Knowra Saharan rock art Saharan rock art Saharan rock art comprises prehistoric paintings and engravings on exposed rock across the Sahara. Its subjects record changing environments, animals, and human lifeways over millennia.
Tassili n'Ajjer : A sandstone plateau in southeastern Algeria containing extensive prehistoric paintings and engravings. Its shelters preserve some of the Sahara’s best-known painted scenes.
African humid period : A period of increased rainfall across much of North Africa, especially between about 14,500 and 5,000 years ago. Its lakes and grasslands supported animals and communities depicted in early Saharan art.
Pigment : A colored material that absorbs or reflects particular wavelengths of visible light. Mineral and other pigments supplied the color of painted Saharan images.
Wildlife of the Sahara : The animal communities that inhabit or historically inhabited the Sahara and its surrounding regions. Depictions of now-absent wildlife preserve evidence of a greener Sahara.
Dating rock art : Methods for estimating when images on rock surfaces were made. Many Saharan images lack direct dates, complicating the sequence of styles.
Sefar : A settlement-like cluster of natural rock formations and archaeological shelters in Algeria’s Tassili n'Ajjer. Its dense painted panels include human figures, animals, and masked forms.
Saharan rock art periodization : A chronological framework grouping Saharan rock art into broad styles associated with changing environments and lifeways. Its named phases organize the region’s diverse paintings and engravings into a provisional sequence.
Red ochre : A naturally occurring iron-rich earth pigment that produces shades of red, brown, or yellow. Its durable color appears in many painted figures and outlines.
Cattle pastoralism : A subsistence system centered on keeping cattle for food, materials, and social value. Cattle imagery reflects the economic and social importance of herding.
Rock-art interpretation : The study of what images on rock surfaces represented to the people who made them. Animals and human forms invite interpretations that the images alone cannot settle.
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