Session 1 – Morris – Extended socialities in storied landscapes

Описание: The COSMO-ART Conference on Rock Art
Rock Art Site Management in Southern Africa: Towards a Cosmopolitan Approach
30 Nov. – 5 Dec. 2025, Sol Plaatje University, Kimberley, South Africa

Session 1 – 1 December 2025
David Morris (Sol Plaatje University,Mcgregor Museum) – Extended socialities in storied landscapes: on what constitutes rock art ‘sites’ in the Northern Cape, South Africa

This paper builds on thoughts about Driekopseiland and other Northern Cape rock art sites to characterise their nature and histories not so much in terms of cultural ‘contexts’ – in passive relation to which people and things reflect a ‘culture’ or ‘tradition’, or their mixing. Rather the focus is on active ‘assemblages’ or ‘alliances’, of people, varying manifestations of animist ‘personhood’, materials, and circumstances, which together express extended socialities within storied landscapes. These might also be termed entanglements, perhaps more thickly knotted in the places and events that have tended to be called ‘sites’. Through time, they would be generative in processes of on-going reassembly both in situ and in elaborations or contractions across landscapes.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this talk are those of the speakers and are based on their scientific research. They do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the conference organisers.