Through the skin: Exploring pastoralist marks and their meanings to understand parts of East African rock art

Abstract

Influenced by Lynch’s 1978 hypothesis that the megalithic and geometric engraved Namoratung’a sites in northern Kenya are made by Eastern Cushitic pastoralists, and by the presence in the area today of Nilotic-speaking Turkana pastoralists who mark the skin of their livestock with geometric clan brands, this article uses the ethnography of modern pastoralists in an attempt to understand the meanings of the markings they make. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the particular contexts of image-making on skin and on rock, and suggestions are made as to how these results can be used to interpret engravings and paintings made in the past and to determine whether there is such a thing as a Cushitic or a Nilotic pastoralist rock art tradition. A consideration of image-making processes challenges the simple ascription of ethnic identity based on resemblances in image form.