Experts believe that the drawings originate from hunting bushmen (San), who were in wait for wild animals at the waterholes and perhaps attempted to secure their good luck by engraving the rocks.

In the year 1918 about 100 kilometres further south in the Tsisab gorge at the Brandberg the most famous rock paintings were discovered. A well-known French historian named the painting 'the white lady'. He thought the figure resembled a lady of Greek or Egyptian origin. However, nowadays scientists agree that the painting portrays a young man. The lower part of his body is painted in white, a magical hunting spell, as was customary to the Himbas and the Hereros.

Top: Rock engravings in Twyfelfontein.
Left: The "White Lady" in the Tsisab gorge.

Twyfelfontein - south of Khorixas - has one of the most extensive accumulations of pre-historic rock paintings in Namibia. Predominantly portrayed are lions, giraffes and elephants. Furthermore, there are numerous abstract objects, about which no definite knowledge is available. Although the exact age of the drawings is unknown, it is estimated that they are between a few hundred and several thousand years old.