The Python Rock of Tsodilo
In the Kalahari, a rock shaped like a python was claimed to be the site of the world's oldest ritual.
What was reported
The Tsodilo Hills rise from the Kalahari in north-western Botswana, sacred to the San and Hambukushu peoples. They hold more than 4,500 rock paintings and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In 2006 the archaeologist Sheila Coulson announced that a rock in a cave there, resembling a python's head, had been worked to enhance the shape and was the focus of rituals around 70,000 years ago, based on finely made spearheads found burned or broken nearby.
Explanations offered
Other archaeologists disputed the claim, arguing that the marks on the rock could be natural and that the dating and meaning of the finds were uncertain. The rock art and traditions of Tsodilo remain important whatever the outcome.
- When
- Claim announced in 2006
- Where
- Tsodilo Hills, Botswana
- Witnesses
- The San people, and archaeologists
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.