Research into the formlings in the rock art of Zimbabwe

• Autores: Siyakha Mguni
• Localización: Antiquity, ISSN 0003-598X, Vol. 75, Nº 290, 2001, págs. 807-808
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In 1929, commenting on southern Africa’s rock art, Leo Frobenius remarked: ‘… oddities occur which are completely outside our understanding. There are large forms, shaped like galls or livers, into which human figures are painted …’ (1929: 333). He coined the term‘formling’ to ‘denote this composite type of forms and yet not easily explained’ (Goodall 1959: 62, my emphasis). These motifs (FIGURE 1) still remain poorly understood. In 1998, I began research into their form and meaning. In this note I set out the history of the formling debate and introduce some of my new findings.