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Saharan Prehistoric Art
DiscoveryArchaeologists, egyptologists and anthropologists as well as lovers of the Sahara's pre-historic art must now have their eyes set on Libya, as full access to its primeval past is only a few hours away. Dazzling and vivid images of its early pastoralists, tribal shamans and early artists can be grasped directly off the rocks of the Sahara. Breathtaking depictions that not only withstood time but also have brought time to a stand-still; and therefore it should not surprise us that these preserved treasures are believed by the Tuareg to be lessons from their ancestors and as such are true history of the Great Sahara. Although much of the Sahara's prehistoric art was attributed to Lhote's travels in late 1950s, the engravings of North Africa were first made know to Europeans by a group of French Army officers travelling in southern Oran (in Algeria) in 1847. When the explorer Heinrich Barth crossed the Sahara from Tripoli to Timbuktu, in 1850, he found similar engravings of elephants, lions, antelopes, bovids, ostriches, gazelles and humans in the Fezzan area. In 1954 an Italian expedition (which included Paolo Grraziose, Vergara-Caffarelli and Dr Paradisi) discovered a large collection of animal engravings and female figures in rock shelters in Wadi el Kel, about 300 miles south of Tripoli. Apparently, the same engravings were reported in 1874 by the explorer Rohlfs. In some of the animal carvings, the horns of the oxen join together to form a solar disk: the emblem of the Libyan Sun-Goddess. After the first war the geological prophet who foretold the Sahara's riches of natural oil, Conrad Kilian, discovered frescoes of a giraffe hunt in 1928. A few years later, chariots drawn by horses were also discovered. Then came Lieutenant Brenans the governor of Tassili who discovered the "Tassili Museum" in 1938. According to some sources, Henri Lhote knew Brenans well and after his death carried on the work he had started, and he began to catalogue the gallery between the years 1956 and 1957. Tripoli's Jamahiryia Museum houses a wonderful collection of prehistoric artifacts and treasures from the Sahara and there is no doubt that the museum deserves a visit. But serious explorers of ancient civilizations will benefit greatly from the museums of the Sahara herself - a place well-known to the Berber Nasamons of ancient Libya, from whom Herodotus appears to have had hurriedly derived his descriptions of this enigmatic interior of Libya. The Sahara is the home of the world’s largest collection of prehistoric cave art: some 100,000 sites; each is a unique gallery of prehistoric drawings, paintings and engravings, telling different stories about life in the past. Professor Mori alone had identified more than 1400 prehistoric art sites; among his famous discoveries was a Libyan mummy of a child (Gallery 4 of Jamahiriya Museum), taught to be at least 5,400 years old. The complete mummy of a small boy, preserved in a good condition using a sophisticated and advanced technique of mummification, was found in a place called Wan Muhuggiag. One of the prehistoric paintings discovered by Henri Lhote, that of a human figure, about 18 feet tall, holds the record of being the largest prehistoric painting in the world.
Alien-like Sahara
ChronologyThe Sahara comes and goes just as the ice ages do. About 10,000 years ago, a change in climate brought rainfall to the area, and slowly turned the Sahara to green land; only to return to its desert-state, again, about 5000 years ago. This last process of desertification was not really completed until 3000 years ago; coinciding with the last period of its prehistoric art. We know of nothing that will stop this from happening in the future; and in the last 50 years alone the Sahara has spread south to claim 65 million hectares of Land. Many of the prehistoric paintings, drawings and engravings of the Sahara desert are believed to be more than 12,000 years old; although new findings and discoveries continue to push back these dates to a much earlier period, especially when archaeological evidence is showing a much longer continuity in the region. Some scholars also voiced their concerns regarding the outdated techniques used in the last century to date the prehistoric drawings and engravings of the Sahara and call for a new approach and study of the Sahara's treasures. In Ritual Masks, Deceptions And Revelations (p 34), Henry Pernet points out that, "In granting that representations of ritual masks were present in documents of the Sahara, is it therefore necessary to return to the "dawn of time"? This raises the problem of the chronology of these cave works about which there is no consensus. For Mori, the first engravings would have preceded the paintings by several thousand years; they would date back to the upper pleistocene (20,000 - 8000 B.C.E.) and to the beginning of the Holocene period." While Rüdiger and Gabriele Lutz, in The Secret Of The Desert: The Rock Art Of Messak Sattafet And Messak Mellet, (1955), remind us that: “There are very few absolute datings available at present. That means there are hardly any data which are confirmed by excavations and C-14 (radioactive carbon) determination. . . Many researchers have been concerned with the problem of dating; all have reached a similar hypothetical conclusion.”
Prehistoric ceremonial compositions challenging interpretation(s). The middle engraving, known as the Fighting Cats, which is about 10,000 years old, is in serious danger of crumbling to pieces.
VandalismSadly, desecration is genetically expected from human beings. Some visitors, foreign and/or local, have written or painted over some of the paintings, inscribed their names or initials, and poured water over them to bring-out the colours for better photos. There are also several reports of urinating on pictures, superimposing originals with other symbols and writings, cutting off the heads of human images and leaving the bodies headless and hideously covered in graffiti. Henri Lhote, points out that, "During a recent trip to Algeria, I was distressed to learn that vandals have marred several paintings, some using chain saws to remove entire figures" [National Geographic, August 1987]. All in all, such despicable acts are condemned by most Libyans and by the international community as cowardly acts of barbarism. The use of water to bring out the colour for better photos was also reported, and probably spread through Lhote's book, in which he wrote: "Brenans had noted several of such paintings, but the best of them seem to have eluded him, since they are, to all intents and purposes, invisible to the naked eye and are revealed only after prolonged sponging down with water . . . We were able not only to remove from the ochres the layer of clay dust that covered them, but we were also able to heighten the tints and thus restore them to their original vividness" (Henri Lhote, Frescoes, 1959, pp 69 - 72).
More disturbing, according to recent published studies [(the reader can refer to Jeremy Keenan's most recent work for further details)], Henri Lhote's team, or one member of his team, apparently faked two (or even more) of the images published in his book, like those Egyptian-like calendar goddesses, which continued to appear in his book right down to the 70s, after which they have finally been removed. The following composition, which I have redrawn by hand (colours are not real) to illustrate the Egyptian style, shows some of the images invented by Lhote's team:
"Our little goddesses with the birds' heads must belong to an historical period . . . to 1200 B.C. We know that at this time the Libyans of the Fezzan were constantly at war with the Egyptians. Indeed, the Libyans attempted to conquer the Nile Valley" (Henri Lhote, Frescoes, 1959, pp 69 - 72).
Periods:1 - Bubalus or Graffiti Period: 8000 to 5000 BC: graffiti of large wild animals or of the "Bubalus antiquus" and of scenes of sexual magico-religious ceremonies were found on the banks of the great valleys, in spots selected by the ancient Saharans for magic rites worship.
2 - The Round Head period: before 7000 - 6000 BC: Human figures (as high as 15 feet) resemble fictional Martians, featureless faces, highly stylised bodies with large, round heads, and strange symbols. Inspired many writers to make extra income, like Erich von Daniken and Duncan Lunan who used the figures as a proof of alien visits to the planet earth in the past. Carl Sagan and Shlovskii, in their "Intelligent Life in the Universe", say the "The Mountain God" is a ritual mask still used in West Africa; while Henry Pernet, who does not exclude the possibility of the image being a mythic figure, points out that the similar figure of Aouanrhet (Inahouanrhat) was compared by Lhote with the Senoufo initiation mask, and that Muzzolini does not rule out the possibility of a stylised human face. 3 - Cattle or Hunters Period: 6000 – 2.500 BC: the climate in the desert was humid, owing to heavy rainfall. Dry valleys were filled with water, and bare stones were covered with lush green forests and elephants. 4 - The Pastoral Period: 5000 BC: a new naturalistic style depicting everyday life with greater concern for detail. As the amount of rainfall grew less, thick forests gave way to herbs. Tall tribes arrived from the south with their long-horned cattle. Numerous paintings of herds of domestic cattle. 5 - Horse or Garamantian Period: 2000-1200 BC: horses drawn chariots and distribution of lanes reflect the wide use of the chariots in the area. Herodotus informs us the it was the Libyan Garamantes who first invented the wheel. Human figures were represented by stylised rectangles. 6 - The Camelin or Camel Period: about 100 BC: the appearance of the camel in the Sahara.
Styles:
At lest 30 styles have been identified in Tassili alone, each of which needs detailed study to translate its history into written words. The paintings were said to surpass in number, artistic quality and in variety of styles all the previously known paintings. The most ancient style is that of the Small Round-Headed Figures with Horns; then followed by the 'Little Devils' (influenced by the 'Martian' phase with yellow and red ochre); the 'Round-Headed Men' (Middle Period); the 'Round-Headed Men' (Evolved Phase); the 'Round-Headed Men' (Decadent Phase: white and yellow ochre); the 'Round-Headed Men' (Egyptianite); the Hunters with Painted Bodies (Ancient Bovidian Phase); the Bovidian Classical style ( Hamitic type); the 'Judges' (Post-Bovidian Epoch); the Elongated 'White Men' of Post-Bovidian (linear style); the Chariot Period; and the 'Bi-Triangular' Men (Mounted Horses Period).
Mythical ThemesThe subject of many of these prehistoric compositions is somewhat very advanced, and strongly expresses a kind of mythology present at the time (about 12,000 BC). Strange creatures with no heads, others with round heads and wearing alien-like masks, some with one eye, an antelope with an elephant's body, and tall and skinny figures, involved in some kind of offerings and rituals, invoking the later Garamantian altars found in Fezzan.
(From The Secret Of The Desert, The Rock Art of Messak Sattafet And Messak Mellet, by Rudiger and Gabriele Lutz, 1995, p. 158) "Lycaon man (width 50, height 72), Wadi Tidoua. 11RV22 Bas-relief of a lycaon man with an oversized head. The creature has human features. It carries an emblem, probably a lion head. Only in engravings of the southern Messak Mellet do such figures convey the impression of worldly chiefs having appropriated the power of the lycaon – the mystical “Robusta” (The Secret Of The Desert, Rudinger and Gabriele Lutz, p. 158). If you are wondering what "lycaon" mean, Lycanthropy comes from Greek lukos (wolf) + anthropos (man): the transformation of a human being into a wolf, which, according to ancient mythology, took place as the result of magic spells. Werewolf (wer ‘man’ + wulf ‘wolf’): in folklore, a person who takes the shape of a wolf; after all, they are very ancient and probably were invented in the Sahara too.
The above digital work, based on real elements from Aouanrhet, is known as "The Swimming Woman with Breasts on her Back" (127x85 cm). Post Bovidian Period. According to Heneri Lhote, "This painting was discovered under a beehive rock and in a shelter too small ever to have served as a dwelling. The scene is a complex one. Above, is a woman stretched out and towing a man whose limbs are doubled up. Below, to the left, a figure, with outstretched arms, is emerging from a curious ovoid object" (Frescoes, p. 221, 222).
Garamantian Chariots According to Herodotus, chariots were invented by the Garamantian people of Libya interior, and it is more probable their use spread to Egypt and from there to southern Europe and the Middle East. On average there are about 500 drawings of chariots known to exist so far, most of which are found along two parallel tracks running from one water well to the next water source: one running from Fezzan towards Goa on the Niger bend, and the other from Orania and southern Morocco towards Goundam.
Areas Rich In Prehistoric Cave Art:
GPS:Locating these prehistoric paintings and engravings is not easy for most Libyan guides, owing to various reasons, like lack of official documentation of all the art sites in the area and lack of experience. Lonely Planet have included GPS points for some of the most important sites in their Guide: Libya (2007).
Prehistoric Abstract
Further Information about online Libyan prehistoric art sites
The Sahara Journal: Prehistory and History of the Sahara: Scientific, international yearly journal. Articles in English, Italian or French. ISSN 1120-5679. Link:http://www.saharajournal.com/ Italian-Libyan-Archaeological Mission in the Acacus and Messak: http://www.acacus.it/eng/ricter_arte_ru1.htm Fezzan Project: "the archaeology of the Wadi al-Ajal and its adjacent regions spans several hundred thousand years, ranging from Paleolithic stone tools to mud brick towns and villages abandoned within the past few decades . . . ": web address: www.dot.cru.uea.ac.uk University College London: Transitions To Farming In The Sahara:the Prehistoric Society's 2002 Study Tour of Libya's Fezzan www.ucl.ac.uk/prehistoric/past/past42.html
The Libyan White Goddess, based on Lhote's White Lady, from the "Evolved Round Heads" period. The original picture (100 X 150 cm) is in yellow ochre and white, with dots on the body, the shoulders and the breasts. The horns of the head appear to bear a field of wheat and hence its association with Isis, the goddess of agriculture. Most of the above pictures are Nesmenser's hand-drawn and digital art work, and copying or reproducing of any kind without prior permission is not permitted. The art work is based on real prehistoric paintings and all the actual elements of each picture are real. Some pictures are made of several layers, and were produced using collage on actual paper and then scanned for digital manipulation. The black & white ones are drawn by hand, and some were afterwards painted with water colour.
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