Round Head period

E873417

The Round Head period is an early phase of Saharan rock art, characterized by large, stylized human figures with round, featureless heads, found prominently in Algeria’s Tassili n’Ajjer plateau.

Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf archaeological culture phase
prehistoric rock art period
characterizedBy anthropomorphic figures
floating or weightless postures
large stylized human figures
polychrome paintings
ritual and ceremonial scenes
round featureless heads
depicts dance or trance scenes
human figures
hunting scenes
masked figures
possible spirit beings
followedBy Pastoral period of Saharan rock art NERFINISHED
foundIn Tassili n’Ajjer World Heritage Site NERFINISHED
cave walls
rock shelters
hasApproximateEndTime c. 6000 BCE
hasApproximateStartTime c. 9000 BCE
hasArtForm pictographs
rock paintings
hasCulturalContext early Holocene hunter-gatherers of the Sahara
hasDatingMethod association with archaeological deposits
relative stylistic dating
hasInterpretation ancestor worship hypothesis
religious symbolism hypothesis
shamanistic rituals hypothesis
hasMainLocation Tassili n’Ajjer plateau NERFINISHED
central Sahara NERFINISHED
southeastern Algeria
hasNotableSite Jabbaren (Tassili n’Ajjer) NERFINISHED
Sefar (Tassili n’Ajjer) NERFINISHED
hasResearchField Saharan archaeology
rock art studies
hasStyleFeature disproportionately large heads
elongated bodies
lack of clear ground line
schematic limbs
small or absent facial features
hasTimePeriod Early Holocene NERFINISHED
influenced later Pastoral rock art styles in the Sahara
locatedInEcoregion central Saharan highlands
partOf Saharan rock art tradition NERFINISHED
precededBy early hunter-gatherer engravings in the Sahara
usesPigment black pigment
red ochre
white pigment
yellow pigment

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Tassili n’Ajjer area hasRockArtPeriod Round Head period
subject surface form: Tassili n’Ajjer