Crossing Disciplines in the Study of Archaeology and Prehistoric Art: Insights from the Sahara and Mediterranean Africa

Proceedings of the XX UISPP World Congress (5–9 September 2023, Timișoara, Romania) Volume / Session 18

Edited by Barbara E. Barich

Book cover: Crossing Disciplines in the Study of Archaeology and Prehistoric Art: Insights from the Sahara and Mediterranean Africa

Extent: 154 pages

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing

Series: Proceedings of the UISPP World Congress

Language: English

Paperback (Forthcoming)

(August 2026)

ISBN: 9781805833505

8.07 x 11.42 inches

Price: $49.00

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This volume presents interdisciplinary research on North African prehistoric art and Saharan archaeology, covering rock art, ostrich eggshell ornamentation, cave excavations and protohistoric chariot technology. Together, the studies reveal insights into ancient Saharan societies, environments, beliefs and cultural connections.

This volume publishes part of the scientific contributions presented at the XX UISPP World Congress in Timișoara, combining studies on North African prehistoric art – both parietal and portable – with field investigation results. Emerging from the session organised by the Commission ‘Art and Civilizations of the Sahara during Prehistoric Times’, this book demonstrates how Saharan research offers a comprehensive representation of the society, environment, and intellectual world of past human groups. In doing so, it embraces the inspiration of the congress organisers, who established interdisciplinarity as the central theme of the event.


The volume opens with an overview of research on the rock art corpus, spanning from historical chronological classifications to studies focused on the meaning of the artworks. The crisis of these traditional approaches has given rise to the current trend, which focuses on digital recording and image-enhancement technologies to facilitate interpretation. Beyond parietal art, two chapters present valuable studies on the ornamentation of ostrich eggshells, an ancient tradition originating in the late Pleistocene and developing throughout the Holocene. The Capsian environment of the Eastern Maghreb forms the focus of these analyses, geographically centred between Tunisia and Algeria.


The illustration of excavations in two recently discovered, significant caves leads into the Sahara – specifically the Saharan Atlas and the Ahaggar region – presenting unpublished data from ongoing research. The volume concludes with a fascinating topic in Saharan protohistory: the ‘Chariot Peoples’ who introduced horse-drawn vehicles to the Sahara. The author demonstrates how the technical features of the Saharan harness replicate identical technological solutions used in Pharaonic Egypt.

List of Figures and Tables

Foreword to the XX World Congress Proceedings Series by the UISPP President and General Secretary

Avant-propos à la collection des Actes du XXe Congrès mondial par le Président et le Secrétaire général de l’UISPP

Foreword to the Proceedings of the XX UISPP World Congress, Timișoara, 5–9 September 2023

Avant-propos aux Actes du XXe Congrès mondial de l’UISPP à Timișoara, 5–9 septembre 2023

Foreword to the Volume / Avant-propos du volume

Authors / Auteurs

Searching for Meanings and Connections – Past and Current Trends in Saharan Rock Art Research – Barbara E. Barich

Données paléoenvironnementales et culturelles dans la Tassili-Tan-Ahaggar (Sahara central, Algérie) : premières observations dans la grotte de Telem Fezza – Yasmina Damouche, Hayette Berkani et Iddir Amara

L’autruche Holocène dans les Sociétés de l’Afrique du Nord – Lotfi Belhouchet et Colette Roubet

L’art préhistorique à travers les gravures et incisions sur l’oeuf d’autruche : étude des représentations géométriques et zoomorphes à Bir Oum Ali durant l’Iberomaurusien – Khansa Hannachi

Exploitation de la grotte de Kheneg el-Ghar (Montagnes des Ksour, Atlas saharien) par les derniers chasseurs-cueilleurs durant l’Holocène – Saida Kasri, Ilham Bentaleb et Iddir Amara

L’Homme Capsien : semi-nomade à travers ses outils en silex et la céramique – Khansa Hannachi

Quelle retenue pour les attelages de chevaux de la protohistoire saharienne au regard de celle du Nouvel Empire égyptien ? – Christian Dupuy

  • Edited by Barbara E. Barich

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