Item RARI-RSA-SCR1-34D.jpg - RARI RSA SCR1 34D

Brief description of site: RSA-SCR1 is an unusual shelter being located in a small kloof. The site is 10 m from a seasonal waterfall and waterpool in a small, deep, dome-like shelter that measures 3 m wide, up to 2.5 m deep and up to 3 m high on the 980 m contour. The shelter faces north-north-east and has a rock floor and small inner cave. A few trees grow around the shelter, obscuring it from view.

The site is flooded periodically which, together with the rock floor, means that there has been no build-up of archaeological deposit. . No artefacts were visible except for 1 possible grinding/preparing patch on a rock.
Brief description of art: There are two painted episodes on opposite walls:

Episode 1 - animals: This consists of 3 paintings - an orange and white eland with black horns; a fat black animal without a head - perhaps a cow; and a rough black animal and possible human figure. There is a paint smear on the roof too.

Episode 2 - Spirit World animals and people: Near the domed ceiling of the shelter is a 1.4 m x 0.75 m image cluster of at least 45 images that all seem to have been painted at the same time and constitute a 'scene' that has a common theme. Dominating this cluster are 3 bizarre slug-like animals painted in black and white with red details. The longest of these animals is 500 mm. These creatures have rudimentary front legs, a slug or eel-like body, alien-like antennae and a sting-like tail; suggesting a very composite creature. Each has white spots on a black body and hairs in white along the back/spine. Two of the creatures have white tusk-like mouth protrusions. The creature's heads is almost bovine with a very square muzzle. Above these three creatures are two black buck - probably very stylised eland - also covered in white dots with ears edged in red paint. The larger animal is 360 mm long and is only partially infilled with black paint. Around each of these five creatures are human figures in black and white (10) and red and black (21 and yellow and orange (5), many of which have bag-like objects dangling from their chests and also with front aprons and some have red and black flywhisks. These figures also have elaborate headresses and three have serpentine like creatures emerging from their stomachs. All the figures are closely engaging with the five creatures and are shown standing, bending, lying down, doing a 'backflip' and even assuming 'swimming'-like poses. There is a black and white cow to the right of this panel next to a large 250 mm tall, fat black human figure with a tulip like penis additament ('infibulation'). There may be another two black human figures.