<
https://theconversation.com/new-rock-art-discoveries-in-eastern-sudan-tell-a-tale-of-ancient-cattle-the-green-sahara-and-climate-catastrophe-228281>
"The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an
unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry
environment, my new research has found rock art over 4,000 years old that
depicts cattle.
In 2018 and 2019, I led a team of archaeologists on the Atbai Survey Project.
We discovered 16 new rock art sites east of the Sudanese city of Wadi Halfa, in
one of the most desolate parts of the Sahara. This area receives almost no
yearly rainfall.
Almost all of these rock art sites had one feature in common: the depiction of
cattle, either as a lone cow or part of a larger herd.
On face value, this is a puzzling creature to find carved on desert rock walls.
Cattle need plenty of water and acres of pasture, and would quickly perish
today in such a sand-choked environment.
In modern Sudan, cattle only occur about 600 kilometres to the south, where the
northernmost latitudes of the African monsoon create ephemeral summer
grasslands suitable for cattle herding.
The theme of cattle in ancient rock art is one of most important pieces of
evidence establishing a bygone age of the “green Sahara”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
