Tassili Cultural Park
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Tassili n'Ajjer (
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
: ''Tassili n Ajjer'', ar, طاسيلي ناجر; "Plateau of rivers") is a national park in the
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
desert, located on a vast plateau in southeastern Algeria. Having one of the most important groupings of prehistoric cave art in the world, and covering an area of more than , Tassili n'Ajjer was inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1982 by Gonde Hontigifa.


Geography

Tassili n'Ajjer is a plateau in southeastern Algeria at the borders of Libya, Niger, and Mali, covering an area of 72,000 km2. It ranges from east-south-east to . Its highest point is the
Adrar Afao Jebel Azao or Adrar Afao is the highest peak in the Tassili n'Ajjer range in southeastern Algeria, at . The range forms the northwest border of the Chad Basin. Geography The Jebel Azao is a peak in the Adrar massif of the Tassili N'Ajjer, a sandst ...
that peaks at , located at . The nearest town is Djanet, situated approximately southwest of Tassili n'Ajjer. The
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
site has been designated a
national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
, a Biosphere Reserve (
cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...
es) and was inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list as Tassili n'Ajjer National Park. The plateau is of great geological and aesthetic interest. Its panorama of geological formations of rock forests, composed of eroded sandstone, resembles a lunar landscape and hosts a range of rock art styles.


Geology

The range is composed largely of sandstone. The sandstone is stained by a thin outer layer of deposited metallic oxides that color the rock formations variously from near-black to dull red. Erosion in the area has resulted in nearly 300 natural rock arches being formed in the south east, along with deep gorges and permanent water pools in the north.


Ecology

Because of the altitude and the water-holding properties of the sandstone, the vegetation here is somewhat richer than in the surrounding desert. It includes a very scattered woodland of the endangered endemic species of
Saharan cypress ''Cupressus dupreziana'', the Saharan cypress, or tarout, is a very rare coniferous tree native to the Tassili n'Ajjer mountains in the central Sahara desert, southeast Algeria, where it forms a unique population of trees hundreds of kilometres f ...
and
Saharan myrtle ''Myrtus'' (commonly called myrtle) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. It was first described by Swedish botanist Linnaeus in 1753. Over 600 names have been proposed in the genus, but nearly all have either been moved ...
in the higher eastern half of the range. The Tassili Cypress is one of the oldest trees in the world after the
bristlecone pines The term bristlecone pine covers three species of pine tree (family Pinaceae, genus '' Pinus'', subsection ''Balfourianae''). All three species are long-lived and highly resilient to harsh weather and bad soils. One of the three species, ''Pin ...
of the western US. The ecology of the Tassili n'Ajjer is more fully described in the article West Saharan montane xeric woodlands, the ecoregion to which this area belongs. The literal English translation of ''Tassili n'Ajjer'' is 'plateau of rivers'. Relict populations of the West African crocodile persisted in the Tassili n'Ajjer until the twentieth century. Various other fauna still reside on the plateau, including Barbary sheep, the only surviving type of the larger mammals depicted in the rock paintings of the area.


Archaeology


Background

Algerian rock art has been subject to European study since 1863, with surveys conducted by "A. Pomel (1893-1898), Stéphane Gsell (1901-1927), G. B. M. Flamand (1892-1921), Leo Frobenius and Hugo Obermaier (1925), Henri Breuil (1931-1957), L. Joleaud (1918-1938), and Raymond Vaufrey (1935-1955)." Tassili was already well known by the early 20th century, but Westerners were broadly introduced to it through a series of sketches made by French legionnaires, particularly Lieutenant Charles Brenans in the 1930s. He brought with him French archaeologist Henri Lhote, who would later return during 1956 - 1957, 1959, 1962, and 1970. Lhote's expeditions have been heavily criticized, with his team accused of faking images and of damaging paintings in brightening them for tracing and photography, which resulted in reducing the original colors beyond repair.


Current archaeological interpretation

The site of Tassili was primarily occupied during the Neolithic period by transhumant pastoralist groups whose lifestyle benefited both humans and livestock. The local geography, elevation, and natural resources were optimal conditions for dry-season camping of small groups. The wadis within the mountain range functioned as corridors between the rocky highlands and the sandy lowlands. The highlands have archaeological evidence of occupation dating from 5500 to 1500 BCE, while the lowlands have stone tumuli and hearths dating between 6000 to 4000 BCE. The lowland locations appear to have been used as living sites, specifically during the rainy season. There are numerous rock shelters within the sandstone forests, strewn with Neolithic artifacts including ceramic pots and potsherds, lithic arrowheads, bowls and grinders, beads, and jewelry. The transition to pastoralism following the African Humid period during the early Holocene is reflected in Tassili n'Ajjer's archaeological material record, rock art, and zooarchaeology. Further, the occupation of Tassili is part of a larger movement and climate shift within the Central Sahara. Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironment studies started in the Central Sahara around 14,000 BP and then proceeded by an arid period that resulted in narrow ecological niches. However, the climate was not consistent and the Sahara was split between the arid lowlands and the humid highlands. Archaeological excavations confirm that human occupation, in the form of hunter-gather groups, occurred between 10,000 and 7,500 BP; following 7,500 BP, humans began to organize into pastoral groups in response to the increasingly unpredictable climate. There was a dry period from 7900 and 7200 BP in Tassili that preceded the appearance of the first pastoral groups, which is consistent with other parts of the Saharan-Sahelian belt. The pre-Pastoral pottery excavated from Tassili dates around 9,000 - 8,500 BP, while the Pastoral pottery is from 7,100 - 6000 BP. The rock art at Tassili is used in conjunction with other sites, including
Dhar Tichitt Dhar Tichitt is a Neolithic archaeological site located in the southwestern region of the Sahara Desert, in Mauritania. It is one of several settlement locations along the sandstone cliffs in the area. Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, Dhar Néma, an ...
in Mauritania, to study the development of
animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...
and trans-Saharan travel in North Africa. Cattle were herded across vast areas as early as 3000 - 2000 BCE, reflecting the origins and spread of Pastoralism in the area. This was followed by horses (before 1000 BCE) and then the camel in the next millennium. The arrival of camels reflects the increased development of trans-Saharan trade, as camels were primarily used as transport in trade caravans.


Prehistoric art

The rock formation is an
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
site, noted for its numerous
prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
parietal works of
rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...
, first reported in 1910, that date to the early Neolithic era at the end of the last glacial period during which the Sahara was a habitable savanna rather than the current desert. Although sources vary considerably, the earliest pieces of art are presumed to be 12,000 years old. The vast majority date to the ninth and tenth millennia BP or younger, according to
OSL OSL may refer to: Science and Technology * Open Shading Language, a shading language * Open Software License, an open-source software license * Optically stimulated luminescence, a method of measuring doses from ionizing radiation, which is often ...
dating of associated sediments. The art was dated by gathering small fragments of the painted panels that had dried out and flaked off before being buried. Among the 15,000 engravings so far identified, the subjects depicted are large wild animals including antelopes and crocodiles, cattle herds, and humans who engage in activities such as hunting and dancing. These paintings are some of the earliest by Central Saharan artists, and occur in the largest concentration at Tassili. Although Algeria is relatively close to the Iberian Peninsula, the rock art of Tassili n'Ajjer evolved separately from that of the European tradition. According to UNESCO, "The exceptional density of paintings and engravings...have made ''Tassili'' world famous." Similar to other Saharan sites with rock art, Tassili can be separated into five distinct traditions: Archaic (10,000 to 7,500 BCE), Round Head (7550 to 5050 BCE), Bovidian or Pastoral (4,500 to 4,000 BCE), Horse (from 2,000 BCE and 50 CE), and Camel (1000 BCE and onward). The Archaic period consists primarily of wild animals that lived in the Sahara during the Early Holocene. These works are attributed to hunter-gather peoples, consisting of only etchings. Images are primarily of larger animals, depicted in a naturalistic manner, with the occasional geometric pattern and the human figure. Usually, the humans and animals are depicted within the context of a hunting scene. The
Round Head Period Round Head rock art is the earliest painted, monumental form of Central Saharan rock art, which was largely created from 9500 BP to 7500 BP and ceased being created by 3000 BP. The Round Head Period is preceded by the Kel Essuf Period and follo ...
is associated with specific stylistic choices depicting humanoid forms and is well separated from the Archaic tradition even though hunter-gatherers were the artists for both. The art consists mainly of paintings, with some of the oldest and largest exposed rock paintings in Africa; one human figure stands over five meters and another at three and a half meters. The unique depiction of floating figures with round, featureless heads and formless bodies appear to be floating on the rock surface, hence the "Round Head" label. The occurrence of these paintings and motifs are concentrated in specific locations on the plateau, implying that these sites were the center of ritual, rites, and ceremonies. Most animals shown are mouflon and
antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
, usually in static positions that do not appear to be part of a hunting scene. The Bovidian/ Pastoral period correlates with the arrival of domesticated cattle into the Sahara and the gradual shift to mobile pastoralism. There is a notable and visual difference between the Pastoral period and the earlier two periods, coinciding with the aridification of the Sahara. There is increased stylistic variation, implying the movement of different cultural groups within the area. Domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, and dogs are depicted, paralleling the zooarchaeological record of the area. The scenes reference diversified communities of herders, hunters with bows, as well as women and children, and imply a growing stratification of society based on property. The following Horse traditions correspond with the complete desertification of the Sahara and the requirement for new travel methods. The arrival of horses, horse-drawn chariots, and riders are depicted, often in mid-gallop, and is associated more with hunting than warfare. Inscriptions of Libyan-Berber script, used by ancestral Berber peoples, appear next to the images, however, the text is completely indecipherable. The last period is defined by the appearance of camels, which replaced donkeys and cattle as the main mode of transportation across the Sahara. The arrival of camels coincides with the development of long-distance trade routes used by caravans to transport salt, goods, and enslaved people across the Sahara. Men, both mounted and unmounted, with shields, spears, and swords are present. Animals including cows and goats are included, but wild animals were crudely rendered. Although these periods are successive the timeframes are flexible and are consistently being reconstructed by archaeologists as technology and interpretation develop. The art had been dated by archaeologists who gathered fallen fragments and debris from the rock face. A notable piece common in academic writing is the "Running Horned Woman," also known as the "Horned Goddess," from the round head period. The image depicts a female figure with horns in midstride; dots adorn her torso and limbs, and she is dressed in fringed armbands, a skirt, leg bands, and anklets. According to Arisika Razak, Tassili's Horned Goddess is an early example of the "African Sacred Feminine." Her femininity, fertility, and connection to nature are emphasized while the Neolithic artist superimposes the figure onto smaller, older figures. The use of bull horns is a common theme in later round head paintings, which reflects the steady integration of domesticated cattle into Saharan daily life. Cattle imagery, specifically that of bulls, became a central theme in not only at Tassili, but at other nearby sites in Libya.


Fungoid rock art

In 1989, the psychedelics researcher Giorgio Samorini proposed the theory that the fungoid-like paintings in the caves of Tassili are proof of the relationship between humans and psychedelics in the ancient populations of the Sahara, when it was still a verdant land:Giorgio Samorini
The oldest representations of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the world
''Artepreistorica.com'', December 2009 (first published in 1992)
This theory was reused by Terence McKenna in his 1992 book ''Food of the Gods'', hypothesizing that the Neolithic culture that inhabited the site used psilocybin mushrooms as part of its religious ritual life, citing rock paintings showing persons holding mushroom-like objects in their hands, as well as mushrooms growing from their bodies. For Henri Lhote, who discovered the Tassili caves in the late 1950s, these were obviously secret sanctuaries. The painting that best supports the mushroom hypothesis is the ''Tassili mushroom figure Matalem-Amazar'' where the body of the represented shaman is covered with mushrooms. According to Earl Lee in his book ''From the Bodies of the Gods: Psychoactive Plants and the Cults of the Dead'' (2012), this imagery refers to an ancient episode where a "mushroom shaman" was buried while fully clothed and when unearthed sometime later, tiny mushrooms would be growing on the clothes. Earl Lee considered the mushroom paintings at Tassili fairly realistic. According to Brian Akers, writer for the ''Mushroom'' journal, the fungoid rock art in Tassili does not resemble the representations of the ''
Psilocybe hispanica ''Psilocybe hispanica'' is a species of fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. It produces small brown mushrooms with conical to convex caps up to in diameter and stems long by thick. Reported as new to science in 2000, it is only known from ...
'' in the Selva Pascuala caves (2015), and he doesn't consider it realistic.Brian Akers
A Cave In Spain Contains the Earliest Known Depictions of Mushrooms
''Mushroomthejournal.com'', 6 January 2015


In popular culture

* Tassili is the recording location and the title of a 2011 album by the Tuareg band Tinariwen. *Tassili Plain is a track on the 1994 album ''Natural Wonders of the World in Dub'' by dub group Zion Train.


Gallery

Saharan Cypress ''Cupressus dupreziana'', the Saharan cypress, or tarout, is a very rare coniferous tree native to the Tassili n'Ajjer mountains in the central Sahara desert, southeast Algeria, where it forms a unique population of trees hundreds of kilometres f ...
and Landscapes of the Tassili"> File:Rock_columns_at_Tassili_n%27Ajjer.jpg, Very high rock columns
photograph taken from 30 000 ft Tassili mushroom man Matalem-Amazar.png, Anonymous reproduction of the Tassili Mushroom Figure Matalem-Amazar found in Tassili. File:Femme-gravure.jpg, Depiction of a dancing or seated human File:Dunes at Tassili n'Ajjer - detail.jpg, Dunes at Tassili n'Ajjer File:Tassili Sahara 74.jpg, Surrounding desert File:Cupressus dupreziana1.jpg, Local cypresses File:Tassili Desert Algeria.jpg, Sandstone rocks and cliffs File:Great_god_of_Sefar.jpg , Ritual figure or shaman File:Tassili - catapulte?.jpg, Human figures File:African cave paintings.jpg, Human figures File:Tassili - whites and blacks leaving in harmony?.jpg, Human figures File:Algerien_Desert.jpg, Human figures with bows


The rock engravings of Tin-Taghirt

The Tin-Taghirt site is located in the Tassili n'Ajjer between the cities of Dider and
Iherir Iherir (also written Ihrir) is a village in the commune of Bordj El Houasse, in Djanet District, Illizi Province, Algeria. It is in a river valley (''wadi'') named Oued Iherir near the center of the Tassili n'Ajjer mountain range, south of the ...
. File:TinTaghirtOstrich.jpg, An ostrich File:Sleeping Antelope Tin Taghirt.jpg, Sleeping antelope - also found on the reverse of the 1000 Algerian dinar banknote File:Bubalus_Tin_Taghirt.jpg, ''Bubalus antiquus'' File:TinTaghirtFootprints.jpg, Footprints File:TinTaghirtHumanBeings.jpg, Human beings


See also

* List of Stone Age art *
List of cultural assets of Algeria List of cultural assets of Algeria includes monuments, natural sites and parks, and other cultural assets as classed by the Algerian Ministry of Culture. The Ministry's list was updated in September 2019 with 1,030 cultural assets across the count ...
*
Sebiba Sebiba ( ar, سبيبة, Tifinagh: ⵙⴱⵉⴱⴰ) is the term used in Algeria to designate a festival and the Tuareg people's dance performed on this occasion and accompanied by female drummers in the Sahara oasis of Djanet in the Tassili n'Aj ...


References


Further reading

* Bahn, Paul G. (1998) ''The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. * Bradley, R (2000) ''An archaeology of natural places'' London, Routledge. * Bruce-Lockhart, J and Wright, J (2000) ''Difficult and Dangerous Roads: Hugh Clapperton's Travels in the Sahara and Fezzan 1822-1825'' * Chippindale, Chris and Tacon, S-C (eds) (1998) ''The Archaeology of Rock Art'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. * Clottes, J. (2002): ''World Rock Art''. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. * Coulson, D, and Campbell, Alec (2001) ''African Rock Art: Paintings and Engravings on Stone'' New York, Harry N Abrams. * Frison-Roche, Roger (1965) ''Carnets Sahariens'' Paris, Flammarion * Holl, Augustin F.C. (2004) ''Saharan Rock Art, Archaeology of Tassilian Pastoralist Icongraphy'' * Lajoux, Jean-Dominique (1977) ''Tassili n'Ajjer: Art Rupestre du Sahara Préhistorique'' Paris, Le Chêne. * Lajoux, Jean-Dominique (1962), ''Merveilles du Tassili n'Ajjer'' (''The rock paintings of Tassili'' in translation), Le Chêne, Paris. * Le Quellec, J-L (1998) ''Art Rupestre et Prehistoire du Sahara. Le Messak Libyen'' Paris: Editions Payot et Rivages, Bibliothèque Scientifique Payot. * Lhote, Henri (1959, reprinted 1973) ''The Search for the Tassili Frescoes: The story of the prehistoric rock-paintings of the Sahara'' London. * Lhote, Henri (1958, 1973, 1992, 2006) ''À la découverte des fresques du Tassili'', Arthaud, Paris. * Mattingly, D (ed) (forthcoming) ''The archaeology of the Fezzan''. * Muzzolini, A (1997) "Saharan Rock Art", in Vogel, J O (ed) ''Encyclopedia of Precolonial Africa'' Walnut Creek: 347-353. * Van Albada, A. and Van Albada, A.-M. (2000): ''La Montagne des Hommes-Chiens: Art Rupestre du Messak Lybien'' Paris, Seuil. * Whitley, D S (ed) (2001) ''Handbook of Rock Art Research'' New York: Altamira Press.


External links


Video

The natural arches of the Tassili n'Ajjer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tassili N'ajjer Mountain ranges of Algeria Sahara Saharan rock art Prehistoric Africa Archaeological sites in Algeria World Heritage Sites in Algeria National parks of Algeria Natural arches Tuareg Geography of Tamanrasset Province Ramsar sites in Algeria Biosphere reserves of Algeria Protected areas established in 1972 Tourist attractions in Tamanrasset Province 1933 archaeological discoveries 1972 establishments in Algeria