Gcwihaba Cave (Drotsky’s Caverns), Botswana – The Amazingly Beautiful Cave
Gcwihaba Cave is a cave located in Gcwihaba village in Botswana. Gcwihaba has two caves: Gcwihaba 1 and Gcwihaba 2, with Gcwihaba 1 being the larger of the two. Gcwihaba 2 is very small and it can only be entered on all fours.
Gcwihaba 1 contains paintings of animals and rock formations. Gcwihaba is a place for bats, birds and the greater long-fingered bat species to roost. Gcwihaba is also home to many other species such as porcupines, snakes and millipedes. Gcwihaba 1 has three windows. Gcwihaba 2 is so small that it cannot be entered by humans, unless they are crawling.
The Gcwihaba Caves were part of the Kalahari landscape around 2 million years ago, at least for the entire period of the Pleistocene. Gcwihaba 1 and Gcwihaba 2 were first surveyed by G.H. Lau, G. D’Abreton and G. Palutikof in 1969 and they found that Gcwihaba was built up over a long period of time. Gcwihaba was at least partially contemporaneous with Apollo 11 Cave, Gcwihaba 1 was older than Gcwihaba 2. Gcwihaba 1 was found to contain fossil bones of the giant zebra and wildebeest that lived in this region at the time. Gcwihaba is a San word and stands for “hyena’s lair”. Gcwihaba Caves were a provincial heritage site in Gcwihaba village. Gcwihaba was a declared a national monument on September 9, 1970 and it is now Gcwihaba National Monument under the control of Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
Gcwihaba Cave: Interesting Facts
Gcwihaba Caves are located approximately 30km northwest of Gcwihaba village. Gcwihaba Caves were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 and Gcwihaba Cave is one of the few caves in Botswana where paintings can be found. Gcwihaba Cave was built up over a long period of time. Gcwihaba Cave also contains fossils of giant zebra and wildebeest. Gcwihaba Cave is an important site for the Gana, Gwiwa and Gakhwe communities. Gcwihaba Cave was used as a home by bushmen and Gcwihaba Cave contains paintings of animals such as antelope, elephant, ostrich, buffalo and wild cats.
Gcwihaba Cave has been managed by Gana Community for over a century. Gcwihaba Cave is not open to the public without permission from Gana Traditional Authority or Gwiwa Traditional Authority. Gcwihaba is a place for bats, birds and the greater long-fingered bat species to roost. Gcwihaba Cave is home to many other species such as porcupines, snakes and millipedes. Gcwihaba was declared a national monument on September 9, 1970 by the government of Botswana under the control of Department of Wildlife and National Parks. Gcwihaba was built up over a long period of time and Gcwihaba Cave also contains fossils of giant zebra and wildebeest.
Frequently Asked Questions about Gcwihaba Cave
What’s the most exciting thing you have found at Gcwihaba?
The most exciting thing we’ve found at Gcwihaba is the potential to unlock new clues about human evolution. For example, one of the caves I’ve explored contains fossils of ancient humans and animals that date back more than 2 million years. This is incredibly significant because it could help us learn more about how our ancestors evolved and changed over time.
Where do you see things going from here with Gcwihaba cave and rock paintings?
The paintings in the Gwihaba cave provide an important record of the early human occupation of the Arabian Peninsula and may help to understand how our species dispersed from Africa.
The archaeological site at Gwihaba has been studied since the 1930s, but recent advances in dating techniques have allowed us to place the paintings within a more accurate time frame. The results of these studies suggest that the paintings are between 35,000 and 40,000 years old, making them some of the oldest rock art in the world.
Were these animals always in Gcwihaba cave?
There has been some debate about whether or not the animals were always in Gcwihaba cave, but most experts seem to think that they were. The main evidence for this comes from the fact that the bones of the animals are stained with bat guano, and since there are no other known caves in the area that could have housed bats, it’s likely that they were living in Gcwihaba cave at the time of their death.
