Abstract

Stylistically unique black rock drawings have been discovered in Andriamamelo Cave in western Madagascar. Several image groupings comprise naturalistic scenes with anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and therianthropic figures. These complex images are not similar to the polychrome painted symbols previously described from the Isalo region of SW Madagascar. Eight instances were noted where images and themes suggest Ptolemaic Egyptian mythological characters and symbols, some possibly of stellar constellations. One type of M-shaped figure occurred 16 times throughout the entire design field. We have not found this figure in other rock art around the Indian Ocean, except a rare occurrence in Borneo, believed to have been created about 2000 years ago. It also matches one distinctive character found in the Amharic alphabet of Ethiopia. One set of eight curvilinears resemble Arabic characters or indigenous Sorabe. Extant animals were tentatively identified, and also three of the extinct megafauna may be pictured (elephant bird, tortoise, and sloth lemur). The latter appears in an inferred hunting scene, with a hunter pointing a weapon, the giant lemur upside down, and two dogs. Images suggest connections between traditional Malagasy symbology and the disparate worlds of the island’s ancient influences, both from NE Africa and Borneo. Milligram-sized samples of the black pigment were collected from an image for AMS ¹⁴C dating, but they contained insufficient carbon in aggregate.

摘要

在马达加斯加西部的安德里亚马梅洛洞穴中发现了风格独特的黑色岩画。几个图像分组包括具有拟人化、动物化和兽人形象的自然主义场景。这些复杂的图像与之前描述的马达加斯加西南部伊萨洛地区的彩色彩绘符号不同。记录了八个实例，其中图像和主题暗示托勒密埃及神话人物和符号，其中一些可能是恒星星座。一种 M 形图形在整个设计领域出现了 16 次。我们在印度洋周围的其他岩石艺术中没有发现这个人物，除了在婆罗洲罕见的出现，据信是大约 2000 年前创造的。它还与埃塞俄比亚阿姆哈拉字母表中的一个独特字符相匹配。索拉贝。初步确定了现存的动物，还描绘了三种已灭绝的巨型动物（象鸟、乌龟和树懒狐猴）。后者出现在推断的狩猎场景中，猎人指着武器，巨型狐猴倒置，还有两条狗。图像暗示了马达加斯加传统符号与岛上古老影响的不同世界之间的联系，包括来自非洲东北部和婆罗洲。^{从 AMS 14} C 测年的图像中收集了毫克大小的黑色颜料样品，但它们的总碳含量不足。