Culture war brews over S.African golden rhino figurine For years, South Africa's apartheid government ignored the significance of a "golden rhino" figurine that provides undeniable proof of a sophisticated society existing before white men arrived. But since the end of racist rule in 1994, the stunning object -- just 15 millimetres (six inches) long and more than 700 years old -- has become a defining symbol of precolonial civilisation in South Africa. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES