Ng’andu was based on the premise that the major point in making rock art was to communicate
societal concerns and principles. The production of art was embedded in the social, political,
economic, and religious circumstances of the whole community. This was also the context for
the consumption of the art. The rock art was intelligible to the viewers because it fell within the
broader framework of symbolism and experience of the wider society in which it was done.