Very precise prehistoric engravings in Namibia

Made by African hunter-gatherers between 5,000 and 1,000 BCE, many engravings have been found in the Doro Mountains! Nawas, in Namibia, which notably show human and animal silhouettes. A large space is also reserved for the representation of footprints and animal tracks. In a study, published on September 13 by PLOS One, three German archaeologists enlisted the services of indigenous trackers to try to identify the species whose footprints were drawn. These experts were able to define the species, sex, age range and even the exact leg of the animal or human in more than 90% of the 513 engravings they analyzed. They distinguished around forty different species, the most common of which are giraffes, antelopes (kudu and springbok), rhinoceroses and ostriches. According to these results, certain prints refer to species not represented in the animal silhouette engravings.