Human figures in the Saharan art: Reality and imagination

In the Sahara, wherever there are naked rock surfaces, engravings and paintings have been found in large numbers. This rock art includes various types of images - the oldest dating about ten millenniums among which human beings, wild or domesticated animals, therianthrops and non-explicit images can be identified. According to periods and styles, the human being has been represented under extremely varied aspects from particularly realistic - similar to the reality - till very simplified, even caricatural drawings. For some realistic representations of women and men, we can observe anatomical or morphological peculiarities which, without being frequent, show cases of steatopygy and gynoid or android obesity, pathological or not. For certain periods, we also find imaginary, fantastic or caricatural representations. These images characterize particularly styles previous to that called "Round Heads". So, in the Saharan art, the human being has been represented either in his physical truth, or according to multiple stylistic conventions or graphic stereotypes, which could characterize certain ethnic groups. (C) 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.