Tilman Lenssen-Erz
Tilman held a Master degree in African Studies and a PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology. Since 1986 he headed rock art research at the African Archaeology at the University of Cologne where he compiled six double-volumed catalogues on the rock paintings of the Daureb/Brandberg in Namibia.
He was head of many research expeditions in Namibia and Chad. His research always aimed at cooperation with and training of local communities for capacity building, particularly in Community Based Cultural Resource Management in Namibia and Botswana (with a focus on rock art).
Since 2013 he combined archaeological research with indigenous knowledge. His research also focused on the context and the ecology of rock art. Since 2012 Tilman was head of the open online African Archaeology Archive Cologne.
On 10 November 2023 we were deeply saddened to bid farewell to Tilman. We wish to honour his memory as a joyful, reliable scholar and a visionary scientist ahead of his time.
RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS
Tilman Lenssen-Erz & Marie-Theres Erz (2000) Brandberg – Der Bilderberg Namibias. Kunst und Geschichte einer Urlandschaft. Jan Thorbecke Verlag; Stuttgart.
Tilman Lenssen-Erz (2008) Space and Discourse as Constituents of Past Identities – the Case of Namibian Rock Art. In: Inés Domingo Sanz, Danae Fiore & Sally K. May (eds.) Archaeologies of Art: Time, Place, Identity. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek: 29-50.
Tilman Lenssen-Erz (2012) Rock Art in Context – theoretical aspects of pragmatic data collections. In: Ben Smith, Knut Helskog & David Morris (eds.), Working with Rock Art – Recording, Presenting and Understanding Rock Art Using Indigenous Knowledge. Wits University Press, Johannesburg: 47-58.
Oliver Vogels & Tilman Lenssen-Erz (2017) Beyond individual pleasure and rituality: social aspects of the musical bow in southern Africa’s rock art. Rock Art Research 34(1), 2017, 9–24.