South African Archaeological Society
The Rain and Its Creatures as the Bushmen Painted Them by Bert WoodhouseReview by: W. J. J. Van RijssenThe South African Archaeological Bulletin, Vol. 48, No. 157 (Jun., 1993), p. 56Published by: South African Archaeological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3888882 .
Accessed: 24/06/2014 23:19
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 ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
South African Archaeological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toThe South African Archaeological Bulletin.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 62.122.78.43 on Tue, 24 Jun 2014 23:19:54 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
56 South African Archaeological Bulletin 48: 56, 1993
of social formations, all of which serve the same function in the respective total political structures. Among these are simple technologies and the absence of money and market systems together with commodity production and the exchangeability of goods being of restricted scope, and the main channels for exchange being small-scale barter at urban centres and within kinship networks and prestations. It is within this context that Ratnagar places communal tenure and the survival of kinship institutions at the base of her model. At the opposite end of the vertical axis she places sacral kingship with the two poles being 'mediated' by labour service which she sees as the major form of sur- plus mobilization. According to Ratnagar, "Perhaps labour mobilization was the earliest form of surplus extraction because relations between ruler and ruled were couched in terms of reciprocity , and because communities retained effective control over their subsistence resources. Regular state taxation ... would have meant that the state had gained direct control over production. [However] fledgling states would not have had the wherewithal to take on all the functions of descent groups ... corporate rural groups could [thus] have served vital functions in the informal interstices of the public economy" (pp. 185-186). In short, Ratnagar concludes that we are dealing with "'class soci- eties' sui generis, or societies transitional between those structured on kinship and those on class" (p. 184).
It is impossible to do justice to Ratnagar's thesis within the confines of a brief review but it is to be hoped that these few remarks will have been sufficient to show that she has made a valuable contribution to the debate regard- ing the earliest form of the state. For this reason, and for her detailed description of the archaeology of the Harap- pan civilization, the book is highly recommended.
A.J.B. HUMPHREYS University of the Western Cape
WOODHOUSE, Bert. 1992. The rain and its creatures as the Bushmen painted them. Johannesburg: William Waterman Publications. 108 pp, 70 colour and 60 half- tone illustrations. Recommended price: R94,95 (including VAT).
There is a wealth of rock art in the southern African region and Bert Woodhouse has published over 100 papers and five books on various aspects of the subject. This is his second monothematic offering; the first was When ani- mals were people (Woodhouse 1984).
In this incomparable volume of 24 chapters spread over 108 pages, the author takes rain and the associated myths that surround it as his theme and treats it in his own unique style. Rain was important to the San and the ani- mals on which they depended. The lack of rain meant hardship and frequent moves to find water and food and it is no wonder that the San considered the control of rain to be important. They believed in spiritual intervention and invoked the aid of the spirits through the power of medicine men (shamans) and trance dances. The chimeri- cal images seen by the persons in trance were illustrated on the rock face, the dividing line between the real and spirit worlds, so that all the band could share mystical experience and be united in their efforts. Here, in this one slim volume with its many illustrations, Bert Woodhouse has attempted to show his perception of the complex theme. There are illustrations and discussion on many aspects relating to the rain and its creatures and, while some of his ideas are documented in the literature, others are unsupported and will cause controversy.
Unfortunately books are expensive in South Africa for various reasons and, as a result, I feel that the reader has the right to expect high quality. The publication suffers, in places, from poor editing and/or proof reading. There are some careless errors in the spelling of names; inconsisten- cies between the text and the captions to some figures and, in places, a poor choice of half-tone illustrations that will leave the reader guessing as to content.
Reference Woodhouse, H.C. 1984. When animals were people.
Johannesburg: Chris van Rensburg.
W.J.J. VAN RIJSSEN South African Museum
This content downloaded from 62.122.78.43 on Tue, 24 Jun 2014 23:19:54 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
