| Martians, black farmers, exotic
people, Khoikhoi, Bushmen or Mediterranean Gods?
In the past there has been heated
controversy over the identity of the artists.
Many people believed that the Bushmen were too 'primitive'
to have produced such sensitive art. 
As a frustrated missionary once
declared referring to the Bushmen: "He has no religion,
no laws, no government, no recognised authority, no patrimony,
no fixed abode… a soul, debased, it is true, and completely
bound down and clogged by his animal nature"
Authors of various books and most
unfortunately, in some school text books, describe the Bushmen
as simple and childlike, delighting in bizarre tales, but
incapable of abstract thought, belief or symbolism.
This couldn't be further from the truth as the art that the
Bushmen produced is far from childlike. It is in fact, highly
sophisticated.
Some people are of the opinion
that the Khoikhoi ('Hottentot') were the artists of the paintings
in the Cape in South Africa. The Khoikhoi moved into the Cape
about 1500 years ago. Unlike the Bushmen they kept flocks
of sheep. Even if they did paint some of the art, most of
the paintings in the area reflect Bushmen beliefs.
Black farming people have also
produced some rock art. They generally used thick white and
red paint and often depicted geometric forms. This art is
easily distinguished from the Bushmen rock art.
Today no professional archaeologist
doubts that the vast majority of the Southern African rock
art was created by the Bushmen.
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