First Direct Radiocarbon Dating of Lower Congo Rock Art (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Lower Congo rock art is concentrated in a region that stretches from Kinshasa to the Atlantic coast and from northern Angola to southern Congo-Brazzaville. Although Lower Congo rock art was identified as early as the 19th century, it had never been a subject of thorough investigation. Presently inhabited by the Ndibu, one of the Kongo subgroups, the Lovo Massif is situated north of the ancient Kongo Kingdom. With 102 sites (including 16 decorated caves), the massif has the largest concentration of rock art in the entire region. In 2008 and 2010, we were able to collect pigment samples directly on the panels of the newly discovered decorated cave of Tovo. Unlike the Sahara and southern Africa, both extensively prospected, rock art of central Africa is still widely unknown and not dated. Radiocarbon dating of rock art in Africa is a real challenge and only a few direct dates have been obtained thus far. After verifying that the pigment samples were indeed charcoal, we proceeded to 14 C date them using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The results indicate dates between cal AD 1480 and 1800, confirming that the occupation of Tovo Cave was contemporaneous with the ancient Kongo Kingdom.

Compound Specific Radiocarbon (14C) Dating of Our Colorful Past: from Theory to Practice

“…The ability to date minute samples led scientists to reconsider research fields that were initially beyond the reach of 14 C dating, for example heritage science [10] . From early cave paintings [11–14] to contemporary artworks, [15–17] radiocarbon dating has been widely solicited to provide missing information about an artistic object's age. It has actually been dubbed one of the greatest advances in the authentication of works of art [18] .…”

The anthropology and history of rock art in the Lower Congo in perspective

“…By collaborating with the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, it has been possible to obtain direct dates for charcoal drawings from this region for the first time (Heimlich et al . 2013). Nine direct dates (the quantity was limited by the challenging nature of the work) were obtained from paintings, including eight from Tovo Cave, which is unique in Africa (Figure 5 & Table 1).…”

“…Consequently, it is quite possible, if not probable, that at least some of the rock art of the Lovo Massif was connected to the kimpasi initiation rite (Heimlich 2013a & b; Heimlich et al . 2013).…”

Kitala Ware: A New Early Iron Age Pottery Group from the Lower Congo Region in Central Africa

“…Clist et al 2015d;da Piedade Jesus et al 2016), Geoffroy Heimlich's rock art project (cf. Heimlich et al 2013Heimlich et al , 2018Heimlich 2014Heimlich , 2016 and the KongoKing project (cf. Clist et al 2015b;Clist et al 2015c;Clist et al 2018f).…”