J. David Lewis-Williams

The mystery of the blue ostriches: clues to the origin and authorship of a supposed rock painting

Abstract A celebrated and widely published work of art, long regarded as a copy of a Southern African rock painting, depicts a hunter disguised as an ostrich and stalking a troop of these birds. The ‘copy’, first published in 1905, is part of a collection of copies of rock paintings made in the 1860s and 1870s by George William Stow who died in 1882. Many original rock paintings copied by him have been re‐discovered, and they show that Stows copies are, generally, fairly accurate. However, no rock painting that could be the source of the disputed ‘copy’ has been found. Instead, an alternative source for the ostrich painting has come to light. Comparison of Stows cartoon with an illustration in Moffats Missionary Labours and Scenes in South Africa (1842), suggests that Stow forged the supposed ‘copy’, using Moffats picture as a model, reversing it left to right and making some other changes. It was not simply an innocent copy of this earlier picture, for Stow passed

Spatial Distribution of Rock Art Sites in Didima Gorge, South Africa

Abstract McCall (2010) uses data collected by Pager (1971) to argue for geographically controlled differences in the uses of painted rock art sites in the Didima Gorge, South Africa. We point out fundamental errors in the ascription of sites to particular categories that undermine the conclusions he reached. We conclude that there is no evidence to suggest different uses of painted rock shelters in the Didima Gorge.