Cattle without herdsmen: Animal and human beings in the prehistoric rock art of the Western Sahara

Because of the scarcity and discontinuity of the archaeological excavations in the Western Sahara, rock-art appears to be one of the most relevant sources of information in order to discuss the subsistence, technology and ideology of the neolithic communities. However, in contrast to what we would expect from the evident pastoral scenes depicted on the Central Saharan rock art, the Western Saharan art of Neolithic age is dominated by wild or isolated animals. The pastoral scenes always are more uncertain to describe than the hunting scenes, which are also marginal but easier to interpret. In the current state of the research, the nature of the Western Saharan Neolithic, the putative age of the images, and the type of information expected from rock art should be questioned.