TASSILI-N-AJJER

area in southern Algeria where prehistoric rock paintings were discovered in the 19th century. A plateau in the central Sahara, the area is characterized by high cliffs, whose sides are covered with painted scenes. Scholars and archaeologists have been unable to date the rock paintings definitively, and all that is known about the people who lived at the time the paintings were created is what can be determined from studying the paintings themselves. The rock paintings at Tassili fall into three major stylistic divisions. These divisions are not based on the relative ages of the paintings, as it is assumed that the three styles could have existed concurrently. Some paintings are executed in what is called the archaic style: broad planes of colour enclosed by outlines of dark purple. Large animal and human figuresmany of the latter maskedare painted in this style. Geometric abstract symbols are placed throughout the scenes. In a second, more naturalistic style, humans and animals are portrayed in great detail in numerous scenes showing cattle running and herdsmen with bows. The third, more cubist style utilizes a broken treatment of form in which dark shapes are divided by light areas. The wheel is first depicted in this style. Stone forms, which were probably used as tomb sculpture, have also been found at the Tassili site. They are monumental forms, frequently symbolizing the genitals. Although there was a considerable amount of stone painting, the early inhabitants of Tassili apparently did not produce much stone carving or engraving. Because scholars have been unable to decipher the hieroglyphic language that is engraved on the rocks, the significance of the art forms and the explanation for the prolific artistic production concentrated in this particular area remains a mystery.