In a green Sahara, wild life abounded , and the artists of these ancient times left us many pictures of the fauna of this era . Here are a few specimens drawn with a most acute naturalist sense , hunting having developped a remarquable observation gift among the inhabitants of these regions .
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This fresco where
giraffes , ostriches , oryxes and gazelles cluster is from the time of the Stockbreeders |
* Elephants :
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Graciouly treated,
these elephants , either painted or engraved , show an art at its apogee .Disappeared from Sahara 3000 years ago . |
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* Giraffes :
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These slender
animals, found on many Tassili frescoes ,might have been hunted for meat and fine leather . Disappeared from Sahara 2000 years ago . |
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* Hippopotamuses:
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Hippopotamuses
abunded in Tassili N'Ajjer lakes and rivers . |
| Hippo |
* Oxen :
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A fresco, 5500
years old, in which , the artist , with a lot of fancy,shows us "spreckled"oxen . Oxen spread all over Sahara after having been domesticated in the High-Nile region. |
* Hares :
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This fresco made more
than 6500 years ago in a cavern far from rains and winds , reached us almost as fresh as it's been newly painted . |
 opaleo@noos.fr |
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©Odile Prigent-Paleologos 1998-2003 |
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