Tanzanian Rock Art Depicts Trios of Bizarre Anthropomorphic Figures

Motifs featuring trios of anthropomorphic figures with stylized buffalo heads have been discovered at a newly-discovered rock art site in the Swaga Swaga Game Reserve, Tanzania.

The ancient rock art was found at the Amak’hee 4 rockshelter site in the Dodoma area of central Tanzania in June 2018.

Most of the paintings were made with a reddish dye; there are also five white images.

“Most are in good condition, mainly due to a rock overhang that protects them from flowing water and exposure to excessive sunlight,” said Dr. Maciej Grzelczyk, a researcher in the Institute for the Study of Religions at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland.

The Amak’hee 4 paintings include depictions of humans, domesticated cattle, and giraffes.

Continued...
Source

. Image credit: Maciej Grzelczyk, Jagiellonian University.

A trio of anthropomorphic figures from the Amak’hee 4 site in Tanzania.

Source / Image Courtesy

Image credit: Maciej Grzelczyk, Jagiellonian University.

General view of the paintings at the Amak’hee 4 site in Tanzania.

Source / Image Courtesy

Image credit: Maciej Grzelczyk, Jagiellonian University.

Digital tracing of the Amak’hee 4 paintings.

Source / Image Courtesy

Some of the Kondoa Irangi Rock Paintings on the 150 to 400 decorated rock shelter walls in central Tanzania are believed to be more than 50,000 years old.

The paintings depict elongated people, animals, and hunting scenes.