The composition of six rock paintings from the Brandberg in Namibia has been examined by highly sensitive chemical separation in combination with chromatographic identification and by surface excitation probes. This study concludes that the paintings examined contain no organic material suitable for carbon dating. These tests differ from previous analyses (van der Merwe et al., 1987) in that they attempt to isolate specific organic compounds. Our results suggest that the technique used to produce paintings at Brandberg was not like those described in accounts of rock and body painting which include the use of fats to bond inorganic pigments ( and ). Keywords: prehistoric rock painting, Namibia, 14C composition.