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Sam Challis, Senior Researcher, University of the Witwatersrand

Rock art: how South Africa's coat of arms got to feature an ancient San painting

A replica of the famous Linton Panel. Courtesy Rock Art Research Institute/Origins Centre

A new exhibition in Johannesburg titled ǃke e꞉ ǀxarra ǁke – People who are Different: Come Together celebrates the rock art of the San people, the first inhabitants of southern Africa. Presented by the University of the Witwatersrand’s Rock Art Research Institute and the Origins Centre, the exhibition includes an ultra-high-resolution facsimile of a San rock art panel called the Linton Panel. The panel contains the image chosen for South Africa’s national coat of arms. The exhibition also features a new artwork by descendants of the San people, as well as a book launch. We asked the head of the institute, Sam Challis, to tell us how the painting rose to such national prominence.

Who are the San and what’s their rock art about?

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