ROCK ART IN SAUDI ARABIA:

Neolithic hunt, 7th millenium BC. hunter, hounds, 2 buffalo, leopard on right, Jabal Raat Shuwaymis, p. 18.

A fascinating article by  Christopher Baumer in the August/September 2020 issue of World Archaeology Magazine gives a relatively complete introduction to rock art of the Saudi Arabian desert interior and new discoveries by recent expeditions.

Neolithic anthropomorph with a boomerang Talaat al-Salaby, Great Nefud desert. p. 21

“The interior of Saudi Arabia is a land of sweeping deserts and unforgiving climate. In the south lies the Rub’ al-Khali - the Empty Quarter, which is the largest pure-sand desert in the world - while the north holds the Great Nefud Desert. Its sea of reddish to light-beige sand is rimmed by a belt of sandstone mountains and outcrops. Rain is minimal, with less than 100 ml falling per year, against an evaporation potential of about 4,500 ml a year. But, as with the Sahara or the Taklamakan deserts, earlier climatic conditions in Arabia were not as hostile to life as those prevailing today. Examining former lake sediments indicates that the Arabian peninsula experienced several climate fluctuations. Back in the Chibanian and Upper Pleistocene periods, for example, lakes existed in the Nefud around 410kya (‘thousand years ago’), 320 kya, 125 kya, and 100kya.” (Baumer 2020:16)

Talaat al-Salaby, in the Great Nefud desert. Bronze age  male and female pastoralists over earlier long-horned bull and ibexes, p. 16.

These climatic shifts and changes in weather patterns can be dated through sediments in relic lake beds. These dates can then be compared with the types of animals pictured on rock faces to give rough chronologies for the rock art - some types of animals would only have been there in wetter conditions, others favored dryer conditions, etc.

“Dating rock art is notoriously difficult, but in Saudi Arabia many motifs are only known to appear in specific time periods, so they can offer a rough indication of their age. As Maria Guagnin has shown the use and reuse of some rockfaces as a canvas for this artistry has created superimposed banks of imagery dating to many different periods. Such palimpsests make it possible to sketch a relative chronology, which can then be connected with the direct dating achievable through archaeology.” (Baumer 2020:17)

“Rising temperatures at the beginning of the Holocene, around 10,000 BC, vanquished the colder and very dry climate of the Late Pleistocene. Arabia also experienced a moist period, mainly driven by the Indian Ocean Monsoon Current extending north-west. This first makes its mark on the south-eastern portion of the Arabian peninsula, but after a lag of c.1,700 years the Nefud Desert began receiving summer monsoons too, although in reduced quantity. Lakes formed, which were replenished in the winter months by rainfall delivered by Mediterranean westerly cyclones, and the landscape duly resembled a savanna more than a desert.” (Baumer 2020:17)

A crucifix image found near the Wadi al-Naqha, Rub’ al-Khali, p. 23. 

Changing climactic conditions as well as cultural evolution led to a series of changing cultures, and this is illustrated in the rock art.

“As this rapid overview reveals, the relation between climate, economy, and rock art can be divided into six phases:

•  First, in the wet, early Holocene, a hunter-gatherer economy is reflected in petroglyphs featuring hunting and wild carnivores and herbivores.

•  Second, in the era of Neolithic pastoralism, when the region still enjoyed a relatively humid climate, images of pastoralists and domesticated cattle and goats predominate.

Late Bronze Age rock art found during our expedition. In the Misma South region of the Great Nefud Desert

Late bronze age boat, northern half of the great ridge at Hafirat Laqat, Nefud Desert, p. 20

•  Third, in the late Neolithic and Bronze Age, the resurgence of arid conditions led to a decline of semi-settled pastoralism and a resumption of hunting, mirrored in the use of bows and arrows, as well as spears, to kill goats, gazelles, and wild dromedaries.

Wadi al-Naqha, apparent female moon deity (on the left), a musician playing a lyre, and a standing warrior holding three spears; in his belt is a lunate pommel dagger, probably later Iron Age in date.

•  Fourth, in the Iron Age, the domestication of the dromedary brought a new mobility to the region. Rock Art now featured dromedaries and donkeys, as well as numerous brief inscriptions, the latter probably carved by travelling merchants.

“Bedouin horsemen attacking with long lances at Fardat Sheyban, Rub’ al-Khali. Each lance has discs behind the iron tip to prevent it from penetrating so far into an enemy’s body that it can no longer be pulled free.”, p. 19

•  Fifth, in the pre-Islamic period, continued aridisation led to increasingly bellicose societies. This development is mirrored in battle scenes and duels involving mounted lancers and archers, as well as infantry.

•  The sixth, contemporary phase of rock art shows hunters armed with guns, as well as cars and trucks.” (Baumer 2020:19)

A visual pun, a rounded swastika or double cross made of four ibex, p. 20.

Presumably in Baumer’s fifth period, the increase in combat and warfare seen in rock art would have been largely influenced by the drying up of water resources over time and the struggle to dominate the shrinking resource.

Saudi Arabia’s rock art not only documents the changing lifestyles of inhabitants over the millenia, it also records the fauna and flora. Inscriptions in a number of languages document the various cultures and religious symbols and inscriptions attest to the people’s beliefs at various times and places. All in all, it provides a very rich record of the people and cultures of this region over at least ten thousand years.

NOTE: These photos are all from the article "Saudi Arabian Rock Art", pp 16 - 23, World Archaeology magazing.

REFERENCE:

Baumer, Christopher, 2020 Saudi Arabian Rock Art, pp. 16-23, World Archaeology Magazine, Issue 102, August/September 2020, Vol. 9, No. 6