Contested Images: diversity in Southern African rock art research

(Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press, 2001) 1868142469. 219 x 149 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers; pp. (x) + 437; numerous illustrations, maps, tables. Earlier owner's name signed on half-title. Fine condition. "The volume brings together the work of a number of scholars who have critically examined what has come to be known as the 'trance hypothesis'. Though they reach consensus about the value of the hypothesis, they raise questions about points of detail and the applicability of the hypothesis to all paintings and engravings. Many of the chapters engage in wider issues that impinge on other disciplines, such as linguistics and folklore studies, demonstrating the relationship between them and rock art. The work includes an overview of the development of rock art studies, showing how the approach has been modified in the light of criticisms and new insights." .