
Rock art is a special part of our ancestral legacy. Unlike most other archaeological remains, rock art lets us into the minds of the people of the distant past. Also unlike other archaeological remains, it does not lie buried safely underground; rock art is typically found in open locations exposed to the elements and to human damage. In the thirty years I have worked on African rock art I have recorded hundreds of sites that have now been destroyed. Just as in other parts of the world, development, land-use intensification and resource extraction pose a constant threat to African rock art, even in seemingly remote locaYons like the Sahara desert. Whilst almost all African countries have strong legislation to protect rock art, it is impossible to secure the more than one million rock art sites that exist across the continent. Only grass-roots mobilisation, combined with scientific support and know-how can help to lessen the impact of development upon Africa’s incredible rock art heritage.
Benjamin Smith