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Rock art from Andriamamelo Cave in the Beanka Protected Area of western Madagascar

Abstract Stylistically unique black rock drawings have been discovered in Andriamamelo Cave in western Madagascar. Several image groupings comprise naturalistic scenes with anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and therianthropic figures. These complex images are not similar to the polychrome painted symbols previously described from the Isalo region of SW Madagascar. Eight instances were noted where images and themes suggest Ptolemaic Egyptian mythological characters and symbols, some possibly of stellar constellations. One type of M-shaped figure occurred 16 times throughout the entire design field. We have not found this figure in other rock art around the Indian Ocean, except a rare occurrence in Borneo, believed to have been created about 2000 years ago. It also matches one distinctive character found in the Amharic alphabet of Ethiopia. One set of eight curvilinears resemble Arabic characters or indigenous Sorabe. Extant animals were tentatively identified, and also three of the extinct megafauna may be pictured (elephant bird, tortoise, and sloth lemur). The latter appears in an inferred hunting scene, with a hunter pointing a weapon, the giant lemur upside down, and two dogs. Images suggest connections between traditional Malagasy symbology and the disparate worlds of the island’s ancient influences, both from NE Africa and Borneo. Milligram-sized samples of the black pigment were collected from an image for AMS 14C dating, but they contained insufficient carbon in aggregate.