Dating back to approximately 11,000-9,400 BC, Diana’s Vow Cave offers a fascinating insight into the region’s rich history. The site features elaborately decorated fine-lined paintings of reclining human figures adorned with intricate details that have sparked multiple interpretations from scholars and artists alike. The excavated record further indicates a landscape once home to a population engaged in a combination of transhumance and a delayed-return economy with evidence of ground storage pits.
Lithic material at the site, though related to other parts of the country, bears distinct differences, providing a unique glimpse into the world of hunter-gatherers who once lived there. With the advent of early farmers, hunter-gatherer practices persisted well into the first millennium AD, as evidenced by the layers of history preserved in this cave.
Click on the images to enlarge.
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View of Diana’s Vow Cave
© Russell Kapumha (2013) -
Main rock art panel with inclined figures
© Russell Kapumha (2013)
Reclining figures such as those found at Diana’s Vow are a unique occurrence in this region of Zimbabwe and are not found anywhere else in southern Africa.
Sources
1. Keene, P. 2011. Leo Frobenius and the expedition to Southern Africa 1928 to 1930. Unpublished Thesis. University of South Africa.
2. Nhamo, A. 2012. Characterizing hunter-gatherer rock art: An analysis of spatial variation of motifs in the prehistoric rock art of Zimbabwe. PhD thesis, University of Zimbabwe.
3. Diana’s Vow. National Monuments of Zimbabwe [Link]
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