Photo Gallery

The "black archer". Ochre painting that leaves no doubt about the hunter's ethnicity. He wears a strange hairstyle and probably a loincloth as he draws his bow forward. From the left end of the bow to the end of the left hand: 0.20 m. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Jabbaren - 1993

3 - Tin-Tazarift (Tassili-n'Ajjer) – Slender archer from the bovine period. As is often the case, the arrows are carried in a "bundle," and one arrow has just been released by the archer.

3 - Tin-Tazarift (Tassili-n'Ajjer) – (original photo) Slender archer from the bovine period. As is often the case, the arrows are carried in a "bundle," and one arrow has just been released by the archer.

39 - Tagueït high (Aïr). – Archer of the horse period and a young horse. Clumsy punctuating. The bow measures 0.50 m in length.

60 - Arakao (Aïr). - Interesting archer appearing to wear some kind of saroual. The fingers of the hand are clearly highlighted.

216 - Tadrart Acacous. Ou an Amil. – Elongated figure, an archer of the bovidian type, holding the bow in the left hand. No arrow is visible. The hairstyle is familiar to us. A skirt, made of a net or mesh structure, seems to be worn over a kind of underwear. The bow measures 0.14 m from end to end.

251 - Moghar et-Taghtani (Algeria). - Engraving from the Bubaline age (Neolithic), often said to represent an archer. Nothing is less certain, although it is likely a human. Height: 0.37 m.

257 - Thyout (Algeria). - This propitiatory scene depicts an "archer" holding an undefined object in his left hand. A placental bond connects him with a small figure.

351 - Oued Djérat (Tassili-n'Ajjer, near Aha-Anafeg). - The famous engraved archer has a stylized figure. He wears a headgear and holds a bow as if he has just shot an arrow. He might have a lightly fringed cape on his back. The belt, formed by a double line, extends with a floating tail. It appears that he carries a phallic sheath inserted into the belt, leaving the testicles exposed, as some regional ethnographies still show. Note the double spiral in the left corner and modern graffiti.

406 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Detail from photo 403. Archers with well-stocked quivers appear to be attacking an enemy. Upon viewing these scenes, it is clear that this black ethnicity is engaged in warfare, not hunting.

407 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Final detail of panel 403. The galloping archer is clearly visible in his pastoral bovine setting.

408 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Hunting scene (?). The archers seem to be facing animals. Note that the quiver is worn on the left side. It is also possible that the quiver is a "ring" hanging from the belt, as the arrows are distinctly visible in front and behind the body at waist level. The figures measure between 0.13 m and 0.18 m in height.

409 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Two running archers. Between 0.13 m and 0.18 m in height.

410 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Two more archers. The first, on the left, has six arrows in his "quiver" and holds his bow in the air. The bow is always simple and shows no variations. However, there are hundreds of different arrowhead forms. Width of the represented panel: 0.43 m.

411 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Archer, like his companions, painted in red ochre. A remnant of white paint indicates the existence of a loincloth that has since disappeared. On the archer at the bottom left, the white loincloth is more visible. Height of the figure in the center: 0.16 m.

412 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Still archers, who seem to have held an important place in the artists' minds. An antelope is visible in the center. Height of the archer: 0.16 m.

419 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer) - The "Black Archer." Painting in ochre that leaves no doubt about the hunter's ethnic background. He wears a curious hairstyle and probably a loincloth, while drawing his bow forward. From the left end of the bow to the end of the left hand: 0.20 m.

430 - Jabbaren (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - This hunter (or "archer") wears a loincloth that retains the skin of the animal's legs and tail from which it originates. The man holds a bow in his left hand. Painted in red ochre. Height of the figure: 0.21 m.

513 - Séfar (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - A couple painted in red ochre, consisting of an archer who may be in the act of picking one of the arrows (left side), and a woman following him, with both hands stretched downward; the fingers are painted with precision. A piece of the woman’s clothing is blown by the wind to her back. Definitely a Negroid type, as revealed by several skeletons found in the region. The woman measures 0.19 m.

514 - Séfar (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Hunting scene (?). Six Negroid archers are running to the left. A seventh is running in the opposite direction. One of them, at the top center, is armed only with an axe, while another, very faint, below him, shows that the bowstring was not attached at the ends of the bow but a little higher, to better withstand the tension. Height of the archer on the left: 0.18 m.

515 - Séfar (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - A Negroid archetype, with powerful musculature and a determined look, treated in dark red ochre. He wears a feather on his head and no visible clothing. He appears to be holding arrows in his right hand. Height of the figure: 0.21 m.

528 - Séfar (Tassili-n'Ajjer). – Here we see goats or sheep attached "to a rope". This gives them an astonishing sense of order. Below, there is a red structure extended downward by V-shaped lines. We also see archers sketched with painted lines, as well as figures in a red structure, bovids, and later archers treated in dark gray. Diameter of the circle: 0.25 m.

536 - Séfar (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - Line drawing of an archer whose legs are twice the height of the torso. He still holds his bow in the left hand – like most depicted archers – and a stick in the right hand. His belt supports a cloth strip covering the groin. Notable features include: arm ring, necklace, appendages under the right arm, and hair hanging down the neck. Height of the depicted figure: 0.35 m.

559 - Tin-Tazarift (Tassili-n'Ajjer). - The same enlarged archer holds an arrow in his left hand.

652 - Gonoa (Tibesti). - Pastoral scene engraved by puncturing in a very decadent style. The first archer on the right is 0.41 m tall.