The Prehistoric Rock Art of Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria

Tassili n'Ajjer is a vast desert plateau in southern Algeria, stretching from the borders with Niger and Libya to the east, to as far as Amguid in the west, covering an area of 72,000 sq. km. Thousands of years of changing Saharan climate and erosion have created stunning geological features with towering sandstone pillars, deep canyons and more than 300 natural arches. Tassili n'Ajjer shot into worldwide fame in the 1930s, not for its landscape but for the precious collection of ancient rock art in the area. Since their discovery, more than 15,000 petroglyphs and paintings have been identified representing 10,000 years of human history and environmental change. One of the most striking feature of these petroglyphs is the way they evolved with the change in climate. Petroglyph depicting a possibly sleeping antelope, located at Tassili n’Ajjer in southern Algeria. Photo credit: Linus Wolf/Wikimedia The oldest art belongs to the so-called “Large Wild Fauna Period” (10,000-6,000 BC) characterized almost entirely by engravings of animals such as hippopotamus, crocodiles, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes and rhinos, depicting the abundant wildlife at a time when the Sahara was green and fertile. Humans appear as tiny figures dwarfed by the immensity of these animals and are often shown holding boomerangs or throwing sticks, clubs, axes or bows. Overlapping with this era is the Round Head Period (8,000-6,000 BC) where human figures with elaborate attires took dominance. These figures ranged from a few centimeters to several meters tall. The majority of Round Head paintings portray people with round featureless heads and formless bodies. Some of the pieces seem to suggest shamanism with bodies flying through space or bowing before huge male figures that tower above them. About 7,000 years ago, domesticated animals began to appear in the art. This period is known as the Pastoral Period.