The Monkey's Shelter in the Hiliba Gorges (Ennedi, Chad) (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Gherbescina painted shelters (Ennedi, Chad)
Les Cahiers de l'AARS, 2014
Hiking along the old trails detected by interpreting the satellite images of Wadi Baba, east of the most explored region in the Ennedi, resulted in the survey of two major painted shelters at high elevations, one particularly significant for the very rare painted elephants it contains, attributable to the Sivré style. En randonnée le long des anciennes pistes détectées par les images satellitaires de Wadi Baba, à l’est de la région la mieux connue de l’Ennedi, on a relevé deux grands abris peints à haute altitude, dont un particulièrement important pour les très rares éléphants peints qu’il contient, attribuable au style de Sivré.
The Painted Shelters of Korien Hardanga (Ennedi, Chad)
Les Cahiers de l’AARS , 2021
The southern slope of the Gribi Hill hosts a vast complex of eleven rock art sites. Korien Hardanga III, the largest cave in the hill, counts hundreds of painted human figures, mainly painted in the Fada style. Superimpositions of progressively more stylised figures added during the time without an apparent narrative intent suggest that the primary motivation for decorating the contiguous sites of Korien Hardanga lay in the desire to preserve the memory of the individual and collective identity.
The Role of Animals and Mythological Creatures in Global Cultures, 2022
The settlement of Akrotiri in Thera, the so-called ‘Pompeii of the Aegean Bronze Age’, was buried by a massive volcanic eruption and has therefore been covered for centuries. The long-term archaeological excavations have revealed a highly technologically advanced society, dating back to around 1600 B.C. The inhabitants were mainly housed in multi-storey buildings, which were richly decorated with wall paintings. These polychrome narrative murals are the best-preserved paintings in the Aegean and they constitute a valuable and informative source for everyday life and religious customs in this period. The display of exotic animals such as the famous blue monkeys, shows a strong influence from neighbouring civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean. Based on recent and personal observations, this article examines this popular iconographic motif, which has so far been discovered on four wall paintings in Akrotiri. Each of these examples depicts the monkeys in a unique context and therefore carries a variety of meanings. They not only display a varied iconography in comparison to other illustrations from the Aegean or Near Eastern art, but also provide an insight into the role of this particular presentation of simians.
I submit that the blue monkey frescoes of Akrotiri, Greece are Indus Script hieroglyphs read rebus to signify work of armourers and producers of metal ingots. Monkeys are Indus Script hieroglyphs. They are also shown as tributes (hence, wealth resources) on Shalamanaser III Black Obelisk. All these hieroglyphs of Indus Script have been deciphered as metalwork, lapidary work repertoire. The monkey dressed as a woman is ratnI rebus: ratnin 'jewels, gems'. S Kalyanaraman, Sarasvati Research Center See: BMAC bronze cosmetic vial, Indus Script narrative on a guild-master, merchant metalwork repertoire of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization https://tinyurl.com/seqak84 kuṭhāru 'a monkey' (Sanskrit) Rebus: kuṭhāru 'armourer or weapons' (Skt.) Hieroglyph: Kuwi (F.) mūhū (pl. mūska) monkey (hanuman); (S.) mūhu monkey; (Su.) muhu (pl. muska), (Isr.) mūhu (pl. mūska) black-faced monkey.Ta. mucu langur, Semnopithecus priamus. Ma. mocca a light-coloured monkey (or with 4626 Ka. maṅga). Ka. musu, musuku, musuva a large and black kind of ape; (Hav.) muju black monkey; (Gowda, Dr. Ling., p. 98) mucca black-faced monkey. Koḍ. muccë langur. Tu. mujji, mujju a black monkey. Te. koṇḍa-muccu large black-faced monkey, baboon. Kol. muy black-faced monkey; (Haig) muī langur. Nk. muy black faced monkey.Pa. muy id. Ga. (P.) muy id. Go. (Tr.) mūnj (pl. mūsk) langur monkey (female); (W.) mūnjāl ape; (M.) munj monkey; (D. Mu.) mūnjal, (Ma.) mūnji, (S.) mūnju, (Ko.) mūnj black-faced monkey (Voc.2937). Kui mūsu (pl. mūska) sp. monkey or ape. Malt. muge baboon. Rebus: mũh '(copper) ingot' (Santali) mũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced at one time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed like a four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end (Santali) Santali https://theconversation.com/how-we-solved-the-greek-monkey-mystery-and-found-an-important-clue-to-bronze-age-world-129576 Image result for blue monkeys greece Image result for blue monkeys greeceImage result for blue monkeys greece The Conversation Academic rigour, journalistic flair How we solved the Greek monkey mystery – and found an important clue to Bronze Age world January 16, 2020 8.44pm AEDT The blue monkeys painted on the walls of Akrotiri on the Greek island of Santorini are among many animals found in the frescoes of this 3,600-year-old city. Historians have studied the murals for decades since they were unearthed in the 1960s and 1970s on the island, which was once known as Thera. But when we and a team of other primatologists recently examined the paintings, we realised the monkeys could provide a clue that the Bronze Age world was much more globalised than previously thought. Archaeologists had assumed the monkeys were an African species, with which the Aegean people that built Akrotiri probably came into contact via trade links with Egypt. But we think the paintings actually depict Hanuman langurs, a species from the Indian subcontinent. This suggests the Aegean people, who came from Crete and the Cycladic islands in the Aegean Sea, may have had trade routes that reached over 2,500 miles. International travellers. Thera Akrotiri Excavations The wall paintings of Akrotiri were preserved by ash from a volcano that destroyed the city some time in the 16th or 15th century BC and offer an incredible glimpse of an early civilisation in Europe. We haven’t been able to translate the earliest Aegean writing, but the paintings suggest just how developed these people’s society, economy and culture were. Much animal art from this period is generalised, meaning it’s hard to confidently identify individual species. In the case of the monkeys, we also don’t have any physical remains from Aegean settlements to provide additional evidence of which species are depicted. The reason why archaeologists and art historians have assumed they came from Egypt is because that was the nearest location with an indigenous monkey population that had known trade links with the Aegean. As a result, the Akrotiri monkeys have been variously identified as baboons, vervets and grivet monkeys, all African species that live across a wide area. Marie Pareja decided to take a different approach, gathering a team of primatologists who study apes, monkeys, and lemurs, including renowned taxonomic illustrator Stephen Nash. Together, we examined photos of the art and discussed the animals depicted, considering not only fur colour and pattern but also body size, limb proportions, sitting and standing postures, and tail position. While we all agreed that some of the animals depicted were baboons, as previously thought, we began to debate the identification of the animals from one particular scene. Identifying the langurs The monkeys in the paintings are grey-blue. But although some living monkeys have small patches of blue skin – the blue on a mandrill’s face, for example – none have blue fur. There is an African forest monkey called the blue monkey, but it is mainly olive or dark grey, and the face patterns don’t match those in the paintings. So we needed to use other characteristics to identify them. They were previously believed to be vervets or grivets, small monkeys weighing between 3kg and 8kg (roughly the size of a housecat) that are found in the savannas of north and east Africa. Despite their silvery white fur, they also have dark-coloured hands and feet and an overall look that matches the depictions in the paintings. However, Hanuman langurs, which weigh a more substantial 11kg to 18kg, have a similar look. They also move quite differently, and this was crucial to the identification. Both primates primarily live on the ground (as opposed to in trees) and have long limbs and tails. But the langurs tend to carry their tail upward, as an S- or C-shape or curving towards the head, while vervet monkeys carry their tail in a straight line or arcing downward. This tail position, repeated across multiple images, was a key factor in identifying the monkeys as Hanuman langurs. Vervet (left) and langur. Stephen D. Nash International links We know from archaeological evidence that Aegean peoples had access to minerals such as tin, lapis lazuli and carnelian that came from beyond the Zagros mountains on the western border of modern Iran. But the artistic detail of the Akrotiri paintings, compared to other monkey art of the period, suggests that the artists had seen live animals, perhaps while travelling abroad. It’s understandable that earlier scholars thought the monkeys were African since relations between the Aegean and Egypt were already well known and supported by archaeological evidence. If you expect to find an African monkey, you will only look at African animals for possible explanations. But as primatologists, we were able to bring a fresh look at the evidence without preconceived notions of ancient peoples or trade routes, and consider species living further afield. This study is an excellent example of the importance of academics from different disciplines working together. Without the expertise of primatologists, it may not have been possibly to confidently identify these animals. Conversely, primatologists may not have considered these ancient human-primate interactions without a prompt from archaeologists.
A New Identification of the Monkeys Depicted in a Bronze Age Wall Painting from Akrotiri, Thera
Primates, 2019
Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3500-1100 B.C.) wall paintings from the islands of Crete and Thera depict monkeys in a variety of roles such as running wild in nature, possibly following (trained) commands, and participating in sacred activities. These images, while stylistically Aegean, are traditionally considered closely related to—and descendant from—Egyptian, Near Eastern, and Mesopotamian monkey imagery. While monkey depictions in the latter regions may provide species-specific characteristics, Aegean wall paintings typically lack this level of detail. In an attempt to better understand the relationships between the monkeys depicted in Aegean wall paintings and the species that were encountered by the Aegean, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian peoples, a collaborative team of primatologists, a taxonomic illustrator, and an art historian/archaeologist identified species-indicative visual characteristics. This collaborative approach led us to identify a new region that serves as source for monkey iconography: the Indus River Valley. With an emphasis on the primatological aspect and the growing corpus of possible Indus goods and possible species found in the Aegean, a broader iconographic and socio-religious sphere of interaction emerges. In this expanded system, Mesopotamia functions as an intermediary that enables the movement of goods, raw materials, people, and iconography between the east and west. Mesopotamia may have even afforded an opportunity for Aegean peoples to encounter the creatures themselves, first-hand. Of primary importance to the methodology employed for this project is the cooperation of scholars from disparate disciplines—the stitching together of various projects and experiences in attempt to answer both new and previously unanswerable questions. This type of interdisciplinary approach can be applied to other species, sites, paintings, and objects to hone our understanding of period, place, animal, movement, and trade.
The Chéïré-1 painted shelter (Ennedi, Chad)
Zenodo
Chéïré-1 is a large painted shelter located in the SW sector of the Ennedi, east of the renewed Wadi Archeï guelta, particularly rich with fine paintings portraying the cattle herders who inhabited the region during the early Iron Age. Chéïré-1 was discovered during the 1997 winter by Andrea Bonomo. Revisited in March 2014, the site was fully documented using cross-polarized flash lights, a basic photographic technique first introduced in rock art studies by Henderson (2002). In all, 485 motifs have been referenced and indexed after image enhancement by D-Stretch (Harman, 2002). Chéïré-1 est un grand abri peint situé dans le secteur sud-ouest de l'Ennedi, à l'est de la célèbre guelta du Wadi Archeï, particulièrement riche de belles peintures dépeignant les éleveurs de bétail qui ont habité la région dans la premier âge du fer.
Animal engravings in the central Sahara: A proxy of a proxy
The rock art of the central Sahara was created out of the beliefs, traditions and experiences of the engravers and painters. The animal engravings of theWadi al-Ajal in south-western Libya are used to isolate some of the environmental and cultural/symbolic components that make up the pictorial record. A comparison between the depicted animals and the faunal remains recovered in the area identifies a number of characteristics. The engraving repertoire is dominated by a small number of frequently depicted animals that were of symbolic or economic importance to the engravers. Rare and singular depicted species extend this record to a diverse species spectrum. Although a preferential depiction of herbivores is evident in the data, there is a close match between faunal record and engravings which shows that all larger animals (over ca. 10 kg) that were present in the area were also depicted. The selection of animals in the rock art appears to reflect their visibility in the landscape while also providing a record of changing climatic conditions from savannah to desert habitats. The rock art therefore provides an indirect record of the local environment while also capturing the engravers’ perception of animals and landscape.