Burning Images: A Critical Review of Rock Art Conservation in Zimbabwe

Rock art is the most easily accessible of archaeological material. In Zimbabwe, there are thousands of sites, mostly in open-air environments which can be accessed and enjoyed by many people without any restrictions. Yet, rock art is also easily damaged and therefore requires conservation. Social, political and economic challenges in the last two decades have had profound effects on the conservation status of this particular cultural heritage. This paper examines the state of conservation of rock art, conservation approaches and challenges in Zimbabwe. It also discusses possible solutions especially as the country is making frantic efforts at international re-engagement. The story of rock art conservation in Zimbabwe is similar to what is happening in many neighbouring developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. Therefore, the discussion in this paper also informs on general issues in rock art management and conservation in Africa.     

Social Values and Rock Art Tourism: An Ethnographic Study of the Huashan Rock Art Area (China)

The rapid expansion of cultural tourism has led to increased numbers of visitors to rock art sites throughout the world. The rise of rock art tourism has affected not only the preservation of rock art sites, but also the social values attributed to the sites by communities in the immediate vicinity. Social values refer to the social and cultural meanings that a place of heritage holds for a particular community. This article aims to discuss the influence of tourism on the social values that uphold local communities’ emotional attachment to rock art heritage, using the Huashan rock art area in China as a case study. Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape is the first rock art heritage in China proposed to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and officially obtained World Heritage Status in July 2016. This article argues that many of the changes generated by the endeavour towards tourism promotion by the authorities in their pursuit of World Heritage designation have contributed to the reinforcement of the social values under discussion. However, negative feelings among the communities in response to the undesired consequences of the designation campaign might have resulted in the attenuation of such values. The ultimate goal of the research is to prompt further reflection on existing rock art heritage management mechanisms both in China and worldwide.     

Removal of Rock Art Affected by the Raising of the Clanwilliam Dam Wall,Western Cape Province,South Africa: Techniques and Procedures

The commissioning by South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation of a new and higher wall for the Clanwilliam Dam will increase dam storage and provide additional water for emerging and existing commercial farmers. But there is a cost to South African heritage. The raising of the wall will flood 27 rock art sites as well as other archaeological and historical resources. In partial mitigation of this impact on heritage the removal of particular pieces of rock art was approved by Heritage Western Cape, the provincial heritage agency. This report focuses on the removal process and techniques used to cut out three pieces of rock art under the management of PGS Heritage between 18 April 2016 and 7 May 2016 from the sites designated CDE02 and CDW10. Publication of the techniques used and the procedures followed will add to the sparse literature on rock art removal and increase the accessibility and availability of information about the removed stones.     

The management of World Heritage sites in remote areas: The Sierra de San Francisco,Baja California,Mexico

Abstract

The long-term management of sites that are far removed from population centres taxes the resources of heritage agencies. The Sierra de San Francisco in the Baja California peninsula of northwest Mexico is a remote area containing outstanding rock art sites that are inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Through a collaboration between four Federal, State and nonprofit organizations, a new management plan for the sites has been implemented, using a participatory model involving all interest groups. The paper summarizes the background to the plan, the problems that made it necessary and the process used to develop it. It describes the new visitor management strategies now in force and the role of the Sierra's resident population in contributing to the success of the plan.     

Designing Digital Recording for Volunteers in Rock Art Surveys,Management Plans and Public Outreach in the Cederberg,South Africa

The rock art survey and recording project described in this paper was designed for volunteers and heritage professionals involved in locating and mapping the position of rock art and other archaeological sites in the field, recording basic details for conservation and management, and making these details accessible in digital format for researchers who might want to undertake further investigation. An OpenDataKit (ODK) App with a digital site recording form was designed for mobile phones to be used in the field and to send data directly to the digital inventory of the South African Heritage Resources Information System (SAHRIS). The inventory has accumulated over 3000 sites with Later Stone Age rock paintings in the mountainous terrain of the Cederberg, a region that includes properties in the serial Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site in the Western Cape Province. More than a third of these rock art sites have been added to the database since 2007 by the members of the South African Archaeological Society. The information forms the basis for rock art management plans that are given to property owners to guide them in maintaining the value of the rock art. Interpretation of the information has raised awareness of the significance of the rock art in its historical and landscape setting with a trail and information boards. Local residents and CapeNature staff, who have received training in rock art monitoring and tourist guiding, play a key role in implementing the management plans for CapeNature properties, and monitoring individual sites and trails. The broader international context of volunteer programmes for archaeological site recording suggests that this type of programme has the potential to raise awareness of rock art beyond books and visits to museums and public lectures.     

A (Digital) Future for Saharan Rock Art?

First visited by westerners in the mid-nineteenth century, Saharan rock art has since received a great deal of attention. The richness and diversity of this region is recognised by the inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list of three properties: Tassili-n-Ajjer in Algeria, Tadrart Acacus in Libya, and Ennedi in Chad. The situation in many North African countries now makes this vast region very difficult to access: safety in the field is not guaranteed and few research funds are available. Today, a new generation of African and foreign scientists has no access to rock art sites in the north of the continent and the lack of fieldwork may entail a lack of safeguard and awareness. The growth of digital technologies over the last 15 years has revolutionised methods for recording rock art sites. Digital technologies are also used to mitigate the gap between artworks and accessibility in those countries where turmoil and social instability make fieldwork impossible. However, much of the documentation and most digital recordings of artworks currently available on the Internet lack an archaeological context. Equally, many of these websites barely mention methodological and theoretical aspects. It is also difficult to understand the extent of awareness among local communities in remote areas—sometimes suffering a digital and linguistic divide—and if (and how) they are genuinely able to exploit these digital resources. Here, I collate some examples from different parts of the Sahara illustrating that the recording, management and dissemination of rock art still present highs and lows. I argue that we should share theories and methods within the digital scientific community, with a view to adopting a shared nomenclature and a public thesaurus, making our cataloguing criteria explicit and, finally, developing an ethical code of conduct involving local communities.     

Working on Rock Art in the Dakhleh Oasis: Some Thoughts on Threats to Petroglyphs and Possibilities of Research in the Western Desert,Egypt

The rock art in Dakhleh, despite being known for more than a century, has been thoroughly investigated only since the late 1980s, and remains far from being well known especially outside of Egypt. At the same time, the consecutive seasons of fieldwork conducted by the Petroglylph Unit (part of the international Dakhleh Oasis Project) have produced a great number of findings and substantially enhanced our knowledge of the petroglyphs of this area. Here, rather than focusing on interpretive aspects of the research, I wish to discuss the threats endangering the petroglyphs in the Oasis. Dakhleh has developed very intensively in the last 100 years. It is, however, the twenty-first century which seems to pose some serious threats to archaeological heritage. Hence, in this paper I wish to report on what has been done so far to document rock art in the Oasis, and try to establish the priorities for potential future work. The agricultural and infrastructural development in the area, and the uncertain political climate in the country, heavily influence the state of rock art preservation and the possibilities of research. The need for documentation and preservation of rock art is larger than ever before, because many changes in the local landscape cannot be stopped. The time is pressing, because more and more rock art is disappearing due to the reasons discussed in this paper. Threats to Egyptian rock art in general will form a background for considerations concerning petroglyphs from the Western Desert.     

PREHISTORIC ROCK ART FROM PAINTED BLUFF AND THE LANDSCAPE OF NORTH ALABAMA ROCK ART

Abstract

Painted Bluff in northern Alabama is one of the richest and most elaborate open-air rock art localities in the Eastern Woodlands, rivaling some of the Southeast’s dark zone cave art sites discovered over the past several decades. Known for more than a century, the site has never seen detailed documentation until now. Painted Bluff contains motifs similar to iconography associated with Mississippian ceremonial objects, and a radiocarbon age determination (cal A.D. 1300–1440) would indicate contemporary use of the site. More than 80 images were painted on the cliffs, most using red mineral pigments but some reflecting polychromatic use of differently colored minerals. We present examples of the Painted Bluff artwork and discuss the site in the broader context of prehistoric rock art on the southern Cumberland Plateau and in northern Alabama.     

ICAHM redivivus!

Abstract

The measures employed in a current Siberian rock art conservation project are briefly described; and preliminary results are examined. The future development of the project is considered, and specific noninterventionist methods are suggested in an effort to contain contamination of the rock art, and so to avoid the destruction of its remaining research potential. The main site among the series of sites being discussed has suffered extensive damage from rock art recorders, as well as intentional vandalism by residents of the district's villages. In view of the steepness of most of the sites, access modifications are considered to be the most effective measures of alleviating anthropic damage. A number of less serious threats can be mitigated by fairly simple measures of altering the conditions threatening the rock art. Such measures of minimal intervention are listed. Although the paper deals with a particular region, climate, demography and geology, the underlying management philosophy may be much more widely applicable.     

The influence of betterment discourses on Canadian Aboriginal peoples in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

Based on government archival sources, fieldwork and the historical perspectives, experiences and oral histories of Aboriginal peoples, this paper argues that late nineteenth and early twentieth century Indian policy, and more specifically the File Hills farm colony, was deeply influenced by betterment discourses. The presumption of this discourse was that Aboriginal peoples, who clearly were not vanishing as promised, could be transformed into something approaching white settlers by reshaping, controlling, and managing their environments, both private and public, and by altering their genetics and morals. While the betterment discourse and the File Hills colony have each been the focus of research, no one to our knowledge has focused on the importance of betterment thought in the establishment and application of Indian policy and its significance for the File Hills colony.     

CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF SPONSORSHIP IN THE ARTS

This article investigates consumers’ perceptions of three types of sponsors that play a role in backing financially Canadian artistic and cultural organisations: government ministries (or departments), Crown corporations and private companies. In addition to the type of sponsor and the nature of the sponsorship (philanthropic or commercial), the perceived congruence between the sponsor and the sponsored event (strong as opposed to weak), and the form of arts and cultural events (high art versus popular art and performing arts versus heritage arts) are explored in an experimental setting combining within‐subjects and between‐subjects factors. The main hypothesis of this research was that consumers’ perceptions are not the same when it comes to the different kinds of sponsors that evolve in the cultural and art fields. As the researchers explored this issue, they observed that significant differences do exist. It is believed that the rich findings of this study will be useful to civil servants.     

Collections,Collecting and Collectives: Gathering Heritage Data with Communities in the Mountains of Matatiele and Lesotho,Southern Africa

Gathering digital data is a twenty-first-century research concern. Working in the previously undocumented region of the Eastern Cape’s former 'Transkei' homeland presents several data collection opportunities and obstacles. Local community collectives can vastly enhance the data collection process, aiding in administration, field walking, translation and—as trained archaeologists—excavation and rock art documentation. In the last 7 years, the Matatiele Archaeology Rock Art (MARA) team has discovered over 240 archaeological sites, the vast majority of which contain rock art. The principal investigator (PI), postdoctoral fellows, technical skills specialists and students have all engaged with, helped train and benefitted from field technicians chosen by the local communities to work with us. With their help, we have undertaken excavations and taken thousands of documentary photographs. We have documented oral traditions and the indigenous knowledge of local healers, all of which research is produced, and stored, digitally and requires preservation in perpetuity. The present contribution outlines some of the many and varied ways in which this programme has undertaken these tasks, in the endeavour to redress the imbalance in this region’s history.     

Promotion of a neglected heritage at Stone Age sites in the Western Cape,South Africa

Abstract

All archaeological sites in South Africa are protected in terms of the National Monuments Act, yet some have been badly damaged by vandals, unauthorized collectors and the effects of natural and anthropogenic erosion. In an effort to minimize such damage, the policy in the past has been either to restrict access or to keep a low profile, in relation both to rock art and excavated sites. Coupled with the fact that, in the past, the precolonial period has not been included in school history curricula, this policy has had a negative effect. South Africans generally have a limited knowledge of the results of research on rock art and archaeology and are not aware of the legislation. Furthermore, there is no infrastructure and no market for promoting such sites for tourism. The National Monuments Council has identified the need for public education in this field within a broader goal of promoting a common heritage for all South Africans in this time of political change. Three examples of recent active intervention are given in this paper. Stone Age living sites at Nelson Bay Cave and Matjes River rock shelter have been developed as local attractions, and protective conservation measures have been put into practice at rock art sites that are open to the public in the Western Cape.     

清初清廷对西双版纳的经营及烟瘴影响

疟疾是历史时期西南边疆危害最严重的传染病,古人称之为烟瘴、瘴疠、瘴气等。清康熙三年,清朝就在西双版纳的普洱驻军设治,雍正年间又在澜沧江东部的西双版纳地区实施大规模改土归流,设普洱府,建普洱镇。但受烟瘴影响,驻军、设治和改土归流经过了多次反复,清廷仍没有彻底完成对西双版纳的改土归流。本文以驻军、烟瘴为切入点,探讨了清初清军在普洱、思茅沿边地区驻军与撤军、改土归流与撤流复土的反复过程,认为烟瘴影响了清廷对西双版纳的经营,不利的自然环境是历史时期西南边疆经营的巨大障碍。     

Rock Art Between Preservation,Research and Sustainable Development—a Perspective from Southern Ethiopia

This paper focuses on southern Ethiopia, along the outer rim of the Rift Valley and not far from the Kenyan border, in an area forming part of a larger region known as a cradle of humankind. However, it also hosts a diverse Holocene rock art heritage, which is still underestimated and underdocumented. Paintings and engravings are widespread in the region, both in rock shelters and open-air sites, often located in remote areas currently inhabited by communities belonging to different ethnic groups. The aim of this paper is to present the first results of a new project in the area around Yabelo, within the broader framework of rock art research in East Africa, integrating archaeological research, preservation and heritage management with a relevant involvement of local communities. The outstanding cultural importance of these contexts offers new prospects for both scholarly research and sustainable development. The recording and study of the artworks is underway, using digital technologies that guarantee a high standard of accuracy of the documentation and non-invasive recording methods. This provides important insights for reconstructing cultural dynamics in the area between the final Pleistocene and onset of the Holocene. Moreover, the focus on rock art makes it possible to enhance local knowledge, increasing the awareness of local communities, with a significant impact on the preservation of this fragile heritage and the development of local, sustainable tourism projects. Differently from other archaeological features, rock art can have a more immediate attractiveness for contemporary observers, in terms of the apparent immediacy of the images and their emotional impact, raising awareness of cultural heritage and fostering major involvement in its preservation.     

Creating social spaces for transnational feminist advocacy: the Canadian International Development Agency, the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women and Philippine women's NGOs

The postauthoritarian democratisation process in the Philippines saw the rise of 'state feminism', which emphasised gender mainstreaming in government development planning. Various international development agencies, particularly the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), played an important role in harnessing the social capital of women's movements and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) for gender and development (GAD) programs in the post‐Marcos era (1986–2002). This period was marked by a decline in the CIDA's direct assistance to women's NGOs in the Philippines and its shift to institutional capability‐building of government agencies, particularly the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW). The article examines how local women's organisations have interpreted, engaged and negotiated transnational discursive practices on 'development', 'social capital', 'capacity‐building' and 'gender mainstreaming.' The CIDA‐funded Women NGOs Umbrella Project and Canadian aid to the Negros Occidental province are used as case studies to illustrate issues and problems in transnational linkages between Philippine women NGOs, national and local governments and Canadian development agencies. Such transnational linkages, embodied in the interesting mix of 'gender mainstreaming' and 'critical engagement' between states, donor agencies and women NGOs, show the interpenetration of the 'global' and the 'local' and the blurring of boundaries between 'state' and 'civil' societies in the course of gender advocacy. At the same time, transnational processes and demands may concurrently create better understanding, as well as conflicts and tensions between state machinery, NGOs and social movements, thus defeating the original intentions of development projects sponsored by international donor agencies.     

Assessing the Stability and Sustainability of Rock Art Sites: Insight from Southwestern Arizona

In light of global trends in human population growth and urbanization, burgeoning cultural heritage tourism industries, and climate change, cultural heritage places in nearly every corner of the world are significantly threatened, and will remain so into the foreseeable future. Rock art sites are some of the most imperiled, with their exposed contexts posing unique challenges to conservation. Consequently, effective management of publically accessible rock art sites necessitates a sustainable approach that weighs visitation in regard to cultural significance and site stability. This essay integrates rock art stability and sustainability assessment methodologies at the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site in southwestern Arizona. The study specifically applies the Rock Art Stability Index (RASI) to evaluate the natural and anthropogenic weathering forces impacting the site, and the Heritage Asset Sensitivity Gauge (HASG) to assess site sustainability under existing management practices in relation to current and forecasted rates of visitation. A spatial analysis of aggregated RASI data shows that visitor foot traffic has had some of the most profound impacts to the petroglyphs. Unrestricted access to the site area is also highly correlated with the presence and location of vandalism and graffiti, and visitor-related trampling has adversely affected the site’s surface artifact assemblage. Application of the HASG projects that, while existing management practices are fairly sustainable, they become less so under forecasted increases in visitation. Further, the HASG appraises the site’s cultural significance as outweighing its market appeal, indicating management efforts should prioritize conservation over tourism-related development.     

Public archaeology and political dynamics in Portugal

Abstract

The two hardest-fought rock art conservation battles in the history of the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations have been the campaigns to save the petroglyph sites in the lower Côa valley of northeastern Portugal and in the Guadiana valley in southeastern Portugal. They have become test cases of rock art conservation and site management issues. This paper summarizes the history of these campaigns and the effects they had on rock art management practices in Portugal. Specific attention is given to the responses of the public archaeologists in this controversy, and to some specific and generic aspects of the issue that are in a general sense relevant to the sociology of state-funded agencies charged with the protection of archaeological resources.     

Conservation and management of prehistoric rock art sites on the World Heritage List: A report on the Côa Valley international symposium, 1999

Abstract

A meeting of managers of prehistoric rock art sites inscribed on the World Heritage List was held at the Côa Valley Archaeological Park in Portugal in May 1999. Site managers from Africa, the Americas, Australia and Europe discussed issues of site protection, visitor management and interpretation to the public. The following report summarizes the experience reported at the symposium, which has led to the proposal to create an international network of site managers responsible for rock art sites.