Archaeological evidence suggests that modern humans have lived in South Africa for over 100,000 years. Most scientists believe that the Khoisan are probably the descendants of the Late Stone Age people and evidence has shown that they were living in southern Africa long before either the blacks or the whites. Among this evidence is rock art created by the Khoisan 26,000 years ago. The earliest distinctively black inhabitants are believed to have arrived significantly later than the Khoisan.

The Khoisan
The term "Khoisan" has been used to describe a broad similarity in cultural and biological origins. It is derived from the names "Khoikhoi" and "San". "Khoikhoi" was the original name used by the Hottentots in reference to themselves and "San" was the name the Bushmen used when they referred to themselves. The Khoisan and the Black peoples are believed to have merged from common gene pools but to have developed separately.

The San (Bushmen)
Up to approximately 3 000 years ago, all people living in southern Africa were hunter/gatherers. By the middle of the 20th century, the influence of pastoral, agricultural and industrial societies had caused most hunter-gatherers to become assimilated into new ways of life, to have been wiped out by their enemies in conflicts over land or to have died from the diseases brought by the new inhabitants. Consequently, hunter-gatherers could be found only in and around the near-desert Kalahari basin. The hunter-gatherers of Southern Africa have been called by many names: "Bushmen", "San" or "Sonqua", "Soaqua", "Sarwa" or "Basarwa", and "Twa", all basically meaning, "those without domestic livestock". The San are much shorter than members of the Black group - the average height of an adult is approximately 1,5 m and their complexion is yellowish. They probably originated on the north coast of Africa and were then driven further and further south by stronger tribes. When the San reached the southern point of Africa, the Black tribes were primarily still living in the tropical and equatorial parts of Africa.

The migration of the Black tribes to southern Africa caused the San to meet up with them again after millennia of separation. It also brought them in contact with the phenomenon of agriculture and stockbreeding (pastoral industry). As hunter-gatherers, it was the women’s work to gather food and the men’s work to hunt with bows and arrows. The hunters smeared poison, gathered from certain beetles or snakes, on their arrowheads paralysing or killing their prey.

The San were known to be excellent trackers, a skill that helped them to survive for so long on the land. They lived in caves or shelters made of branches built near waterholes, so that drinking water would be near and animals could easily be hunted.

The San people have left us an invaluable legacy of rock art depicting their way of life and their religious beliefs. Their rock art can be found all over the country giving us a glimpse into the lives of these tough little people, capable of such courage and strenght, surviving on the land in perfect balance with nature, for such a long time.