Rocks of potency: Engravings and cupules from the Dovedale Ward, Southern Tuli Block, Botswana

In this contribution the recent discovery of rock engravings and cupules on the farms Riverslee and Basinghall, in the Dovedale Ward of the southern Tuli Block, Botswana, is reported. These access-controlled sites are interpreted as important ritual locales for both hunter-gatherers and African farmers who utilized the physical and spiritual resources of this area in the past. The distinctive features of the Riverslee site include fully pecked engravings of four human footprints, a preponderance of feline tracks, numerous other animal spoor (tracks), oval-shaped grooves and a boulder with 35 cupules, all executed on sandstone boulders and pavements surrounding a small pan near the Limpopo River. The Basinghall cluster contains six cupules and three oval-shaped grooves. The Riverslee site is compared to other engraving sites of Botswana, including Matsieng and Lowe, two well-known creation sites.