Researchers have identified southern Africa’s first known stenciled rock art, revealing an unusual painting technique that required artists to create their own templates rather than use existing objects. The discovery includes two small, red, human-like figures at the La Rochelle rock shelter in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province. Researchers believe the artists used specially made shapes to produce the images, a method rarely documented in rock art worldwide.
David Pearce of the University of the Witwatersrand and Kiah Johnson of the University of Cambridge reported the findings in the South African Archaeological Bulletin. Southern Africa is known for detailed paintings of animals, dancing figures and beings with human and animal features. Similar ancient rock paintings in Angola show the region’s long history of artistic expression.
Unusual rock art found in South African shelter
The La Rochelle shelter stands among cliffs and shallow caves. Many paintings in the surrounding highlands have faded after centuries of exposure to sunlight, wind and rain. The shelter also has an unusual modern use. It contains a concrete floor, wooden benches and a makeshift pulpit. Local communities occasionally hold church services there.
Its walls feature paintings of hartebeest, eland and human-like beings. Many display the fine brushwork commonly associated with hunter-gatherer communities. Anna Steyn documented the shelter in 1995, while Mdudusi Maseko surveyed it again in 2020. However, no one had previously recognized the unusual paint markings as stencilled artwork. Pearce said the figures were initially hard to identify but became clearer on closer inspection.
Rare stenciling technique used handmade templates
Stenciled rock art exists in several parts of the world. Researchers have found hand stencils in prehistoric Europe and China. A 67,800-year-old hand stencil discovered in Indonesia also provides evidence of the technique’s long history. However, the La Rochelle figures stand apart because of how the artists appear to have made them.
Archaeologists have discovered Southern Africa’s first known stenciled rock art!
Two mysterious human-like figures found in a South African rock shelter reveal a rare technique involving handmade templates. pic.twitter.com/sYFM9YBJo9— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) October 26, 2026
Each figure measures about 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) tall. Researchers believe the artists created templates using materials such as beeswax, clay, or wood. They likely held the templates against the rock surface and blew or splattered paint around them, leaving the shapes visible.
Pearce said purpose-made templates are exceptionally rare in rock art, making the discovery unusual beyond southern Africa. Researchers still do not know who created the figures, when they were made or what they represented.
Researchers suggest more stenciled art may remain undiscovered
Other examples may once have existed but disappeared as weather gradually damaged exposed rock surfaces. Pearce also suggested that communities might have used stencils to decorate bodies, clothing or stone structures instead of rock walls. Researchers have yet to find similar examples nearby.
Other African archaeological discoveries, including 9,000-year-old rock paintings in Kenya, have also revealed how artistic practices changed across communities and generations. The discovery at La Rochelle adds a previously unknown technique to southern Africa’s extensive rock art traditions, offering new evidence of artistic innovation while leaving questions about the figures’ origins unanswered.
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