Kondoa

The Kondoa Rock Art Sites include over 150 natural caves or shelters that have been used for rock paintings over at least two millennia. The paintings have high artistic quality and were made with a brush-like instrument. They depict elongated people, animals, and hunting scenes. The rock art of Kondoa belongs to the distinct rock art traditions of central and southern Africa.

The Rock Art is located nine kilometres off the main highway from Kondoa to Arusha, about 20 km north of the town of Kondoa. The paintings are found high up on the hills. Some of the sites are related to living traditions of the local Hadza and Sandawe peoples.

The existence of the paintings was first reported in 1908 by missionaries. The first scientific explorations date back to Louis Leakey in the 1930s. The Leakey Family also developed a small visitor center in the village of Kolo, which is now run by the Tanzanian government and supplies also guides to the sites.

Year	Decision	Comments
2006	Inscribed	Reasons for inscription
2005	Referred	To provide a site record system, conservation plan, site manager, buffer zone etc.

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Kondoa Rock Art Sites
Country: Tanzania
Inscribed: 2006
Cultural Heritage
Criteria:  (3) (6)
Category: Archaeological site, Rock Art

Official website:
»Kolo Kondoa Rock Art Site (by a tour company)

Connections:
Constructions
Pictographs .
Human Activity
Iron production . Pastoralism .
Individual People
Leakey Family .
Timeline
Built in the 1st century .
World Heritage Process
First sites filling gaps cited by ICOMOS .

In the news:
Not available

Links:
» Figurative representation of the paintings.
» Introduction to Tanzanian rock paintings.

© WHS 1997-2013