The Dabous Giraffes are

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s by unknown artists on the western side of the Aïr Mountains in north-central Niger.Dabous Giraffes, Niger
, ''Atlas Obscura'', accessed 30 September 2022. The carvings are in height and consist of two giraffes carved into the ''Dabous Rock'' with a great amount of detail. One of the giraffes is male, while the other, smaller, is female. The Dabous Giraffes are located on a sandstone outcrop in the Ténéré desert in the first foothills of the Aïr Mountains, about 110 km north of

Agadez Agadez ( Air Tamajeq: ⴰⴶⴰⴷⴰⵣ, ''Agadaz''), formerly spelled Agadès, is the fifth largest city in Niger, with a population of 110,497 based on the 2012 census. The capital of Agadez Region, it lies in the Sahara desert, and is a ...

and a few kilometres from the

Trans-Saharan Highway The Trans-Sahara Highway or TAH 2 is a proposed transnational highway project to pave, improve and ease border formalities on an existing trade route running north–south across the Sahara Desert. It runs between North Africa bordered by the Med ...

. They are the largest known animal petroglyphs in the world. In the surroundings, 828 images have been found engraved on the rocks, of which 704 are animals (cattle, giraffes, ostriches, antelopes, lions, rhinoceros, and camels), 61 are human, and 17 are inscriptions in Tifinâgh. The carvings are believed to have been done between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago, during the African humid period, when the region was less arid, and the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

was a vast

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

. There are also remains of petrified wood found in the area.Dabous, Niger
The British Museum accessed 10 July 2021. The giraffe carvings were first recorded by French archaeologist Christian Dupuy in 1987, and documented by David CoulsonCoulson, David (June 2007). ''Sub-Zone 3: Niger'', in
Rock Art of Sahara And North Africa: Thematic study
', pp.45-52. ICMOS, Vancouver, accessed 10 July 2021. in 1997 while on a photographic expedition to the site. Due to degradation of the engravings resulting from human activity, a mold was made of the engravings for display.Miller, Ritchie W. (Sept. 2000)

''State Magazine,'' U.S. Department of State, accessed 10 July 2021. An aluminum cast of this mold is on display at the airport of Agadez. The Bradshaw Foundation is an organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of this petroglyph.Rock Art of Giraffe Dabous Niger Dated at Approximately 9,000 Years Ago
, ''Archaeology World,'' June 11, 2020, accessed 10 July 2021.

References

External links

Bradshaw Foundation Save the Dabous Giraffes
Prehistoric sculpture Rock art in Africa Prehistoric art Giraffes in art {{Niger-geo-stub