Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – A mysterious tusked animal in South African rock artwork might depict an historical species preserved as fossils in the identical area, in keeping with Julien Benoit of the College of the Witwatersrand.
The Horned Serpent panel. A, common view of the Horned Serpent panel photographed in 2024 by the writer. B, shut up of the part figured in Stow and Bleek’s [13] plate 39. C, shut up of the tusked animal. D, shut up of the soldiers painted under the Horned Serpent panel. E, shut up of the soldiers painted to the best of the panel. Picture credit score: College of the Witwatersrand.
The Horned Serpent panel is a notable part of rock wall that showcases paintings depicting animals and numerous cultural parts linked to the San individuals of South Africa.
This paintings was initially painted between the years 1821 and 1835, providing precious insights into the heritage and inventive expression of the San neighborhood throughout that interval.
The tusked animal of the Horned Serpent panel in comparison with the cranium of a dicynodont. A, the tusked animal of the Horned Serpent panel redrawn from Stow and Bleek. Picture source – College of the Witwatersrand.
Among the many painted figures is a long-bodied animal with downward-turned tusks which does not match any recognized trendy species within the space.
Because the San individuals are recognized to have included numerous facets of their environment into artwork, together with fossils, Benoit suggests the tusked creature might need been impressed by an extinct species.
The Karoo Basin of South Africa is famend for its wealthy deposits of well-preserved fossils.
Portray of the dicynodont made by the San within the early 1800s. Credit score: Julien Benoit, CC-BY 4.0
Amongst these, the tusked animals referred to as dicynodonts are significantly notable and are continuously found eroding from the bottom. This area offers precious insights into prehistoric life and contributes considerably to our understanding of historical ecosystems.
Benoit revisited the Horned Serpent panel and located the tusked determine comparable with dicynodont fossils, an interpretation that can be supported by San myths of huge animals that when roamed the area however are actually extinct.
The tusked animal of the Horned Serpent panel in comparison with the cranium of a dicynodont. B, cranium of a Diictodon feliceps (BP/1/8140, Jasfontein, Victoria West District) photographed by the writer in situ in the mean time of its discovery, earlier than excavation, and unprepared. Picture source – College of the Witwatersrand.
If the tusked determine is in truth a creative interpretation of a dicynodont, a species which went extinct earlier than dinosaurs appeared and had been lengthy extinct when people appeared in Africa, it will predate the primary scientific description of those historical animals by at the least ten years.
There may be archaeological proof that the San individuals might need collected fossils and included them into their paintings, however the extent of indigenous information of paleontology is poorly understood throughout Africa.
Additional analysis into indigenous cultures would possibly shed extra mild on how people around the globe have included fossils into their tradition.
In keeping with Julien Benoit, “the portray was made in 1835 on the newest, which implies this dicynodont was depicted at the least ten years earlier than the western scientific discovery and naming of the primary dicynodont by Richard Owen in 1845.
This work helps that the primary inhabitants of southern Africa, the San hunter-gatherers, found fossils, interpreted them and built-in them of their rock artwork and perception system.”
Supply – PLOS
Julien Benoit. A attainable later stone age portray of a dicynodont (Synapsida) from the South African Karoo. PLOS ONE, 2024; 19 (9): e0309908 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309908
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Workers Author