Seminar on Rock Art, Graffiti and Historical Inscriptions for Rock Art research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Ouzman, S. (Keynote speaker/Invited speaker)

School of Social Sciences

Activity: Conferences and workshops › Participation in workshop, seminar or course

Description

What’s in a name? Translating ‘rock art’, ‘historical inscriptions’ and ‘graffiti’

Rock art research uses words to try to understand and communicate ‘images’. This is probably a fundamental incommensurability, leading to ‘material culture as text’ thinking. But prose has its cons. One drawback is that the names we give to groups of what we think are related images and image-making traditions also sever connections to others, limiting the range of our inquiry. These names also create different valuations legally, academically and socially. It is thus useful to consider ‘rock art', ‘historical inscription’ and ‘graffiti’ as an ensemble. It is also worth musing a moment on how Artificial Intelligence might destabilise, solidify or extend our definition of ‘images’. Ultimately all are artefacts, with archaeology well-placed holistically to study them, working as it typically does with a coalition of practitioners. Examples from southern Africa, North America and Australia will be used to explore the intersections and divergences of these terms.

Period	9 Oct 2025
Event type	Seminar
Location	Johannesburg, South AfricaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	National

Keywords

Archaeology
Rock Art
Graffiti
Historical Inscription
Australia
South Africa
Heritage
Management
Law

Documents & Links

What’s in a name? Translating rock art, historical inscriptions and graffiti Rock art research uses words to try to understand and communicate ‘images’. This is probably a fundamental incommensurability, leading to ‘material culture as text’ thinking. But prose has its cons. One drawback is that the names we give to groups of what we think are related images and image-making traditions also sever connections to others, limiting the range of our inquiry. These names also create different valuations legally, academically and socially. It is thus useful to consider ‘rock art', ‘historical inscription’ and ‘graffiti’ as an ensemble. It is also worth musing a moment on how Artificial Intelligence might destabilise, solidify or extend our definition of ‘images’. Ultimately all are artefacts, with archaeology well-placed holistically to study them, working as it typically does with a coalition of practitioners. Examples from southern Africa, North America and Australia will be used to explore the intersections and divergences of these terms.