This section provides the visitor with the content and background for the subjects in the petroglyphs, such as humans, animals, and plants. It also provides interpretations of complex scenes that incorporate many figures that together convey an event. The scenes mostly depict activities relating to hunting and warfare. In this section, the visitor will learn about the people who created the rock art of Saudi Arabia and their environment.
Subjects & Scenes
Examples:
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Onager or African Wild Ass
The wild equine that is depicted in Arabian rock art could have been either the African wild ass (Equus africanus) or the Near Eastern onager, (E. hemionus). Until adequate skeletal remains are found in archaeological sites this question remains open. It is possible that both species occurred in different regions of the Arabian Peninsula. The onager is definitely [...]
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Lion
The lion is one of the four large felines, second in size only to the tiger. The male lion has a distinctive mane, and their coats have been very valuable through history. Lions have been associated with persons of high status through the millennia and across the continents. Lion hunting has been a sport of royalty and nobility around the ancient world.
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Domestic Cattle
The domestic cattle depicted in Saudi rock art are similar in appearance to those shown in Egyptian art from the New Kingdom. Their horns are relatively long, lyre-shaped and more or less vertical. There is often a small bump at the shoulders most likely reflecting elongated thoracic spines, rather than a true hump like that found in Zebu cattle from India.
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Arabian Oryx
Oryxes are most easily recognized by their prominent horns, which range in length from 480-700 mm. There is little difference in size of the horns of males vs. females. The long, fairly straight horns are basically in line with the straight facial profile, but curve backward slightly. They are annulated, meaning that the horns possess a series of raised rings wrapping around them in [...]