Saharan rock art, a reflection of climate change in the Sahara

Abstract

The evolution of Saharan rock art implicitly reflects changes in the environment from the late Pleistocene, through the Holocene, to the historical period. These changes are very well illustrated in Algeria, which comprises vast rock art zones in the Saharan Atlas and the central Sahara. In this article, I present the different stages of this progression according to the changes in lifestyle, modes of representation, subjects portrayed, and proposals for the interpretation of the rock art. Thus, the subject of my study is that which can be deduced about the evolution of the environment, and hence the climate, in Saharan rock art.