Carving Interactions: Rock Art in the Nomadic Landscape of the Black Desert, North-Eastern Jordan

By (author) Nathalie Østerled Brusgaard

Book cover: Carving Interactions: Rock Art in the Nomadic Landscape of the Black Desert, North-Eastern Jordan

Extent: 224 pages

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing

Subjects: Ancient Near East

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(October 2019)

ISBN: 9781789693119

8.07 x 11.42 inches

Price: $64.00

In stock

The Safaitic rock art of the North Arabian basalt desert is one of the few surviving traces of the elusive herding societies that lived there in antiquity. This comprehensive study of over 4500 petroglyphs from the Jebel Qurma region of the Black Desert in North-Eastern Jordan is the first-ever systematic study of the Safaitic petrog


The Safaitic rock art of the North Arabian basalt desert is a unique and understudied material, one of the few surviving traces of the elusive herding societies that inhabited this region in antiquity. Yet little is known about this rock art and its role in the desert societies. Why did these peoples make carvings in the desert and what was the significance of this cultural practice? What can the rock art tell us about the relationship between the nomads and their desert landscape? This book investigates these questions through a comprehensive study of over 4500 petroglyphs from the Jebel Qurma region of the Black Desert in north-eastern Jordan. It explores the content of the rock art, how it was produced and consumed by its makers and audience, and its relationship with the landscape. This is the first-ever systematic study of the Safaitic petroglyphs from the Black Desert and it is unique for the study of Arabian rock art. It demonstrates the value of a material approach to rock art and the unique insights that rock art can provide into the relationship between nomadic herders and the wild and domestic landscape.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 The Jebel Qurma landscape
Chapter 3 Investigating content, production, and consumption
Chapter 4 Desert images
Chapter 5 Traces of production and consumption
Chapter 6 Places of production and consumption
Chapter 7 Images and interactions
Bibliography
Appendix A Terms and definitions
Appendix B Sigla and references for Safaitic inscriptions
Appendix C Identification manual for Safaitic rock art
Appendix D List of sites with Safaitic carvings
  • By (author) Nathalie Østerled Brusgaard