digital photograph(colour)
- Museum number
- 2013,2034.10355
- Description
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Digital photograph (colour); view of the dunes. Temet, Aïr, Niger.
Scanned
- Production date
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November 1997 (original photograph)
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07 August 2006 (date digitized)
- Dimensions
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File size: 120 megabytes
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Resolution: 300 dots per inch
- Curator's comments
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For rock art in this region see 2013,2034.9701-9980.
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Niger incorporates both the Sahel (savannah) and the Sahara (desert). The majority of the country’s rock art is located in the northern desert area, in and around the Aïr Mountains, a triangular massif rising to more than 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and extending over 84,000 km2 (32,000 sq mi). In the 1920s a British explorer and army officer Major Gen. Francis Rodd made two great expeditions to the region, documenting some of the rock art as part of a wider study of the Tuareg. French archaeologist Henri Lhote undertook major recording programmes throughout the 1960s and 1970s, using his students to record, trace and publish on several thousand engravings. Predominantly consisting of engravings, the majority of depictions in this region falls within the so-called Libya Warrior period or style of art, dating between 1,500 -3,000 years ago. This period of art has been characterised as depicting horses either with so-called Libyan Warrior figures with metal weapons, or with chariots and charioteers. Approximately, 1,000 engravings of warriors have been recorded from the Aïr Mountains in Niger as well as the Adrar des Iforas in Mali. One of the most celebrated sites of rock engraving is at a place called Dabous to the west of the mountains. Here, two life size giraffe were carved on the top of an outcrop, and may be up to 6,000 years old.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 2013
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- 2013,2034.10355
- Additional IDs
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Previous owner/ex-collection number: NIGNAS0061 (TARA number)
