Animated motifs

Dance in southern Africa was closely tied to music and sound, typically performed outdoors, and held social significance beyond entertainment. This article examines dance scenes depicted in rock art on the Zimbabwean plateau, using established criteria to identify iconographic representations and cross-referencing them with ethnographic sources. The analysis reveals that ritual dances, often gendered and involving altered states of consciousness, are central themes in the rock art. The research provides a preliminary framework based on existing literature and underscores the need for further fieldwork to uncover additional sites and explore the relationship between dance scenes and their landscapes.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Dance is an activity intimately connected to music and sound, typically performed outdoors. It has a social significance that extends well beyond mere entertainment, although does not exclude it. In this article, we aim to focus on dance in the archaeological record of southern Africa. We specifically exploring dance scenes depicted at the rock art sites of the Zimbabwean plateau, focusing on their iconography and social significance. The study follows the criteria established by Garfinkel and Díaz-Andreu et al. for recognising dance scenes in iconographic representations. These criteria serve as a reference point for reviewing information from ethnographic sources about dance in southern Africa. After describing the dance scenes published so far, the study cross-references the types of dances revealed in the rock art of the study area with the information from the ethnographic sources. The findings highlight the prominence of ritual dances, often gendered and involving altered states of consciousness, as central themes in the rock art. While this research provides a preliminary framework based on existing literature, it underscores the need for further fieldwork to uncover additional sites and explore the relationship between dance scenes and their surrounding landscapes.