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- Title
Last Periods of Rock Art and First Writing in the Central Sahara.
- Authors
Ouicher, Samira Hamil; Zebda, Dalila Belkacemi
- Abstract
Rock art in prehistoric times contains valuable evidence, which is considered a historical document, and contains valuable information that testifies to the history of human settlements in the central Sahara through engravings and paintings. This period is known as the Period of Horses and Camels and corresponds to the last periods of prehistory until the beginning of the dawn of history. Rock art contains a variety of styles and scenes, such as animals, humans, and designs in the form of symbols and geometric shapes, which were considered a means of communication between ancient communities and a type of writing known later as Tifinagh. These engravings are among the historical documents, providing us with valuable information about the history of human settlement, but in general, their dating and interpretation remain difficult. This applies to rock scenes that contain signs and symbols that have been referenced in some studies, showing that Libyan Berber writing drew from those symbols and shapes embodied in rock art during the later periods of prehistory, which is the Period of Horses and Camels. This article proposes some opinions and hypotheses about the origin of the Libyan alphabet represented in rock art, as evidenced by more than a thousand engravings collected from all over North Africa, especially in the central desert.
- Subjects
SAHARA; NORTH Africa; ROCK art (Archaeology); ROCK paintings; ENGRAVING; HISTORICAL source material; HUMAN settlements; GEOMETRIC shapes; SIGNS &; symbols
- Publication
Magazine General Union of Arab Archaeologists, 2024, Vol 25, Issue 2, p29
- ISSN
2536-9822
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.21608/cguaa.2024.257384.1192