Archaeologists have uncovered a detailed record of ancient rock paintings in Angola that spans thousands of years, revealing layers of human life ranging from Stone Age tool-makers to Iron Age blacksmiths and communities living through the colonial period.
A new study led by Isis Mesfin of the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris documents the findings at Ndalambiri rockshelter in Cuanza Sul Province, a National Heritage site since 1974, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
The painted fresco stretches over 60 meters (197 feet) along the granite shelter walls and contains nearly 1,196 figures rendered in white, red, black, orange, brown, and yellow.
Human forms make up the largest group with 443 figures, followed by animals, geometric shapes, and part-human, part-animal figures. Researchers identified at least three overlapping phases of painting at the site.
One phase clearly reflects colonial-era influence, with figures depicted holding firearms. A direct radiocarbon date on one charcoal painting returned an age between 1669 and 1950 CE, confirming its colonial-period origin.
Angola’s ancient rock paintings get first-ever 3d documentation
To preserve the fresco, researchers produced the first-ever 3D photogrammetric scan of a rock art site in Angola. The model, built from over 1,000 photographs, captures the shelter’s geometry and painted surfaces at submillimeter (less than 0.04 inches) accuracy and is publicly available online through the National Archaeology Museum of Benguela.
Excavations at two sectors of the shelter produced a 2.5-meter-deep (8.2 feet) stratigraphic sequence holding more than 2,300 recorded artifacts plus thousands more recovered through sieving.
The sequence spans from over 45,000 years ago through the 19th century. Ndalambiri also provides the earliest confirmed evidence of iron production in Angola, dated to at least the 5th century CE.
Researchers recovered iron slag, tuyere fragments, hammerscale, and finished tools, including tanged adzes and a flat blade, indicating the shelter served as a forge for shaping small iron objects.
Ndalambiri forge site rewrites Angola’s Iron Age timeline
Faunal remains from the upper layers told another story about daily life. Tortoise bones dominated the assemblage, many bearing burn and cut marks pointing to regular consumption.
Domestic cattle and goats appeared alongside wild animals, including antelope. One bovid shoulder blade carried clear signs of a ballistic impact, evidence of hunting with projectile weapons. A clay pipe fragment recovered from the Late Iron Age layers further reflected life during the post-contact period.
Ceramic analysis revealed continuity in decorative styles between the Early and Late Iron Age, suggesting cultural connections across centuries despite a gap in occupation of roughly 250 to 450 years.
The study was carried out as part of a field school program training undergraduate students from the Instituto Superior de Ciencias de Educacao of Sumbe, with the last known local blacksmith having passed away as recently as 2011.
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