Ancient history

Tassili-n-Ajjer | archaeological site, Algeria

Tassili-n-Ajjer , an area in Southern Algeria, in which prehistoric rock paintings (and many engravings) were first discovered in 1910 and subsequently in the 1930s and 1960s.

Britannica Quiz Destination Africa:Fact or Fiction? Is Africa's northernmost point further north than Europe's southernmost point? See if your geographical knowledge points north or south on this journey through Africa.

The area is a plateau in the central Sahara and is characterized by high cliffs, some of which have decorated panels at their base. Scientists and archaeologists have estimated the age of the rock art using a variety of indirect methods, including excavation, faunal studies, climate studies, depictions of types of weapons and chariots, and inscriptions. The age of the earliest images is disputed, but scholars generally agree that they date to about 7,000 years ago.

The rock paintings of Tassili fall into a number of important styles that form a chronological order. Some of the earliest known as the Round heads (describing their typically human forms) are followed by naturalistic " Bovidian paintings showing numerous pastoral scenes with cattle and shepherds with bows. The next phase is characterized by the more schematic figures of the so-called horse and Camel periods made when the wheel about 3,000 years ago to appeared for the first time.

The engravings include those of an important early art school, the " Naturalistic Bubaline,” which was roughly contemporary with the Round Head paintings. These artists used a remarkably naturalistic style to depict domestic cattle and wild animals, including the now-extinct giant buffalo.