Saharan Rock Art

In a green Sahara, during the six thousand years preceding our time, wild life abounded, and the artists of these ancient times left us many pictures of the life of this era. Tassili frescoes recall the life of animals and of several human groups who coexisted or followed one another in this region. There are many paintings drawn with a most acute naturalist sense, hunting having developed a remarkable observation gift among the inhabitants of these regions. 

The figures on the frescoes never stand still : one runs, another jumps, this one walks, that one bends his bow. It's full of life, gives an impression of vivacity and shows an incontestable taste for narration. Richness of attitudes, diversity in clothing, and, more, the notion of hierarchy amid groups are highly remarkable. 

The artists have taken great care drawing feminine portraits : the figures are always beautiful and very elegant. We can now appreciate the wonderful Saharan cave frescoes thanks to Henri Lhote, French archeologist and ethnologist, who made a wonderful work together with his team in Tassili in 1956. To find more information about Tasili and its remarkable works of art please click here.  .

Background: Masked negroid woman. The period of round-headed men. Probably later as the early Neolithic. Sefar, Eastern Tassili Mountains, Middle Sahara, Algeria.

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