12,000-Year-Old Camel Engravings Found in Arabia Helped Travelers Find Water

Rock creation panels astatine Jebel Arnaan successful the Arabian desert. Credit: Maria Guagnin / CC BY 4.0

A sweeping archaeological survey successful bluish Saudi Arabia has revealed implicit 130 life-sized carnal engravings, with camels featured astir prominently. Experts present judge these past camel depictions successful Arabia served not lone arsenic taste expressions but besides arsenic markers of captious h2o sources successful a once-arid desert.

The engravings, carved into towering cliff faces on the confederate borderline of the Nefud Desert, day backmost betwixt 12,800 and 11,400 years.

The findings suggest that aboriginal quality groups utilized this monumental creation to awesome the beingness of seasonal water, an indispensable assets pursuing the hyper-arid conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum.

An planetary squad led by Saudi Arabia’s Heritage Commission, portion of the Ministry of Culture, uncovered the stone creation during enactment connected the Green Arabia Project.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, KAUST, University College London, Griffith University, and different institutions contributed to the study, which was published successful Nature Communications.

Massive stone creation panels awesome endurance successful harsh desert

Over 60 engraved panels were documented crossed 3 antecedently unexamined sites—Jebel Arnaan, Jebel Mleiha, and Jebel Misma. The panels picture camels, ibex, equids, gazelles, and extinct chaotic cattle known arsenic aurochs. Some figures measurement up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) agelong and 2 meters (6.5 feet) high.

Unlike earlier examples recovered tucked into rock crevices, these carvings were etched into salient cliff faces, immoderate rising arsenic precocious arsenic 39 meters (128 feet).

Monumental stone creation sheet astatine Jebel Misma successful the Arabian desert. Credit: Maria Guagnin / CC BY 4.0

One sheet successful peculiar would person required artists to ascent constrictive ledges, indicating important readying and effort.

Dr. Maria Guagnin of the Max Planck Institute, who led the research, said the engravings apt served arsenic signs of beingness and taste identity. She emphasized that their placement and standard suggest a deeper symbolic meaning beyond decoration.

Evidence of taste individuality and long-distance connections

Co-lead Dr. Ceri Shipton from University College London added that the artworks whitethorn person marked migration routes and seasonal h2o locations, pointing to their relation successful territorial signaling and representation crossed generations.

Artifacts recovered astatine the sites, including Levantine-style chromatic tools, greenish pigment, and decorative shells, bespeak long-distance links to Pre-Pottery Neolithic communities successful the Levant. Still, researchers enactment that the signifier and presumption of the Arabian carvings acceptable them isolated from different determination art.

Dr. Faisal Al-Jibreen of Saudi Arabia’s Heritage Commission described the stone creation arsenic a reflection of a chiseled taste individuality formed successful a harsh, godforsaken landscape.

Project pb Michael Petraglia said the discoveries are helping adjacent a large spread successful Arabia’s prehistoric timeline and amusement however aboriginal humans adapted with resilience and innovation.