Desert camel carvings dated to around 7,000 years ago
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Monday, December 23, 2024


Desert camel carvings dated to around 7,000 years ago
Panel 12, showing the body, legs and base of the neck of an adult camel with a possible young equid to the left. © M. Guagnin & G. Charloux.

by Kelly MacNamara



PARIS.- Life-sized carvings of camels and horses hewn into rock faces in Saudi Arabia could be around 7,000 years old, according to new research that suggests they are significantly older than previously thought.

The 21 reliefs, which were only recently discovered, are heavily eroded and were initially estimated in 2018 to be some 2,000 years old based on similarities with artworks found in Petra in Jordan.

But the new research by Saudi and European institutions used a variety of different methods, including analysing tool marks and erosion patterns as well as x-ray technology, and suggests the reliefs are around 7,000 to 8,000 years old.

This would mean that the area of carvings, known as the Camel Site, "is likely home to the oldest surviving large-scale (naturalistic) animal reliefs in the world," the study said.

In the era that it was created, the region would have looked very different to the arid landscape of today, with a savannah-like grassland dotted with lakes and trees, where wild camels roamed and were hunted.

"We can now link the Camel Site to a period in prehistory when the pastoral populations of northern Arabia created rock art and built large stone structures called mustatil," the authors said in a press release issued by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

"The Camel Site is therefore part of a wider pattern of activity where groups frequently came together to establish and mark symbolic places."

'Annual gathering'

The research, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science on Wednesday, was carried out by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, France's CNRS research institutes and the King Saud University.

The team included a stone mason, who estimated that each relief would have taken up to 15 days of carving to complete.

The authors, who said the reliefs are part of a wider culture of rock art in the region depicting life-sized animals, suggest the works could have been a communal effort that could have been part of an annual gathering of a Neolithic group.

They said references to the mating season in the sculptures could mean they were symbolically linked to the annual cycles of wet and dry seasons.

Given the extensive erosion of the carvings, the researchers said efforts to secure the site were urgent.

"Time is running out on the preservation of the Camel Site and on the potential identification of other relief sites as damage will increase and more reliefs will be lost to erosion with each passing year," said lead author Maria Guagnin, of the Max Planck Institute.


© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

September 17, 2021

New work by Van Gogh discovered

'Crazy dream': Macron unveils wrapped Arc de Triomphe

Desert camel carvings dated to around 7,000 years ago

Gagosian announces the representation of Donald Judd and Judd Foundation

Pace opens an exhibition of the final paintings that Thomas Nozkowski completed before his passing

Glenstone Museum presents multidisciplinary installation of artworks by Arthur Jafa

Exhibition focuses on two generations of Günther Förg's 'Gitterbilder' (Grid Paintings)

Exhibition focuses for the first time on Max Bill's artistic network

Solo exhibition explores photographer's earliest work from the 1960s-70s

Exhibition focuses on new and recent large-scale paintings created over the last two years by Marina Adams

Dancers from the deep sea shine on the UN for climate week

Heritage Auctions puts 19th century photographs in focus for eye-opening September auction

Seeking art that expands the possibilities for a troubled world

Nara Roesler announces the representation of Manoela Medeiros

Catch 'em all: Heritage Auctions presents Pokémon Box Break at Collect-A-Con

Edinburgh Printmakers announce new CEO

Hales opens 'Black Experience', a solo exhibition of photographs by Sunil Gupta

New boss for internationally renowned North East attraction

kamel mennour presents 'La Bocca / Haier, 2005' by Bertrand Lavier

Afghan musicians mourn abandoned instruments after Taliban takeover

Galerie Cécile Fakhoury opens an exhibition of works by Carl-Édouard Keïta

Pilar Corrias opens Elizabeth Neel's solo exhibition 'Limb after Limb'

Exhibition of works by Aaron Kasmin portrays vibrant scenes from the post-prohibition era

What they really want to do is choreograph

Master's and Summer vacation programs in Switzerland and the UK from the Swiss Institute of Hospitality Glion

The Last Stand Against Bad Nightstands

Why People Love Watching Beauty Pageants on TV




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
(52 8110667640)

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Houston Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful