The monumental reliefs at the Camels site in northern Arabia are unique:three rocky spurs are decorated with life-size naturalistic carvings of camels and equines. In total, 21 reliefs have been identified.
Based on similarities to works of art found in Petra, Jordan, the rock deposit was initially dated to the Nabataean period, 2,000 years ago. Following this preliminary proposal, a new research program led by researchers from the Saudi Ministry of Culture, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, CNRS and King Saud University uses a series of cutting-edge dating methods to establish a much older age for the site, pushing its initial creation back to the Neolithic.
The cave art is very difficult to date, especially at the Camellos site, where erosion has greatly damaged the three-dimensional reliefs. To establish the age of the site, the team used a number of scientific methods, including analysis of tool marks, evaluation of erosion and weathering patterns, portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) to measure the rock varnish density and luminescence dating of fallen fragments. In addition, test excavations identified a homogeneous lithic assemblage, as well as faunal remains, which could be radiocarbon dated.
Taken together, the data indicates that the sculptures were made with stone tools during the sixth millennium BC. At this time, the regional landscape was a savanna-like grassland dotted with lakes and trees on which pastoral groups raised cattle, sheep, and goats. Camels and wild equids also roamed the area and were hunted for millennia.
We can now relate the site of the Camels to a period in prehistory when the pastoral populations of northern Arabia created cave art and built large stone structures called mustatil , the authors state. The site of Los Camellos is therefore part of a broader pattern of activity in which groups met frequently to establish and mark symbolic places .
The team's stonemason estimates that each relief would have taken 10-15 days to carve, during which time the stone tools used to carve the 3D shape and smooth the surface would have had to be frequently resharpened and replaced. Bearing in mind that the raw quartz used to make the tools came from at least 15 kilometers away and that the carving of the reliefs would have first required the construction of a work platform or rig, the researchers believe that the impressive sculptures at the site they were probably a communal effort, perhaps part of an annual meeting of a Neolithic group.
The reliefs are part of a broader tradition of rock art in the region that depicted life-size animals, although the skill required to create high-reliefs is unique to the Los Camellos site. Weight gain and references to mating season in camel reliefs suggest that they may be symbolically related to the annual cycle of wet and dry seasons to which these biological changes are linked.
Reconstructions of the carving and weathering processes at the site suggest that the site was in use for a long period, during which the panels were re-engraved and re-shaped. By the end of the sixth millennium BC, most, if not all, of the reliefs had been carved, making them the oldest known large-scale reliefs in the world.
Neolithic communities repeatedly returned to the Camel Site, which means that its symbolism and function were maintained for many generations , says the lead author, Dr. Maria Guagnin. The preservation of this deposit is now key, as well as future investigations in the region to identify if other deposits of this type could have existed. Time is running out on the preservation of the site and the potential identification of others, as damage will increase and more relief will be lost to erosion with each passing year .