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the African peoples by stating that they were primitive and their culture
had not value. Thus, the white European men were bringing culture,
from being conquered and exploited. This was a big lie, since the African
peoples already had highly developed cultures. The Europeans ended their
way of life, even though it was working for them. Many Westerners still
regard the Africans as primitive today. However, the art of the ancient
peoples of northern Africa shows that they already had an advanced culture
but they did have a technology that sustained their environment and their
way of life. In addition, they produced great works of art that show skill
executing the paintings and sculptures that we can still find on rocks
today in the caves and on the cliff faces of northern Africa. In fact,
these great works of art are not limited to northern Africa. They actually
also found all over the continent of Africa. Even the Bushmen of South
Africa, who are considered to be some of the most primitive people in the
The ancient people painted and carved the things that they knew from
everyday life. They depicted people, animals, and objects that were
anyone who looks at it that this art was produced by people with an
Rock art can tell us a lot about the ancient cultures that did not
leave any written records. We can learn about the things that were
learning about Saharan rock art today. Thirty thousand rock paintings and
engravings in all mountainous areas are known, half from Tassili in Algeria
(Brown, 1998). These paintings and carvings on rocks are found in many
different parts of Africa. They date from prehistoric times, yet they
display a highly developed culture and artistic skill. Some of the rock
art is found inside caves, and some of it is found on the walls of cliffs.
Some of the most spectacular examples of Saharan rock art are the
depictions of animals.
two giraffes was found. The bigger giraffe figure is slightly larger than
life, and it has a smaller companion also carved into the rock. African
Rock Art experts disclosed this find at the beginning of October 1998, but
Trust for African Rock Art), Alec Campbell (founder of the National Museum
of Botswana), and Jean Clottes (the heritage curator of the French Ministry
their Tuareg guide. Jean Clottes said that he was amazed by the size of
the giraffe because it was so big. Although some rock art was found before
that was several meters long, this was unusual. Clottes said, “These are
1998). The depictions of giraffes were found carved into the rock on top
of a fifty foot high outcrop of rock, and the art covers a rock face that
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Coulson dated the giraffe as being engraved between 6,000 and 9,000
years ago. Smaller giraffe paintings have been found throughout Africa,
and Coulson said that the giraffe appears to dominate the art in most areas
all over the continent of Africa. It appears that the giraffe was very
and its smaller companion both have a line coming out from the nose and
ending at the form of a tiny man. A painting was found in South Africa
that depicts a giraffe with its head above the clouds and rain falling down
on it. A painting was found in Namibia that shows a giraffe's head and
neck sticking out from a cloud. A painting was found in Algeria that
depicts a tiny giraffe with a long neck, and it looks like a tornado going
into a cloud. An engraving was found in Libya that shows a man feeding a
special powers,' Coulson says” (Webb, 1998). The giraffe engravings were
actually known before this team found them. At least two members of the
153 Club saw them in the mid-1980s. In addition, photograph of the two
in the mid 1980s (Webb, 1998). However, the researchers do not want to
reveal the exact location before the carvings have been preserved by cast
Researchers often divide the Saharan rock art into four main eras:
1) the Era of Hunters from 6000 to 4000 BCE; 2) the Era of Stockbreeders
from 4000 to 1500 BCE; 3) the Era of the Horse from 1500 BCE to the 1st
century CE; and 4) the Era of the Camel from the 1st century forward. The
paintings from the Era of Hunters show motion, and the animals never seem
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to stand still. They seem to tell a story that is filled with life. The
social life (“Mysterious Past”, 1998-99). The paintings of cattle from the
Era of Stockbreeders have coats with many colors, which provides evidence
that cattle had been a domesticated species for a very long time (“Peaceful
The Era of Hunters came after the Bubalus Period (also called the
Buffalo Period), which was from the end of the 6th millennium to the mid-
ranges, such as the Tassili N'Ajjer, where many rock paintings were found
in caves. Before the desertification of North Africa, this was the home of
the desert became inhospitable, and this had a significant effect upon the
emergence of Ancient Kemet (Egypt), the states to the West where savanna
met forest, and the Mediterranean coast to the North. The rock paintings
show that in the ancient past, the Sahara was fairly moist, and it was
populated by humans and many animals. The division of the Tassili rock art
and the paintings were done by darker peoples from the south (Brown, 1998).
In the earliest phase, which is called the Bubalus Period, the art
shows animals that became extinct in the area, including the buffalo
are depicted in a naturalistic style and often on a large scale. The art
shows men armed with clubs, throwing sticks, axes and bows, but never
spears. Later, in the Cattle Period (also called the Era of Stockbreeders),
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Bubalus and Cattle Periods. There are some faceless (aniconic) figures
the Bubalus work. Some round headed figure painting from the Uan Telocat
in the Acacus has been reported to be older than c. 4800 BCE (Brown, 1998).
but human occupation at Tassili started at least around 5500 BCE, and it is
assumed that the Bubalus Period soon after and lasted to about 3500 BCE.
During the Cattle Period, from the mid-4th to mid-2nd millennium BCE,
people hunted game. At first they used crude stone axes and throwing
sticks, and later they used bows and javelins. The Cattle or Pastoralist
Period followed the Bubalus Period, and there are no more depictions of the
buffalo. There are other wild animals and, for the first time, cattle.
The style sketchier and less naturalistic. The figures are in stiffer
poses. Sometimes the horns are shown in a frontal perspective. The size
is smaller. Some paintings from the Cattle Period show herdsmen and cattle
together, and sometimes the cows are shown with collars. Radiocarbon dates
suggest that the Cattle Period was from the mid-4th to perhaps the mid-2nd
millennium BCE, but this dating is very uncertain. The Cattle Period
Rock art sometimes confirms the historical records and theories. For
Herodotus said that they hunted with their chariots the Ethiopian
fits in with the rock paintings that depict horse-drawn chariots. The
early 1930s. Since then, more paintings have been discovered in Tassili
and southern Morocco. They seem to form two tracks leading in the
direction of the Niger Bend. After these rock paintings were studied, a
theory was created which says that the Garamantes (or alternatively some
other Saharan people) carried West African gold and ivory to the markets of
The Horse Period extends from about 1200 BCE, after the Cattle
Period. Evidence suggests that the horse was introduced by the Sea Peoples
from Crete around 1200 BCE, and that Cretan influence came with the horse.
The Sea Peoples came as allies of the Lybians of Cyrenaica against Egypt.
and Horse-and-Camel. The rock art suggests that the desert pastoralists
never had any chariots. The desertification of the Sahara ended the use of
chariots, but people continued to use the horse as a mount. The camel may
have been introduced in about 700 BCE, but it took a long time to come into
general use. The succeeding Camel Period extends from Roman times to the
present, and the rock art from this period represents existing animals of
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cattle (zebu) and goats, and the camel. “The art of the period is small
weapon is the spear, although later there is also the sword and firearm”
The rock art of Tassili has a distinct style, which is different from
the rock art found in other places. For example, there is the Tazina Style
of Algeria-Morocco, such as the rock art from the Tazzarine Oasis, in South
typically shows graceful animal figures carved into the rock. The figures
are about a foot tall, and they are carved with polished (not pecked or
dotted) lines. Researchers believe that this art was made by hunters and
herders who were fleeing the desertified areas of the Sahara. Many sites
between Algeria and the Atlantic show the Tazina style, while other sites
ox and wild animals, at a time when the economy was shifting from hunting
Elephant figures are often found in Saharan rock art in many places
Bardai, in the eastern Sahara, has been dated as belonging to either the
Bubalus or the Cattle Period. Its height seven or eight inches (Brown,
1998). “There were probably two reasons for the popularity of the elephant
as a rock art theme. The first was that it provided a lot of meat and the
second that it was associated with water and rain, which the Bushmen
believe in spirits, this does not prove that the people are primitive just
because they do believe in spirits. Everybody has some kind of belief that
Americans take dead trees into their homes and worship them. If you ask
them why they are doing this, they say that a little fat man in a red suit
is going to come down the chimney at night and leave presents in their
stockings. When you point out that their house does not have a fireplace,
they might explain that Santa Claus is magical, so he can come in through
the door or the window. He is a god who knows if you have been bad or
good. If you are bad, then he does not leave you any presents. Also,
every year in March or April, Americans leave baskets out at night so the
rabbit can leave candy for them. This rabbit lays eggs, and the eggs are
made out of chocolate. Maybe you do not believe in the Easter Bunny, but
you still tell your children all about him, and you still leave a basket
out one night a year so he can leave you candy. The rabbit gets into your
house by magic, too. These yearly rituals are obviously the signs of a
primitive religion, yet Americans are certain that they have the most
they talk about automobiles and airplanes and computers. If you ask them
about art, however, they usually talk about European men who lived about
Americans should not regard the great African artists as primitive, just
because we do not know their names. We have their pictures, and they prove
The rock art thus tells us that African peoples developed a culture
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that could support great artists. They produced enough food for the
artist, so that he or she did not have to hunt wild animals, or herd
the art, since they were willing to work to support that artist. This is
evidence of a highly advanced culture, even if they did not have the modern
References
Brown, Haines. (1998, Dec. 10). “Images from World History: Archaic
Dowson, J.A. (1989). “Dots and Dashes: Cracking the Entopic Code in
Series, 6: 84-94.
Masonen, Pekka. (1995, June 22). “Trans-Saharan Trade and the West
Finland. www.nsm.com.
www.opaleo.com.
Conservation.
www.coyotepress.com/rockart.html.
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William Waterman.