Then & Now: A slightly presumptuous jusxtaposition of wildlife in Bushman rock art and how we see them today, unraveling the timeless significance of animals to humans

Title: Then & Now
Subtitle: A Journey Through Time, Rock Art, and Wildlife
Author: Rod Lichtman
Publisher: Venture Publications
Windhoek, Namibia 2024
ISBN 9789991695488 / ISBN 978-99916-954-8-8
Softcover, 22 x 31 cm, 164 pages, throughout colour photos, Text: English

About: Then & Now: A slightly presumptuous jusxtaposition of wildlife in Bushman rock art and how we see them today

Our ancestors left few clues about their lives for us to unravel. Among the most visible is their rock art. Paintings and engravings scattered over continents. The focus of this book is mainly on animals. Specifically, why did the ancients paint and engrave pictures of animals? What did these renditions mean to them? What did animals mean to them? I will shadow the photographs of rock art with photographs of the matching animals I have taken in the wild.

Then, I will try to explain what these animals mean to us today. It has taken me more than 50 years of exploring the wild places of southern Africa to conceptualise this book. Then & Now: A Journey Through Time, Rock Art, and Wildlife is not meant to challenge the vast knowledge and understanding of experts in the various branches of archaeology and anthropology who have published their views extensively. However, understanding some scientific principles can be challenging.

Perusing a recent publication, reference was made to the Gestalt principle as an aid to understanding rock art. I quote: "a unitary whole of varying degrees of detail, which, by virtue of its intrinsic articulation and structure, possesses coherence and consolidation and thus detaches itself as a closed unit from the surrounding field" I do not wish to micturate on their middens, but this is getting complicated.

Dr. Anton Rodney 'Rod' Lichtman has been the specialist in charge of the ICU at the Windhoek Central Hospital for over three decades. He has been committed to teaching doctors and nurses in the public sector for the duration of this time. He also has a parttime private anesthetic practice in Bachbrecht, Windhoek.

Few books manage to bridge the past and present with as much wit, depth, and irreverent charm as Then & Now by Dr. Rod Lichtman. This beautifully curated exploration of Bushman rock art juxtaposed with modern wildlife photography is not just a visual delight, it is a thought-provoking commentary on humanity’s evolving relationship with nature.