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Wednesday, 22 May
society

The Sahara was once green: scientists have discovered interesting rock art that is 4,000 years old. Photo.

The African Sahara Desert was once green and fertile. This is evidenced by rock paintings found by archaeologists.

Ancient origins tells about it.

Researchers have discovered in the desert cave paintings of cattle more than 4000 years old: 16 new rock art monuments east of the Sudanese city of Wadi Halfa, in one of the most desolate parts of the Sahara. This area has almost no rainfall.

Almost all of these rock art monuments had one thing in common: the depiction of cattle in the form of a lone cow or part of a larger herd. Cattle need a lot of water and pasture, and today they would quickly die in such a sandy environment.

The theme of cattle in ancient rock art is one of the most important proofs of the past era of the 'Green Sahara'.

Archaeological and climatic field studies across the Sahara, from Morocco to Sudan and everywhere in between, have illustrated a complete picture of a region that used to be much wetter.

Climatologists, archaeologists, and geologists refer to this period as the 'African Wet Period.' It was a time of increased summer monsoon rainfall across the continent that began about 15,000 years ago and ended about 5,000 years ago.

This 'Green Sahara' is a vital period in human history. It was the time when agriculture and livestock domestication began in North Africa.

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Earlier, we wrote about the newly discovered 29.8-meter-long dinosaur, named after the Hindu god Shiva "The Destroyer".