Levinsohn (1985) contends that the initial wall art designs and symbolic forms are derivative of centuries-old Ndebele beadwork forms and patterns. Earliest wall art shows tonal patterns painted by the women with their fingers on the mud/dung walls of their cone-on-cylinder, round houses. Prior to the French introduction of acrylic pigments into South Africa in the 1940s, only natural pigments were used. Monochrome ochres, browns, black, and limestone whitewash were the initial hues. The elements of size, direction, and line pattern were more important than polychrome color in aesthetically pleasing walls.