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The San Art that recovered from the man who was arrested.
Police said Monday they had arrested a suspect for allegedly attempting to sell rock art that may have been torn from a cave wall.
The Hawks made an arrest last week following a notice about the sale of an early painting made by the San people, the first inhabitants of southern Africa.
The search led to the discovery of the artifact and the arrest of its suspected dealer in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal, police said.
A 48-year-old suspect appeared before a magistrate on Monday and was later released on bail of R1,000 pending further investigation.
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“The San art rock may have been chiseled from a sandstone cave,” Hawks spokeswoman Philani Nkwalase told AFP.
Formerly called Bushmen, the San people have a presence in South Africa dating back more than 25,000 years.
Collection
They bequeathed an impressive collection of cave and hillside paintings, some of which have UNESCO World Heritage status.
The seized artifact shows two antelopes and a man holding a stick or spear. The sale price was not disclosed.
The police have called in archaeologists and forensic scientists.
“The experts should be able to tell us how old it is and who the buyers would be,” Nkwalase said.
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