Minnehaha I 154

Brief description of site: This site consists of two small adjacent shelters measuring 6m and 8 m long and up to 2 m deep located on the 1440 m contour on the northern and narrow side of the valley leading up to the waterfall that is the source of 'Minnehaha' or 'Sweet waters' on the Redcliffs above. Both shelters face SE and have dry, dusty floors and magnificent views.

The shelter has been used by domestic stock and there is some dung overburden. In places the deposit is up to 50 cm deep. There is not a great deal in the way of surface scatter but there are visible surface scatters of lithics (stone tools), mostly of crypto-crystalline silicates (also known as opalines) that are volcanic in origin and which are brought to the lowlands by mountain streams and rivers. There are also some hornfels (also known as lydianite or indurated shale) lithics that are made from river cobbles. There is bone of recent vintage and some charcoal. The upper shelter seems more promising for excavation than the lower shelter.
Brief description of art: There are in excess of 150 individual rock paintings in the two shelters. These shelters are of interest for their widely contrasting imagery:

Lower shelter: This shelter is dominated by over 50 rock-paintings of very angular, blocked animals. James Brink, archaeozoologist at the National Museum has identified these animals as conflations of eland (Tragelaphus oryx) and domestic cattle. The pigments used are bright and chalk-like and are known as hydrous ferrous oxides; such as occur in local rock strata. Some of these conflations have eland bodies and cow heads and horns; though most have the body of a cow and the head of an eland. These animals occur in at least 6 groups and appear herd-like. There are at least 6 red faded human figures and also 2 white human figures, possibly carrying spears. There is one donkey-like animal painted with reins and with a human figure - which carries two spears - riding it. All these images clearly relate to a 'contact' landscape.

Upper shelter: In stark contrast to the lower shelter, the upper shelter contains 'traditional' imagery painted in more muted and exotic ferric oxides that occur in the basalt layers, located 20-30 km distant. Here the imagery is dominated by a bizarre white human figure. Almost 600 mm long, this figure has a huge head that displays facial features. The figure has a stick and back and his feet are, in fact, hooves. This figure is very similar to a figure on the nearby farm RSA WID. Behind this figure is another constellation of white pigment, but which is too unclear to discern. There are also a dozen shaded polychrome eland painted as well as Mountain rhebuck (Redunca fulvorufula). On the ceiling is an eland depicted in an upside-down posture. This practice of depicting upside-down eland on ceilings is a feature of the area. The rhebuck are in a variety of poses - walking, resting and lying down. There are 3 large animals that have alcelaphid or Hartebeest-like characteristics, though they have dozens - even hundreds - of white flecks on their bodies. One white rhebuck is depicted in an unusual 'bucking' posture. Human figures in red and white and in white number 14. Some of these figures have body decorations, stick, bags and karoses or cloaks. One very animated red figure has a buck head. Most of the human figures are male. Painted on top of all these images are more of the eland-cow conflations that dominate the lower shelter. In at least a dozen instances, they are clearly painted on top of the eland, human figures, rhebuck and ?hartebeest.