via the Conversation, 12 December 2023: The Andriamamelo Cave in Madagascar has revealed prehistoric rock art that suggests ancient connections between Africa and Asia. This discovery, the island’s first pictorial art, includes images reflecting Egyptian, Ethiopian, Afro-Arab, and Borneo influences. The artworks depict extinct animals like the giant sloth lemur, and their estimated 2,000-year-old origin indicates early colonization or long-lasting pre-Christian religious beliefs. The paper by Burney et al. can be found here. Of interest is the hypothesized connection with the rock art of Borneo, but the black drawings from Borneo (particularly from Gua Sireh) have only been recently dated to around 400 years ago which thus makes the connection unlikely.
The ubiquitous and mysterious M-figures demand explanation: we suggested, after searching many relevant alphabets, that it is a perfect match for only one, the letter “hawt” (ሐ) in the ancient Ethiopian Amharic alphabet, pronounced “ha”.
Surprisingly, though, we also found this symbol in cave art from Borneo thought to be about 2,000 years old, and in no other cave or rock art throughout the Indo-Pacific region. In some Austronesian languages (the diverse language family that extends from Malagasy on the west to distant Hawaii and Rapa Nui in the Pacific), the word “ha” is a term for the “breath of life”.
All these possible connections remind us that Madagascar’s people, language, and culture are in themselves syncretic, blending African and Asian influences to produce a unique Malagasy people.
Source: Madagascar cave art hints at ancient connections between Africa and Asia
See also:
