A Quarterly Review of World Archaeology
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Research
Return to Franchthi Cave, Greece
Late Bronze Age miners in Austria
Bone-working in Shang dynasty Anyang
Introduction of board games to Britain
Pongo symbolism and Ugandan rock art
he Sex Pistols’ graffiti
Method
Number 330
December 2011
Remote mapping of Stavnsager harbour, Denmark
Dog-hair blankets in North America
Project Gallery
A horse engraving from Bruniquel, France
Viking chamber graves in Poland
Soil, Anglo-Saxons and pigs
Volume 85
Debate
Gordon Childe is cheerful
A new Egyptology
ISSN 0003 598X
First evidence of Pleistocene rock art in
North Africa: securing the age of the
Qurta petroglyphs (Egypt) through
OSL dating
Dirk Huyge1 , Dimitri A.G. Vandenberghe2 , Morgan De Dapper3 ,
Florias Mees4 , Wouter Claes1 & John C. Darnell5
Long doubted, the existence of Pleistocene rock
art in North Africa is here proven through
the dating of petroglyph panels displaying
aurochs and other animals at Qurta in the
Upper Egyptian Nile Valley. The method used
was optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)
applied to deposits of wind-blown sediment
covering the images. This gave a minimum age
of ∼15 000 calendar years making the rock
engravings at Qurta the oldest so far found in
North Africa.
Keywords: North Africa, Egypt, Pleistocene, ∼15 ka minimum age, rock art, OSL dating
1
2
3
4
5
Royal Museums of Art and History, Jubelpark 10/10 Parc du Cinquantenaire, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
(Email: d.huyge@kmkg.be)
Laboratory of Mineralogy and Petrology (Luminescence Research Group), Department of Geology and Soil
Science, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 (S8), B-9000 Gent, Belgium
Department of Geography, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 (S8), B-9000 Gent, Belgium
Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080
Tervuren, Belgium
Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Yale University, P.O. Box 208236, New Haven, CT
06520-8236, USA
Received: 13 January 2011; Accepted: 14 March 2011; Revised: 31 March 2011
ANTIQUITY
85 (2011): 1184–1193
http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/085/ant0851184.htm
1184
First evidence of Pleistocene rock art in North Africa
The existence of pre-Holocene rock art in North Africa has been a subject of debate ever
since 1974, when some Saharan (Libyan) petroglyphs were first attributed to the Upper
Pleistocene by F. Mori (1974), a suggestion that received virtually total rejection (e.g.
Muzzolini 1992; Le Quellec 1998: 246–9). Thus far, the oldest petroglyphs identified in
North Africa with some degree of certainty, the so-called ‘fish trap’ motifs and associated
figurative and geometric scenery of el-Hosh in Upper Egypt, have been ascribed to the Early
Holocene and are tentatively dated to ∼9000 cal yr BP (Huyge et al. 2001; Huyge 2005).
It has now become clear that even older art, of fully Pleistocene age, exists in the same
geographic area: the rock art of Qurta.
The particular circumstances of the finding of the Qurta rock art have been detailed in
a number of preliminary reports (Huyge et al. 2007; Huyge 2008; Huyge & Claes 2008).
At Qurta, situated on the east bank of the Nile between Edfu and Aswan (24◦ 37′ 45′′
N, 32◦ 57′ 45′′ E) (Figure 1), three rock art sites have been identified: Qurta I, II and III
(henceforth QI, QII and QIII). These sites are located in the higher parts of the Nubian
sandstone scarp bordering the Nile floodplain, at an elevation of about 35–45m above the
current floodplain. At each site, several rock art locations, panels and individual figures
have been identified, with a total of at
least 180 individual images. The majority
are naturalistically drawn animal figures
(Huyge & Ikram 2009). Bovids (Bos
primigenius or aurochs) are predominant
(over 75 per cent of the total number of
drawings), followed by birds, hippopotami,
gazelle, fish and hartebeest (Figure 2).
In addition, some indeterminate creatures
and several highly stylised representations
of human figures (mostly shown with
protruding buttocks, but no other bodily
features) appear at the sites. On the basis
of the intrinsic characteristics of the rock
art (subject matter, technique and style),
its patination and degree of weathering
through sand erosion and/or water runoff, as well as the archaeological and geomorphological context, we have proposed
the attribution of these petroglyphs to the
Late Pleistocene, specifically to the Late
Figure 1. Map of the Egyptian Nile Valley showing the
location of Qurta.
Palaeolithic period (∼19 000–18 000 cal
yr BP; Huyge et al. 2007; Huyge 2009).
This interpretation has met with very little criticism from the archaeological community,
but proof in the form of indirect or direct science-based dating evidence has hitherto been
lacking.
1185
Research
Introduction
Dirk Huyge et al.
Figure 2. Tracing of panel 1 at Qurta I, locality 1 (QI.1.1) mainly showing bovids (Bos primigenius or aurochs). The total
length of the panel is about 4m.
Micromorphology
During the 2008 field campaign, it became clear that some rock art panels at QII, particularly
panels QII.4.2 and QII.5.1, were partly covered by sediment accumulations trapped between
the engraved rock face and coarse Nubian sandstone rock debris that became separated
from the scarp (Figure 3). The nature and possible provenance of this covering sediment have
been investigated using petrographical thin sections. Comparison with reference samples
shows that this sediment is not a disintegration product of the local Nubian sandstone, and
also that it is different from recent wind-blown material. Instead, the sediment is identified
as being derived from the ‘Wild Nile’ palaeofloodplain deposits of the region, through
aeolian reworking. These floodplain sediments were deposited prior to ∼14 500 cal yr BP,
i.e. during the Late Pleistocene (Paulissen & Vermeersch 1989). The aeolian reworking
occurred at a stage with a different environmental setting than the one that characterises
the area at present, marked at that stage by a greater areal extent of the ‘Wild Nile’ deposits
in the region. Thin section analysis of the sediment covering panel QII.4.2 shows that it
has a purely aeolian origin and hence is ideally suited for optically stimulated luminescence
(OSL) dating. In contrast, the sediment cover of panel QII.5.1 contains, at least locally,
a significant admixture of non-aeolian material, which renders it less appropriate for OSL
dating.
OSL dating
OSL dating can determine the time that has elapsed since buried sediment grains were
last exposed to sunlight (e.g. Aitken 1998; Duller 2004). The method uses the constituent
mineral grains of the sediment itself, and not associated material. As such, it offers a direct
means for establishing the time of sediment deposition and accumulation. OSL dating
1186
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First evidence of Pleistocene rock art in North Africa
Figure 3. View of Qurta II with location of panels QII.4.2 and QII.5.1 partly covered by Nubian sandstone rock debris and
sediment accumulations.
Table 1. Summary of OSL dating results: De values, dose rates, optical ages and random (σr ),
systematic (σsys ) and total (σtot ) uncertainties. The uncertainties mentioned with the De and
dosimetry data are random; all uncertainties represent 1-sigma. The number of replicate
measurements of De (n) is given between parentheses in subscript.
Panel
QII.4.2
QII.4.2
QII.4.2
QII.4.2
Depth
(cm)
Sample
(GLL-code)
De
(Gy)
Dose rate
(Gy ka−1 )
Age
(ka)
σr
(%)
σ sys
(%)
σ tot
(%)
σ tot
(ka)
40
75
95
115
080302
090806
090807
090808
18.3+
−0.5 (n=23)
23.1+
−0.5 (n=24)
27.0+
−0.6 (n=24)
24.3+
−0.5 (n=24)
1.86+
−0.03
1.81+
−0.04
1.61+
−0.03
1.56+
−0.02
10
13
17
16
3.0
3.0
2.6
2.4
9.8
10.8
10.6
10.6
10.2
11.2
11.0
10.9
1
1
2
2
requires that the sedimentary grains were exposed to sufficient daylight in order to fully
reset the luminescence clock prior to deposition and burial. The most robust OSL dating
procedure currently available involves the use of OSL signals from quartz in combination
with the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) procedure (e.g. Murray & Olley 2002;
Vandenberghe et al. 2004; Wintle & Murray 2006; Derese et al. 2010). We have applied
this procedure to four samples to establish the time of sediment deposition on top of rock
art panel QII.4.2 and, in this way, to obtain a minimum age for the petroglyphs (Table 1).
1187
Dirk Huyge et al.
Figure 4. Panel QII.4.2. The red line indicates the top of the sediment accumulation. The OSL sample in situ is GLL-090808
(see Table 1).
OSL dating was performed in the luminescence dating laboratory at Ghent University,
Belgium (for general information on the dating procedures and techniques as used in
the Ghent laboratory, see Vandenberghe 2004 and Vandenberghe et al. 2004, 2009). The
dates were obtained by determining the equivalent dose in quartz using the SAR protocol
(Murray & Wintle 2000, 2003). Radionuclide concentrations were measured using lowlevel high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry (Vandenberghe 2004; De Corte et al. 2006)
and converted to dose rates using conversion factors derived from the nuclear energy
releases tabulated by Adamiec & Aitken (1998). The present-day water content (3+
−1%)
was assumed to be representative for the moisture conditions throughout the burial period.
The samples of the sediment that covers panel QII.4.2 yield optical depositional ages
that are fully consistent with the stratigraphic position of the samples (see Figures 4 & 5;
Table 1). The dates range from 10+
−2 ka at the base of the sequence.
−1 ka at the top to 16+
As the covering material is aeolian and as the quartz behaves well as OSL dosimeter, we
conclude that the dates for these samples are accurate sedimentation ages. They provide
solid evidence for the Pleistocene age of the rock art at Qurta.
Radiocarbon dating
In addition to OSL dating, we have undertaken attempts to obtain minimum ages for
the Qurta rock art by means of radiocarbon dating of microvertebrate faunal remains
recovered from the sediment covering the petroglyphs. The faunal sample, collected within
1188
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First evidence of Pleistocene rock art in North Africa
Figure 5. Detail of panel QII.4.2. The red line indicates the top of the sediment accumulation (see Figure 4). The OSL ages
are presented for sediments completely covering drawing QII.4.2.9, representing an indeterminate two-legged creature (see
Table 1).
this sediment at the same level as OSL sample GLL-090808 (16+
−2 ka), was subdivided
into a terrestrial component, composed essentially of mouse and bird bones, and an aquatic
component, comprising frog and fish bones. In the absence of an adequate amount of
collagen, the substance used for dating was bioapatite, which contained sufficient quantities
of organic carbon. The results are 12 130+
−45 BP (KIA-41532) for the terrestrial material
50
BP
(KIA-40546)
for
the
aquatic
component, the latter requiring no reservoir
and 10 585+
−
effect correction (Dee et al. 2010). This implies a calibrated age (cal yr BP) of ∼14.0 ka
and ∼12.7 ka respectively (calibration using OxCal Version 3.10; Bronk Ramsey 1995). At
the 2-sigma level, the two radiocarbon dates are not significantly different from the OSL
date for sample GLL-090808. However, the radiocarbon results for the terrestrial and the
aquatic component differ significantly. This may indicate that different events have been
dated and/or that some exchange of carbonate has taken place between the bone material and
its environment. In the field, no evidence was observed for post-depositional disturbance of
the sediment fill that could have caused mixing of faunal remains of various age. Because of
1189
Dirk Huyge et al.
the apparent inconsistency in the radiocarbon data, and the nature of the material used for
OSL dating, we conclude that the OSL results provide more reliable minimum age estimates
for the Qurta rock art.
Other similar occurrences
The rock art of Qurta is not an entirely isolated occurrence. Four other sites are known
in the region, all with a limited but highly homogeneous assemblage of drawings, which
display a very similar art, both thematically and stylistically. One site, Abu Tanqura Bahari
11 (ATB11) at el-Hosh, is situated about 10km north of Qurta and on the opposite bank
of the Nile; the other three, Wadi (Chor) Abu Subeira 6 (CAS-6), 13 (CAS-13) and 14
(CAS-14), lie about 45km to the south and on the same bank as Qurta. ATB11, which
was discovered by us in 2004, prior to the finding of the Qurta rock art (in 2005), has not
yet been studied in detail (see Huyge 2005). The assemblage of about 35 drawings consists
mainly of naturalistically drawn aurochs, but it also seems to include some anthropomorphs
similar to the stylised human figures at Qurta. The Wadi (Chor) Abu Subeira rock art
sites, discovered by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (Aswan) in 2006 (CAS-6)
and 2010 (CAS-13 and CAS-14), are composed of several dozens of animal figures only
(for CAS-6, see Storemyr et al. 2008; for CAS-13, see Kelany in press). The repertoire
of these sites again consists mainly of bovids, but fish, hippopotamus, Nubian ibex and
possibly bubal hartebeest, African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) and Nubian wild ass are also
represented. None of these other sites, however, offer the dating opportunities that Qurta
does.
Conclusions and prospects
By providing a reliable pre-Holocene minimum age, the Qurta OSL dates present the first
solid evidence for the existence of sophisticated figurative Pleistocene rock art in North
Africa. Whereas this makes the Qurta rock art definitely the oldest discovered in North
Africa thus far, its true age remains unknown. It is clear that the buried drawings at QII
were already considerably weathered before they became covered by sediment. It seems
likely therefore that the rock art is significantly older than the minimum ages obtained by
means of OSL. An age of ∼17 000–19 000 calendar years would make the Qurta rock
art more or less contemporaneous with Solutrean/Early Magdalenian art as known from
Upper Palaeolithic Western Europe (Bahn & Vertut 1997: 58–76). Significantly, the rock
art of Qurta and the other Egyptian Pleistocene art sites has several thematic and stylistic
features in common with European Late Magdalenian art. This is particularly evident
from the human figures, most of which are very similar to the anthropomorphs of the
Lalinde/Gönnersdorf type (see Lorblanchet & Welté 1987; Bosinski et al. 2001: 299–346).
Moreover, some of the more elaborately executed bovids are highly reminiscent of Late
Magdalenian aurochs representations, such as those from the Grotte de la Mairie in Teyjat
(Dordogne, France) (Barrière 1968). Both the Lalinde/Gönnersdorf type figures and the
Teyjat bovids are dated to ∼14 000–15 500 cal yr BP. Whereas it would be premature to
speculate on any implications of this in terms of long-distance influence and intercultural
1190
contacts, it is clear that the Pleistocene age of the Qurta petroglyphs — as demonstrated by
the present study — along with their degree of sophistication, similar to that of European
Ice Age art, introduce a new set of challenges to archaeological thought.
Whether its nature is the result of independent evolution or of indirect diffusion of
iconographic and symbolic concepts — direct contact with Europe being unsupported by
any records of Magdalenian-affiliated industries in North Africa — the rock art of Qurta and
other Pleistocene rock art sites in Upper Egypt remains a relatively isolated phenomenon
at this stage. The only other North African rock art site known to us that seems to bear
a relationship to Qurta is Caf Eligren in Cyrenaica (northern Libya), a cave site likewise
characterised by the presence of large, naturalistic representations of aurochs (Paradisi 1965;
Jelı́nek 2004: 177–80, 320–23). Like Qurta, this coastal site, the Upper Palaeolithic nature
and antiquity of which had already been anticipated by P. Graziosi (1968), is located
within the restricted geographical range of Late Pleistocene aurochs in Africa (Linseele
2004). Undoubtedly, more sites remain to be discovered within this area of distribution
but, because of Late Pleistocene regional hyperaridity, chances are slim that Pleistocene rock
art exists in the Central Saharan desert. To the present day, no Upper or Late Palaeolithic
settlement is known throughout the whole of this area.
This having been said, the now proven occurrence of Pleistocene rock art in North Africa
should not come as a surprise. Depictional ‘Upper Palaeolithic’ mobiliary rock art, dating
back to ∼26 000 cal yr BP (called ‘Later Stone Age [LSA]’ in this particular stratigraphic
context), has been known from the southern part of the African landmass for some time,
particularly from the Apollo 11 Cave in Namibia (Wendt 1974, 1976). More recent finds
of even older age (Middle Stone Age [MSA] or ∼75–100 ka) include the sophisticated
abstract artwork from Blombos Cave in South Africa (Henshilwood et al. 2002, 2009). As
is often the case in archaeology, one find provokes another, and we feel confident that more
Qurta-related Pleistocene rock art sites will be discovered during the coming years, not only
in the Upper Egyptian Nile Valley and its immediate environs, but probably also in the
whole coastal range of North Africa.
Acknowledgements
We thank our co-workers in the field (M. Aubert, H. Barnard, E. Figari, S. Ikram, A. Lebrun-Nélis, L.
Lippiello, H. Riemer and I. Therasse) for their most efficient assistance. Our thanks are also due to the
Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt (SCA) for granting permission to conduct research at Qurta. We
are particularly indebted to M. Ismail Khaled (SCA Cairo), M. El Ghandour (SCA Cairo), M. El Bialy (SCA
Aswan) and M. El Nekhaily (SCA Kom Ombo) for their continuous support and interest in our work. Special
thanks to A. Kelany (SCA Aswan) and P. Storemyr for access to and information regarding the Wadi Abu
Subeira rock art sites. Funding for this research was provided by the Research Foundation — Flanders (grant
1.5.002.03) and the William K. and Marilyn M. Simpson Endowment for Egyptology of the Department of
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Yale University (New Haven, USA). In addition, the NetherlandsFlemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC) and Vodafone Egypt offered administrative and logistical support. We are
indebted to V. Linseele (Center for Archaeological Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) for identifying
the microvertebrate fauna, and to M. Van Strydonck and M. Boudin (Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage,
Brussels) for radiocarbon sample preparation. The technical assistance of G. Velghe (Ghent University) during
OSL analysis is gratefully acknowledged. D.A.G. Vandenberghe’s OSL research is financed through the Research
Foundation — Flanders (as Postdoctoral Fellow). J. Jurceka (Ghent University) is thanked for preparing the thin
sections.
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Dirk Huyge et al.
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