San

San is a collective name for several peoples of southern Africa, with distinct languages and histories. They are also described as 'Bushmen' in older accounts and picture titles.

Some San communities used small cuts filled with dark pigment to mark the skin. Historical descriptions connect particular designs with marriage, hunting or healing. There was no single tattoo tradition followed by every San group.

Beads, skin garments and other ornaments offered more ways to decorate the body. Making them required detailed knowledge of materials gathered from the surrounding land. Dance could also play a role in healing, bringing people together to respond to illness and trouble.

San rock art adds another extraordinary visual world, filled with people and animals. The painted figures are more than simple records of hunting. Alongside portraits and objects, they reveal communities whose creativity reached from the dressed body to the rock surfaces around them.