Archaeology Magazine - December 1958 - 72

thority as the Abbe Breuil are most
welcome, and since the paintings here
rendered are of considerable charm,
it is good to have them added to the
corpus of published primitive art.
The non-professional reader must be
warned, however, that the views expressed in this volume by no means
represent the consensus of workers in
this field. The local scholars and most
other students in this field not only
regard the South African rock paintings
as of Bushman origin, with perhaps
some neighboringnative influence,but
they consider most of them to have
been executed during the last four
hundred years. The Abbé Breuil and
his followers, on the other hand, have
come to this study with a viewpoint
which focuses on a much earlier tradition. Thus, although admitting that
some of the South African paintings
are of Bushman origin and recent in
date, he attributes a high antiquity to
others, and explains certain elements
as being due to strong foreign influences from Libya, the Nile, and perhaps also from Minoan Crete and
MycenaeanGreece.
The Abbé's own brief chapter, "Date
and Race," is by no means as definitive
as it seems. The major questions remain unanswered. Thus, although he
cites radiocarbon dates for Smithfield
occupation levels at several sites, he
gives no clear evidencefor his association of the cave paintings with the
early occupation levels on the cave
floors. In other words, it seems more
than likely that these shelters were oc-

casionally and temporarily reused by
recent hunting bands who executed the
paintings.
The Abbé's wider explorations have
revealed that the style of the "White
Lady" group is limited to a relatively
small area in Southwest Africa, and he
consequently considers it to be intrusive. He makes no mention of the possibility of regional or even individual
variation in contemporary or recent
Bushman artistic tradition. Interestingly enough, on the basis of style and
superpositions,he considersthe "White
Lady" group to be the eleventh in a
sequence. Dating this at 1300 B.c., he
sees the earlier ones as extending back
in time to about the First Dynasty of
Egypt, or approximately 3000 b.c.
A close reading leaves one with the
very clear impression that the authors
have read far too much into what they
could actually see. Thus the differences
in size and color of various figuresmay
signify no more than different individuals or groups, or even merely body
painting. Actually, since the animals
are not depicted in their true colors,
there is no reason to assume that the
different colors of the human figures
represent anything more than convenience,availabilityof pigment at a given
time, or the artist's whim. To a physical anthropologist the execution is far
from sufficientto warrant the recognition of racial types such as Mediterranean, "Semitic," Australoid, or any of
the others cited.
Methodologicallythis interpretation
suffers from an overstress on similari-

~ **************************
AUCTION
at the

PUBLIC
WALDORF
Ii
¡
¡
I
i
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!
i
296

ASTORIA

SALE
HOTEL

New York, February 28, 1959
I.A collection of objects of ancient cultures in
gold, silver, bronze, stone, terracotta, jade, etc.
II. Ancient gold, silver and copper coins from
Greece, Rome, Byzantium.
III. Medals of Art, Renaissance and later.
IV. Odd and curious forms of money from Africa,
Australasia, Asia, the Americas.
Cataloguedand sold by
HANS
M. F. SCHULMAN
545 Fifth Avenue, New York 17, N.Y.

ties betweentwo sets of data separated
from each other by wide gaps in time
and space, particularly since the likenesses cited seem neither close enough
nor complex enough to establish the
relationshipshere put forth. The analysis is even further obscured by the
fanciful names given to certain figures,
such as "The Skeleton Man," "The
Horned Devil," who seems merely to
be wearing a horned headdress, "The
Captain of the Archers," and the like.
Even "The White Lady" is in polychrome, and is not even certainly a
female.
Until much better evidence can be
adduced, this reviewer is forced to
subscribeto the school that holds these
paintings to be of recent date. The
book itself, however, is a valuable addition to the body of excellentlyrendered and well publishedprimitive art.
The best case for its antiquity is here
advanced by the pioneer and leading
authority on prehistoric art. If this is
still unconvincing, then any linkages
between recent South African rock
paintings, the early Mediterranean
civilizations and Upper Palaeolithic
cave art are still to be made.
Robert W. Ehrich
Brooklyn College

REALM
OF THEINCAS,by VICTORVON
Hägen, x, 231 pages, 5 figures, 13
plates. The New American Library of
World Literature, New York 1957
$0.50
Following the growing interest of
the public in ancient cultures, a new
series has been inaugurated, entitled
Ancient Civilizations.This book is the
first of the series. Concernedonly with
the latest phase of the cultural history
of the Central Andes area, it is not
precisely an archaeologicalbook, since
most of the facts are taken from old
Spanish accounts of conquest and co' lonial times.
The book begins with the geographical and historical background of Inca
civilization. These older cultures are
treated rather superficially and the
picture is sometimes confusing. A
time-table would have been of great
value, the more becausenumerous references are made in other sections to
Mochica, Chimú, Paracas, etc. The
next (and main) chapter deals with,
¡ the life
of the commoner, his duties
and rights, his beliefs and crafts, and
his
in Inca society. All aspects
1 are place
at least touched upon, be it the

Archaeology Magazine - December 1958

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - December 1958