Rock art of the Chadian Sahara
Bubaline period
The oldest engravings: the great wild fauna of the humid Sahara, often carved life-size.
Rock artUNESCO World Heritage 2016
- Period
- 7,000 BCE – 5,000 BCE
- Coordinates
- 16.9500° N, 22.1000° E
- Rock art
- Rock art of the Chadian Sahara
History
Around 7000 to 5000 BCE the Sahara is a watered savannah. The people living there carve deeply into the sandstone the animals around them: the ancient buffalo — which gives the period its name — elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffe, ostrich.
The line is broad, polished, often life-size. These are hunter-gatherers carving, before any domestication. The figures are the oldest artistic record of the Chadian Sahara.
Galerie
Bubaline period en images
Sites & heritage
