San images: An early form of Distance Education?

Abstract

This paper presents some of the already documented possible interpretations of San rock images. The images span many thousands of years with archaeologists applying both scientific and ethnographic methods to understanding the meaning of these images. The thesis of this paper is that the images served an educational purpose and in many ways mirror some of the elements of distance education. While the meaning of these images is not certain, and are still being debated, a further thesis of the paper is that the images cannot be understood in isolation. The images catalyse stories and are linked to known cultural narratives, still told by the various San people today. This further attests to the educational nature of the images.