Rock Art in Saudi Arabia – a General Introduction and New Findings

Abstract

The deserts of Saudi Arabia are exceptionally rich in rock art, mainly in engraved petroglyphs. During the last nine millennia the desert landscapes experienced several climate fluctuations while the general trend went from a modestly moist climate to the present hyper- arid one. Human populations adapted to the corresponding changes in fauna and flora by following different types of economies; several of these changes are mirrored in rock art. A distinctive feature of Saudi Arabian rock art from the first millennium BCE onward is its close association with inscriptions written in at least 15 different scripts, of which the majority were local developments. Whereas most of these inscriptions are brief epigrams, a few of them are highly important official records that shed light on Arabia’s pre-Islamic history. The author recently explored and documented Saudi Arabian rock art.
The desert societies of Inner Arabia are often considered unchanging and timeless. However, an analysis of rock art up to ca. 9,000 years old reveals flexible adaptations in economy and social organisation to dramatic climatic and environmental changes. Some economic innovations were adopted from the Levant or Assyria; others developed within Arabia itself.