Situated 25 kilometers to the south of Bulawayo, the Matobo Hills stand as a distinctive geological feature amidst Zimbabwe’s predominantly granitic terrain. From the early Stone Age to the present day, these hills have served as natural shelters, bearing witness to human occupation and cultural practices. Notably, the area boasts an extensive collection of rock paintings, reflecting the enduring connection between the landscape and its inhabitants.
Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Landscape since 2003, Matobo spans approximately 2180 square kilometers, encompassing a blend of natural formations and archaeological sites. Erosion has sculpted the granite formations into rounded hills and erratic features, while large rock shelters, predominantly found beneath substantial boulders, attest to the area’s significance as a locus of human activity. Comprising schists, gneisses, and older granites, the geological composition of the Matobo Hills mirrors that of other Stone Age sites in Zimbabwe, where cave sites predominate. Today, the local community continues to utilize the hills for traditional, social, and economic purposes, maintaining a deep-rooted connection to the land’s cultural heritage.
In general, the condition of the rock paintings is relatively well-maintained. These paintings range from solitary figures to simple depictions of animals or humans grouped together, and sometimes to intricate compositions with interconnected figures sharing stylistic and thematic elements. The sites encompass locations from a few paintings to featuring hundreds of images. The paintings are found in diverse settings, including natural overhangs and expansive rock shelters, with the latter often containing significant accumulations of human artifacts and cultural remains.
The rock art found within the Matobo Hills, exemplified by prominent sites such as Pomongwe (dated to 11,170–10,411 BP), Nswatugi (dated to 9531–9138 BP), and Amadzimba (dated to 4825–4300 BP), stands out not only for its extensive coverage but also for its exceptional preservation, rendering it among the most remarkable examples in Africa. These sites are distinguished by expansive shelters offering ample surfaces for painting. Moreover, they form part of the Late Middle to Late Stone Age sequences in Zimbabwe, characterised by the presence of circular or convex scrapers of varying sizes, as well as smaller scrapers. Additionally, artefacts such as bone matting needles and tortoise shell bowls further enrich the archaeological significance of these sites.
Click on the images to enlarge.
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A view of the Matobo National Park
© Russell Kapumha (2013) -
Amadzimba rock art panel with formling
© National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe -
Amadzimba rock art panel with superpostioned white art
© National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe -
Nswatugi Cave painted human figures
© Russell Kapumha (2013) -
A panel of superpositioned painted figures from Nswatugi Cave
© Russell Kapumha (2013)
Matobo Hills stand out as one of the world’s largest concentrations of hunter-gatherer rock art sites, with approximately 3000 rock art panels.
Sources
1. Amadzimba Cave. National Monuments of Zimbabwe [Link]
2. Matembo J. (2019). The Middle and Later Stone Age crystal quartz technologies of Pomongwe Cave, Matopos (Zimbabwe). Unpublised MSc Dissertation, Faculty of Science, University of Witwatersrand.
3. Nswatugi Cave. National Monuments of Zimbabwe [Link]
4. Porraz, G., Nhamo, A. and Bourdier, C., 2023. Pomongwe Cave, Zimbabwe. In Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa: Hominin behavior, geography, and chronology (pp. 1225-1237) [Link]
5. Walker, N. (2012). The rock art of the Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe. Adoranten.
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