Ethnography, rock art, and quartz

Abstract

How can hunter-gatherer worldviews be gleaned from the archaeological record? By intertwining archaeological and ethnographic studies, this article considers the relationships between rock paintings and quartz in several regions of the Americas, Europe, Australia, and Southern Africa. It demonstrates that concepts of animism, shamanism, and neurology explain at least some of the similarities in human attitudes towards symbolism and quartz. It also considers the philosophy of science and the methodologies of rock art research before addressing specific motifs at a site near Kruger National Park in South Africa.