Sci-Bono collaborated with the Embassy of France in South Africa and the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) to bring true-to-nature replicas of the painted walls of the Lascaux Cave in France to the country. A collection of South African rock art is on exhibition alongside the Lascaux Cave replicas.
The Pennsylvania State University conducted a study of handprints in cave art and determined that many European cave artists were female; the focus of the study centred on eight caves sites in France and Spain.
“Our modern gender stereotypes have been, and continue to be, imposed on how we think about the past,” says Dr Tammy Hodgskiss, curator at the Wits University Origins Centre that’s co-exhibiting the African rock art.
“However,” she adds “research points to much of our South African San rock art having been painted by shamans.” Shamans were the Palaeolithic world’s spiritual healers and leaders. They had enormous influence and were believed to have direct access to worlds beyond the physical one. Most of the shamans in South African communities appear to have been men, says Dr Hodgskiss.
She points out that South African rock art depicts both men and women, which suggests that women and men played equally important roles in community and spiritual life.
According to Sci-Bono Discovery Centre CEO Dr More Chakane, the intrigue and the attraction of the exhibition lies in the mystery around the artwork. “The Lascaux exhibition is an awe-inspiring piece of work that leaves us wondering about many, many things. While we may never know the answers to our questions, the work stands – and will always stand – as a testament to the genius and creativity of humanity.”
The exhibition will be open for free to all women on Women’s Day, 9 August 2018.
For more information, go to http://www.sci-bono.co.za/lascaux.html.
