Though the Sahara today is virtually uninhabitable,
8,000 years ago, it was a lush region of rivers and valleys. For thousands of years, it was home to many cultures, some of
Them quite advanced, to judge from their artwork. Who these peoples were—it appears there were many groups—remains a mystery, though they left behind an extraordinary record in the form of their rock-art paintings and carvings [see sidebar, “The Brilliant Legacy of Saharan Rock Art”].
The rock art, which varies greatly in its representation of human and animal figures, is divided into four historical groups. First is the Hunter period, from about 6000 to about 4000 B. C., depicting a Paleolithic people who survived by hunting the many wild animals then available in the region.
Next was the Herder period, from about 4000 to 1500 B. C. As their name suggests, these people maintained herds of animals and also practiced basic agriculture. Much more civilized than the Hunter people, they produced the most sophisticated Saharan rock art, much of it portraying their herds. In fact, their ability to portray perspective and the movement of the human form was much greater than that of the Egyptians.
As the Sahara began to become drier and drier, however, there were no more herds. Egyptians began bringing in domesticated horses to cross the desert: hence the name of the Horse period (c. 1500-c. 600 b. c.) By about 600 b. c., however, not even horses could survive in the forbidding climate. There was only one creature that could: the hardy, seemingly inexhaustible camel. Thus began the Camel era, which continues to the present day.
World History
