The rock paintings of the Upper Brandberg. Part III, Southern Gorges

Towering almost 2,000 m above the Namib desert in southern Africa is the Brandberg mountain. This granite massif is adorned with prehistoric rock art, which is a highlight of African art and attests to humankind's early intellectual abilities. The late Harald Pager was primarily responsible for the comprehensive documentation of the Brandberg's rock art. A team of scientists, technicians and designers at the Heinrich-Barth-Institut e.V. refined Pager's documentation for publication in a series of catalogues. This volume (see also Africa Praehistorica 10 and 12) renders the Brandberg the best documented rock art areas on earth. The book at hand examines rock art from 97 different sites on the southern flank of the mountain, including both unknown and known gorges such as the Orabes and Ga'aseb. The elevation and plan of each site is given and all of the rock art figures are reproduced in pen and ink tracings on a fixed scale. To generate the graphics no computer was used, instead, all of the graphics included in this book are drawn by hand. The diversity of the art and its surroundings can be seen in several colour plates. In a pocket at the back of the book are folded plates of four large friezes. Each rock art figure and scene is carefully explained in a set of tables based on a textual/analytical system developed by Tilman Lenssen-Erz. The introduction to the rock art sites covered in this volume complements the scientific catalogue.