12,000-Year-Old Camel Carvings Rewrite Arabian Desert History
Researchers documented 176 life-size animal engravings, including 90 camels, marking water sources and travel routes that highlight early human adaptation to an arid environment.
- Researchers have discovered life-size rock carvings of camels, gazelles, and other animals in the Saudi Arabian desert.
- The carvings date back to around 12,000 years ago and many are over 6 feet tall.
- Maria Guagnin stated that engraving such detail requires real skill.
- The findings indicate that people inhabited the area about 2,000 years earlier than previously believed.
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116 Articles
12,000-Year-Old Camel Engravings Found in Arabia Helped Travelers Find Water
Rock art panels at Jebel Arnaan in the Arabian desert. Credit: Maria Guagnin / CC BY 4.0 A sweeping archaeological survey in northern Saudi Arabia has revealed over 130 life-sized animal engravings, with camels featured most prominently. Experts now believe these ancient camel depictions in Arabia served not only as cultural expressions but also as markers of vital water sources in a once-arid desert. The engravings, carved into towering cliff f…
On a rock face high in Arabia's Nefud Desert, an international team of archaeologists has discovered 130 depictions of desert animals. The rock art is likely around 12,000 years old, making it the oldest known rock art from the region.


A research team assumes that the monumental animal representations could have been important signposts to water places
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