South African Archaeological Society

Colour in Prehistoric Rock Paintings Author(s): C. van Riet Lowe Source: The South African Archaeological Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Dec., 1945), pp. 13-18 Published by: South African Archaeological Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3886665 . Accessed: 29/03/2014 02:54
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

South African Archaeological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The South African Archaeological Bulletin.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 182.178.239.129 on Sat, 29 Mar 2014 02:54:05 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

13
One of the greatest difficulties that the archaeologist lies in the encounters in describing rock-paintings adequate description of the intensity, tint and shade of each colour used. M. C. Burkitt has pointed out clearly between of differentiating the importance shades of colour, and Professor C. van Riet Lowe carries the subject further.

Colour in Prehistoric Rock Paintings.

By C.
VAN RIET LOWE.

Director of the Archaeological Survey, University of the Witwatersrand. Of the many colours in the normal solar spectrum, only those between red at the one end, and yellow toward the centre, occur in prehistoric rock paintings in South Africa. In other words, if the solar spectrum were divided into twenty-one more or less equal colour compartments, we shall find only the following in our rock paintings: RI RRO, RO, ORO, 0, OYO, YO, YYO, and Y.* In addition, we find black and white and a great varietv of ochreous tints and shades of the three groups of colours: red, orange and yellow. If we follow Ostwald (1), we see that the Principal Colours used are also Red, Oranre and Yellow. These occur among the first nine of his twentv-four Standards of Hue which, with various percentages of his white and black Achromatic Standards, give rise to an embarrassing variety of tints and shades of these Principal
Colours.

U~sing eiTher of the above standards. the natural and the artificial, we find that appreciably less than half of the colours used by painters in historic times were used by prehistoric painters in South Africa,-among the last of whom were the Bushmen. whose paintings are so well and so widely known. In addition to the blacks, whites. yellows, oranges and reds, we very occasionally find a. greyish blue (2)-an uncertain hue of uncertain origin. There can be no doubt that the colour blue is present in some small percentage of our paintings, but its occurrence is so rare and its origin so uncertain, that the blue effect may not have been intentional. It does not appear to have been deliberately made and used as a blue. We may therefore. I feel, rule it out as a pigment made and used by Stone Age man, and confine ourselves to tints and shades of the principal colours: red. orange and yellow. i.e., to that portion of the spectrum between wave lengths of about 7600 and 5600. While colour phenomena! can he expressed objectively in terms of physics, their perception, interpretation and description in archaeological works have always
* R = Red. 0 = Orange,

and Y = Yellow.

REFERENCES: (1) Ostwald, W.: " Colour Science ", Vols. I and TI, and " Colour Album ", Windsor and Newton, London. (2) of. Plates 21. 27, 31, 32, 35, etc., in Bleek's "Bushman Paintings in South Africa", Methuen, 1930.

This content downloaded from 182.178.239.129 on Sat, 29 Mar 2014 02:54:05 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

BREUIL'S

CLASSIFICATION

OF

THE

PRINCIPAL

C(

COMIPAR COLOUR. CODE UNIV ERSE E.P.N. SEIM

SE,

1. Brun sepia .Sepia 2.

3.
4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 1.2.
14.

1;5.

111 (MIaroon), 112, 113, 12( umber), 691, 692 (Blood-i 701 (Burnt umber), 702, 7 . . .101 (Purple garnet), 162, 16. .. Red brown. .. Brun rouge 168, 173 Brun rouge orange Orange-red brown . 163. 164, 190, 203-205, 241-24 Brun rouge pale Pale red-brown 1.33 (Deep bistre), 134, 694, brown ... Brun pAle .Pale 178, 180 brown Brun gris .Gray 133, 134, 193, 203, 336, 337 .. Yellow brown Brun jaune 199, 200 Pale yellow brown Brun jaune pAle . . 121, 156 .. Brown red. Rouge brun 954, 255 Rouge brun clair Light brownish red 61 (French purple), 62, 127, .. .. Deep red. .. Rouge fort 76 (Erytrina or Carman thus .. red .. Rouge vif .Bright 37 (Blood-red) ... Rouge .Red .. 145, 155, 170 Pale red .. Rouge pile 181 (Scarlet-orange), 133, 18 .. red Rouge orange .Orange brown
Pale orange-red Yellow red .182, Deep rose red Violet 194 250

1I . Rouge orange pAle .. 17 .. .. Rouge jaune 18. Rouge rose au carminA 19. Rouge violac6
..

..

..

251.

20. Rouge violace pAle 21. Orange.Orange 22. Orange rouge ..

23. 24. 25. 96. Jaune hrun
.. .. ..

. . red Pale violet red .. . . .2.911 . . Red orange

Brown yellow
..

36, 38. 106

953, 255 (Neutral orange) 197. 198, 247, 248 (Rust red'
201 (Tan), 338-340
.. .. .. .. .. ..

Jaune hrun rouge

Jaune rouge Jaune orange pale
Y..
..

Reddish brown yellow . . Red yellow

Orange yellow
..

246
168 214, 246, 215 24

27. Jaune
28. Jaune

ellow
Pale yellow

.
..

226-230, 241, 242, 257

This content downloaded from 182.178.239.129 on Sat, 29 Mar 2014 02:54:05 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

COLOURS

IN

PREHISTORIC

ROCK

PAINTINGS.

MEPARATIVE
T

APPROXIMATIONS

ACCORDING TO THE DICTIONARY OF COLOUR MAERZ ANI) PAUL. 8 E 6 to 8 L 6 (Art brown +)

7 L 7 (Maroon) to 7 L 12 12 A 12 to 12 D 12 (Spa-taln) to 12 L 12 6C 1,6D11 14 A 10 to 14 I 10 14 B 5 to 1.4 D 5 12 H

ERSEL DES COULEURS SERIES NO. XXX. SEGUY.

L3, 126 (Purple brown), 176 (Burnt Blood-red brown), 697 (M1ahogany),
702, 708, 711 .. 62, 161 241-245 6.. 694, 695, 703
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

337..

1 to 12 L 11 (Tan)

12 E 7 (Cinnamon) to 12 J 7 6 A 6 throiigh Ruby to 6 L 6 1 127, 136 (c. Blood red), 138, 251, 259
n thus red), 91-93, 151
.. .. ..

4 L 1, 4 L 2.
3 L I to 3 L 6

L33, 188, 194

..

..

..

..

3 L 8, 3 L 9 2K 7 to 2 K 9 1 1 12 to 1 K 12, 2 J 12 (Paprica, if bright) 1 A 11 to 1 D 11, 2 A 11 to 2 D 11

1 A 6 to 1 H 6, 2 A 6 to 2 H 6;
3 A 6 to 3 J 6 4 A. 5 to 4 G 5 9 5 K7to5K 9 L 8. 9 L 9, 1O L 10 (Orange peel)
red)
.. .. .. .. ..

st

D 12 to I F 12

11 A 11 to 11 L 11; 11 A 12 to 11 L 12 5 T 12, 5 I 12 2 T 12 to 2 J 12 9 J 11 to 9 L 11 10 K 3 (Lemon vellow), 10 K 4, 10 K 5 11 L 2. 11 L 3 (Canarv vellow), 11. L 4, 11 L 5 (Lime vellow)

This content downloaded from 182.178.239.129 on Sat, 29 Mar 2014 02:54:05 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

16 been matters of individual subjective judgment. Because colour perception is a normal function of the eye and objective colour recording requires special apparatus and technical training, colours are almost always described on the basis of individual subjective interpretations. This necessarily leads to misunderstanding and confusion unless adequate safeguards are observed. Anyone who has attempted to describe the colours which appear in prehistoric rock paintings will know how extremely difficult it is to convey an accurate impression of the colours one sees. Most writers have confined their descriptions to principal colours, and have added what they consider appropriate adjectives, such as bright red, brick red, pillar-box red, dark red, blood red, and so on, to define shades and tints in the vain belief that their readers will get an accurate impression of the colour thus described; and always the more sensitive writers have harboured the fear that the effect of such subjective observationmay be different from that intended. Indeed, original colours are often in themselves so elusive, and the effect they have on the eye is so dependent on such a variety of factors, that a " blood red " seen on a damp day may appear as "brick red " on a dry, or a "pillar-box red " seen in strong light, may appear " bright red " in dull, and so on. The colours in, and the nature and texture of the underlying and surrounding rock also play their misleading parts, as indeed does the health of the observer, especially fatigue of the retina. Such a variety of factors has to be considered, and such a range of subtle differences occur within even comparatively narrow limits of the spectrum, that no observer can always be quite certain of the effect on himself; nor can he be certain of the effect of his description on another. When we set out to relate colours with the names by which they are commonly identified in a single country or language, we find there are by no means any hard and fast rules or standards. The most the recorder who confines himself to popular terms can expect, is to convey an approximate impression; especially when he attempts to reproduce a rock-painting on a piece of paper. He can never recapture the irregularities in the rock nor can he quite recapture the colours in a smooth copy. In other words, his reproduction is merely his own impression of both the form and the colour of the original. Of the two, viz., form and colour, colour causes the greatest difficulties. Tints and shades of a single principal colour merge imperceptibly into those of another: red into orange, and orange into yellow. The result is that one has variations of RRO, RO, ORO, OYO, YO, YYO and so on, until one is lost in an ochreous haze. It is therefore our duty to attempt to give as accurate an impression as we can. As an experiment carried out at my request, the Abbe Breuil drew up a list of his popular descriptions of the commoner tints and shades of red, orange and yellow seen in the prehistoric rock paintings of South Africa, and identified them as closely as he could in accordance with the better-known dictionaries of colour; my hope was to enable us, by means of such dictionaries, to get a more objective and thus possibly a more accurate impression than is possible if we confine ourselves to popular terms and subjective analyses. The results are given in the accom-

This content downloaded from 182.178.239.129 on Sat, 29 Mar 2014 02:54:05 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

17 panying table-and they are extremely interesting. For example, we see that the Abbe's " sepia brown " ranges over twelve colours according to the French colourdictionary, and over four according to the American. The differences between the extremes of these colours are not great, but they are appreciable, and thus reveal the inadequacy of available, popular colour terms and adjectives, when we find it necessary to define colours in terms of Ostwald's regions of shades and tints. On the other hand, the visual determination of the Principal Colours, red, orange and yellow, as listed in these dictionaries, is more accurate. By the French standard, the Abbe has eight colours to cover his yellow, one to cover orange, and one to cover red; by the American, he has three to cover yellow, three to cover orange and two to cover red, thus revealing almost excessively slight differences of tones and sensations set in motion by these colours. The difficulty of being more limited in choice is greater among the longer wave reds than among the shorter wave oranges and yellows; but when we weigh all the difficulties in the balance, we find that it is possible to convey a more accurate and objective impression by referring to a dictionary of colour than by using subjective methods and popular colour terms. I would therefore urge a wider and more general use of one or other of these dictionaries, and of references to them only after repeated comparisons have been made between the colours in the originals and those in the dictionary. The German methods, as described by Ostwald, seem to be the most popular in England and the Union, and thus possibly enjoy wider advantages than either the American or the French would in this country. Actually, of course, it does not much matter which dictionary we use, provided we give detailed references to it. Difficulties in colour-matching will at first be experienced, due mainly to the problem of contending with one type of coloured surface (viz., rock of constantly differing surfaces and textures) against another of altogether different surface and texture (viz., smooth paper). With a little patience and practice on the part of the observer, however, much can be done toward ensuring a colour match that can be more readily understood bv those who have not had access to the original. This objective method also makes it possible to check descriptions objectively. Several preliminary steps have to be taken and several cautions need to be observed. The first essential in any attempt to match a colour in a rock painting with some colour in a " dictionary " is to see that the two coloured surfaces to be compared are side by side in the same light and on the same plane. These are then covered by a piece of neutral gray paper at least four inches square with a small rectangular opening about 1j inches by - inch cut in the centre. Half the opening is then put over the original and the other half over the matching colour. The purpose of the mask is to conceal surrounding colours and thus bring those being matched into more immediate and undisturbed focus. Actually the colour of the mask should be complementary to the colours being matched-a blue mask for yellow, a green for red, and so on -or white and black masks may be used, but for general field work, a mask of neutral gray has been found to serve most purposes and it is therefore recommended for general use in the first place.

This content downloaded from 182.178.239.129 on Sat, 29 Mar 2014 02:54:05 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

18 The second caution is to avoid artificial lighting as far as possible. It disturbs the " warmth " of the colour. Daylight has its drawbacks,but it possesses no dominant hue and it has been found to produce the most satisfactory results,despite its variability. It may, however, occasionally be necessary to note and describe the character of the light under which the comparison was made. Detailed instructions of procedure are included in all dictionaries, and an experimenter should therefore have little or no difficulty in mastering them. The great need, I feel, is to avoid popular terms in any scientific analysis and to use such dictionaries as I have referred to in all descriptive work. Those who have not got direct access to a Dictionary of Colour should make copies of original colours in the field and submit a sample of the colour to be identified to the most convenient museum or institution that has a dictionary. All that is needed is a small coloured square over which the matching mask may be placed in the institution to which the sample is sent. In view of the aids at our disposal, it is urged that variable and therefore inaccurate terms, whether fashionable or popular, should be confined to popular descriptive writing. The serious worker is in sore need of better methods and should not tolerate such couplets as brown-red and vellow-red. He certainly cannot hope to contend with the artistic licence of such fashionable colours as Paris Mud, Elephant's Breath, Folly and Stifled Sigh, however picturesque or whimsical they may be. There may be some deep psychological reason for such poetic feeling towards the names of colours, but it should, I contend, be confined to the mannerisms and affectations of fashion salons and art studios, and not encouraged in scientific works.

Reviews.
B. D. Malan, H. B. S. Cooke, and L. H.
Wells. Fossil man in the Lebombo Mountains, South Africa. The Border Cave, Ingwavuma district, Zulu-

land. Man. Illust.

No. 3. XLV.

1945.

In 1934 Professor R. A. Dart carried out a preliminary excavation of the cave, which revealed a superficial stratum of Bantu material, overlying a consolidated Middle Stone Age deposit. No further excavation was carried out until 1941 and 1942. Unfortunately in 1940,guano hunters dug out a considerable part of the cave floor, and in addition to animal remains exhumed, the fragments of an adult cranium, several portions of human limb bones and a distinctive human frontal bone were brought to light.

The excavation of the following two years were undertaken in undisturbed deposit. It yielded "a rich industry of Middle Stone Age times (Pietersburg culture), showing a continuous development of the industry over a considerable period of time ". After careful consideration, the cranium and some of the other human fragments have been confidently allocated to the Pietersburg culture. The Ingwavuma cranium shows close morphological similarities to the Springbok FIats and the Fish Hoek crania,-other South African skulls relegated to the Middle Stone Age. In certain respects, however, and notably in the massive frontal bone, there is an approach to the condition found in the Florisbad skull; also a Middle Stone Age association.
Continued on page 22.

This content downloaded from 182.178.239.129 on Sat, 29 Mar 2014 02:54:05 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions