The Kondoa Rock-Art Sites, also called the Kondoa Irangi Rock Paintings, are ancient paintings found on rockshelter walls in central Tanzania. In 2006, the Kondoa region was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its large collection of rock art. These sites were declared national monuments in 1937 by the Tanzania Antiquities Department. The paintings are located about nine kilometers east of the main highway (T5) from Dodoma to Babati, approximately 20 kilometers north of Kondoa town, in the Kondoa District of Dodoma Region, Tanzania. Concrete posts mark the boundaries of the site. The site is also listed as a National Historic Site of Tanzania.
The area’s landscape includes large piles of granite rocks that form the western edge of the Maasai steppe and create rock shelters that face away from strong winds. These shelters often have flat surfaces caused by natural movements in the earth, and the paintings are found on these surfaces, which are protected from weather damage.
The paintings are still used today in traditions by the Sandawe people during healing ceremonies and by the Maasai during ritual feasts. The continued use of these shelters and their art shows that cultural traditions have remained connected among different groups of people who have lived in the area over time.
Around 1970, Sandawe men were still creating rock paintings. A researcher named Ten Raa studied their reasons for painting and grouped them into three categories: magical (showing animals the painter wanted to hunt), casual, and sacrificial (on specific hills for ceremonies related to rain and healing).
The paintings often show long, stretched figures of people, animals, and hunting scenes. Older paintings, part of the "Naturalistic tradition," are mostly red and are linked to hunter-gatherers not only in Kondoa but also in other regions of Tanzania, such as Singida, Mara, Arusha, and Manyara. These older paintings are often covered by more recent "late white" style paintings, which often show cattle and are believed to be created by Bantu farmers after they moved into the area. "White and red" paintings are thought to be made by Cushitic and Nilotic pastoralists. Except for paintings created recently, there is no direct evidence to date most of the artwork. Researchers note that the rain-making ceremonies of the Sandawe have Bantu origins, showing a long history of cultural exchanges with other groups. They advise caution in using recent observations to explain the history of the art.
The Kisese II rock shelter in the Kondoa area has paintings from the "Naturalistic tradition" on its walls. Evidence of human activity on the floor of the shelter dates back more than 40,000 years.
"Africa's rock art is the common heritage of all Africans, but it is more than that. It is the common heritage of humanity." – South African President Nelson Mandela
Sites
There are many individual sites within the UNESCO World Heritage boundaries. Experts estimate that between 150 and 450 decorated rock shelters exist in the region. The following are some of the most important or well-studied sites.
The Kisese II Rockshelter is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kondoa region of Tanzania. The site has artifacts that show changes from the Middle Stone Age to the Later Stone Age. Inside the rockshelter, researchers found paintings, beads, stone tools, pottery, and other items. These items help scientists understand major social changes during the late Pleistocene and Holocene eras. The site also contains the remains of seven people from the Holocene period. Few sites are well-dated and cover this time of change, so the Kisese II excavations are very valuable. A large number of ostrich eggshell beads were used to determine the age of the site. The oldest beads are about 46,000 to 42,700 years old.
Mary and Louis Leakey began excavating the Kisese II Rockshelter in 1935. In 1956, Raymond Inskeep expanded the excavation and uncovered a large collection of ostrich eggshell beads. These beads helped scientists date the site, along with nearly 6,000 stone tools found in their original positions. Inskeep and the Leakeys also studied the layers of soil and materials to learn more about the site’s history.
The stone tools found at Kisese II include flakes and cores, mostly made from local quartz-based stone. These tools were created using the Levallois method or the Later Stone Age microlith method. The site shows that some Middle Stone Age tool-making techniques, like these methods, continued into the Later Stone Age. Tryon and others suggested that the time of change between these periods lasted at least 5,000 to 10,000 years.
The local name for the site called Kolo 1 is Mungomi wa Kolo. The artwork inside this rockshelter includes detailed red ochre drawings of people and animals.
The Paintings
In 1929, T. A. M. Nash published a description of red ochre paintings he found near Kondoa-Irangi. Nash noticed that the granite shelters were a good place for rock art and searched the hillside for drawings. He found several paintings within about ten minutes. One painting shows a human figure holding a stick and an elephant. Nash noted that the human appears calm and did not believe the image showed a hunting scene. Other paintings include giraffes, a possible rhinoceros, a human-like figure with circular patterns on the head and lines connecting the head to the body, and other figures that are not clearly identified.
Ethics in archaeology
Because these rock shelters have spiritual importance to the people living in the area today, care must be taken during excavations. According to UNESCO World Heritage paper 13, the local Irangi people, who practice farming and herding, still use some of these sites for healing rituals. Some of these rituals, like throwing melted animal fat, may damage the ancient paintings inside. The Tanzanian government has not officially acknowledged the beliefs of the Irangi people, leading to disagreements about how to manage and protect the sites. This issue is part of a larger effort to make African archaeology more independent and respectful of local traditions.