Incredible archaeological wealth
Situated on either side of the Tropic of Cancer, the Sahara acquired its current physiognomy several million years ago, but underwent climatic variations during the Ice Ages. During these periods, the flora and fauna were much the same as those of the East African savannah. This environment was conducive to human development, as evidenced by the large number of rock paintings and engravings found in Tassili. In addition to the discovery of the bones of a 3.5-million-year-old australopithecus in northern Chad, it is certain that hominids roamed North Africa some 150,000 years ago. The Paleolithic saw a succession of dry and wet periods (-70,000/- 50,000 - Mousterian - then -40,000/- 20,000 - Aterian period), but it was during the Neolithic period that aridity gave way to a climate conducive to the development of more welcoming flora and fauna. The savannah then covered the sand and was home to elephants, antelopes, giraffes, ostriches, crocodiles and hippopotamuses, all of which congregated around the numerous watering holes.
Important evidence of human presence remains from this period (the Capesians), including drawings painted or engraved on the rock, which tell a remarkable story of the world's largest desert. Although a few engravings were discovered in the 19th century, the first serious observations were made in 1934 by the French méhariste lieutenant Brenans in the Oued Djerat valley near Illizi. The lieutenant, guided by Machar Jebrine ag Mohamed and a keen observer, showed his drawings of rhinoceroses and crocodiles to Henri Lhote. With the support of the CNRS, the Musée de l'Homme and the Governor General of Algeria, Lhote immediately set off on the trail of the thousands of frescoes still to be seen. A number of explorers, including Théodore Monod, would follow in his footsteps, filling notebooks with sketches, comments and lists... While they dot the entire Sahara, many of these traces can be seen on the high plateaus, including the Tassili. To identify the different styles, we usually distinguish them according to their age and what they represent, even if the classifications established in the second half of the 20th century are a source of controversy - Henri Lhote's team seemed to enjoy hoaxes. Since the 1950s, which marked Year 0, frescoes have been dated on the basis of the color of the patina, the environment of the drawing (various remains, soil, rock, etc.) using carbon 14, or on the basis of their style and the technique used. One thing is certain: the oldest examples of Saharan rock art date from the 13th millennium (Holocene).
The first period, subdivided into three parts, begins at the start of the Neolithic period (13th to 8th millennia). The first part of this period is known as the Round-Headed Man period (Tin Tazarift and Tassili n'Ajjer). Henri Lhote gave this name to a series of drawings characterized by perfectly round, sparsely-detailed figures, which explorers who abused comic books likened to extraterrestrial populations.The bodies of the ochre and mauve, later white, figures are often tattooed with dotted lines, perhaps scarification marks, and sometimes wear masks typical of more southerly regions. Alongside them are moufflons, elephants and religious figures (fresco of the great gods at Sefar), suggesting that these round-headed men were part of a developed society.
The second part is known as the hartebeest (ancestor of the buffalo with long horns) or hunters' section. The engravings, sometimes very large, mainly depict animals hunted by nomads with athletic, slender bodies and sweeping movements. In the Tassili, the oldest engraving was discovered near Timenzouzine and depicts an elephant drawn on the ground. Other representations can be seen in Wadi Djerat. The third part reveals a somewhat decadent style.
The second period (8th millennium) saw the emergence of more imposing figures. This is the period of the Ethiopian-looking bovids or shepherds who represent their herds on the rock. The drawings, the most numerous of all frescoes recorded, are engraved and then painted in a very precise and refined manner. They can be seen in the Tassili, Akakus and Jebel Uweinat in Libya.
The third period is that of the pastoralists with chariots and horsemen, or the Bovidian period, which is already part of protohistory (6th to 1st millennium). The horsemen are of Libyan origin, perhaps descended from the Cretans who landed with horses on the Cyrenaican coast in 1200 B.C. We know from these frescoes that the "peoples of the sea" reached as far as Niger. More crude, some of the figures are thought to be the famous Garamantes, and some barely have a head. A few such figures can be seen at In-Itinen in the Tassili n'Ajjer.
Then comes the so-called "camel period", dating from the beginning of the Christian era. At this time, the camel replaced the horse in the Sahara. The drawings (In-Itinen in Tassili n'Ajjer) are sometimes underlined by tifinagh inscriptions.
The protection of works
It can't be repeated often enough: rock engravings and paintings are extremely fragile. Above all, don't be like those tourists we still hear about who, like Grandma, spit on the paintings to clean them up, thinking they'll bring out the design, but irreparably damaging them. Paintings and engravings are difficult to photograph. In general, you only spend a short time in front of them - there are so many to see! - and conditions are rarely optimal: light may be too bright or not bright enough, works may be too small, too high or too large... A wide-angle or telephoto lens is essential, but as far as lighting is concerned, there's not much you can do except wait for the low light of the setting sun to caress the engravings and bring out their faint relief. But in general, the contrast between light and shadow is always too strong, and can only be mitigated by tinkering with flashes, which are in any case forbidden for use on paintings, or by using a tripod.
