Ancient rock art rewrites the natural history of Arabia

Figure-5-Kudu-tracing

Maria Guagnin

Art carved into rock by prehistoric people can tell us a lot about the places they lived. Now rock engravings in north-west Saudi Arabia suggest that the region was once home to a host of unexpected animals.

Skeletal remains are the best record of wildlife in prehistoric ecosystems. However, very few of these from the past 11,000 years have been found on the Arabian peninsula, so we don’t know which animals once lived there.

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To find out, Maria Guagnin at the Max Planck …