Climate change: Nambia’s rock art impacted

Among the rambling herd painted on the rocks of Namibia’s Erongo mountains, some creatures are easy to spot – the long necks of giraffes, the spikes of antelopes’ horns.

Other animals have faded beyond recognition. Local guide Johannes Ikun Nani counts himself lucky to have witnessed his heritage first-hand, especially as archaeologists say climate change may be accelerating its disappearance.

“I feel proud to see this with my own eyes,” Nani, a Saindigenousn descendant, said. “They left this handmade rock art to show us we had family here.”

Namibia is home to one of Africa’s largest collections of rock art engravings and tens of thousands of paintings attributed to Stone Age hunter-gatherers – some dating back as far as 30 000 years.

Archaeologists fear climate-linked flash floods, dust, vegetation growth, fungus and desert elephants and other animals seeking water close to the sites pose a threat to the ancient art’s survival.

Tens of thousands of people visit Namibia’s rock art heritage sites each year.

Rock art degradation, such as cracks, fading and exfoliation, are caused by various factors, including seismic shocks and tourist activity, but climate impacts are a growing concern, said independent Namibian archaeologist Alma Mekondjo Nankela.

Rising temperatures combined with coastal fog can lead to evaporation, condensation and pigment run-off, while vegetation growth, accelerated by heavy rain, rubs against the art, said Nankela.

Animals grazing close to the sites increase erosion and dust, she added.

From Indonesia to Australia, archaeologists have found that climate change impacts are causing blistering, peeling and even rock explosions at sites of ancient art.

Nankela fears the same lies in store for Namibia. As climate change impacts gather pace, the country is expected to see extreme heat, unpredictable rainfall and warming oceans, according to the World Bank.

Tourists pose a risk, too, said Nankela and John Kinahan, an independentamibian archaeologist.

At the Twyfelfontein rock art and Unesco heritage site in Namibia, there are tourists from Germany, Spain, France and South Africa.

People stir up fine dust that sticks to the rocks,” said Kinahan.

At Omandumba farm in the Erongo Mountains, archaeologists from France’s National Museum of Natural History studied rock art pigment.

Matthieu Lebon, a rock art pigment specialist from the museum, gestured towards orange and brown pigment running down a wall.

“They are almost erased by rain flow,” he said. But around the world, heritage experts are using new technology to preserve such sites.

The famous wall paintings of the Lascaux Caves in France have been reproduced nearby for tourists to keep the original safe. In SA, 3D scanning and virtual tours protects art and in Ethiopia, shelters were erected over the historic stone churches of Lalibela to shield them from the elements. Namibia has railings so visitors keep a distance.

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