Challenges and Prospects for the Rock Art of Mumba Rock-shelter

Abstract

The Mumba rock-shelter and its surrounding landscape are places where evidences for the evolution of human cognitive behaviour and other cultural practices have been uncovered. Deep and stratified archaeological deposits recorded at Mumba have shown unique distinctive technological and behavioural traits with possible connections between Middle Stone Age (MSA), Later Stone Age (LSA), Neolithic, and Iron Age cultures. Archaeological records were found associated with symbolic-revealing objects such as ochre pigments, beads, and stone rubber stained with red ochre, which express the cognitive ability of ancestors who inhabited Mumba rock-shelter and the surrounding landscape from the MSA to the present. Ochre pigments are believed to be one of the ingredients for painted figures executed globally on Precambrian and gneiss rock-walls. Despite being a significant part of human intellectual achievements, the rock art images depicted at Mumba have been severely affected by physical weathering and anthropogenic actions. This paper explores the extent to which the rock art of Mumba reference cultural processes, conservation challenges, and prospects for future uses. The presented data were collected through in-depth documentation using modern analytical techniques such as ImageJ and Adobe Photoshop C5 softwares to trace the paintings. Two traditional systems of hunter-forager and Bantu speaking paintings were identified at Mumba. However, the conservation status of the rock art of Mumba is not ideal, which necessitates collective management approaches.