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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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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Bezoar (Wild Goat)
The wild goat has long, scimitar-shaped horns that form a large semi-circle curving backward or spiral. The surface of the horns is relatively smooth or has small ripples, in contrast to the transverse ridges found on the ibex’s horns.
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Arabian Leopard
Leopards are large and powerful cats, although they are still the smallest of the four cats in this genus. The Arabian leopard is smaller than other subspecies. Their coat varies from pale yellow to tawny, with small spots that are densely packed hollow rosettes. The leopard’s flat cranial profile and tendency to hold its mouth open. The skull profile is distinctively flat, not [...]
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Humans
Human figures are of extreme interest, although their full meanings continue to elude us. Neolithic hunters in Ha’il province were tall, slender individuals with novel heads shaped like stovepipes with an angular symbol on top, probably connoting a headdress or a hairstyle. No features are portrayed on the individuals’ faces.



