Late Paleolithic Rock Art in Qurta (Egypt) in an Intercontinental Context

Abstract

Much of rock paintings and engravings of Egypt appears to date to the Neolithic and Pre-dynastic periods, in the past decade, much earlier rock Art sites dating to the Late Paleolithic have also been found near the Nile Valley, at Qurta, for example, located near the limestone cliffs on the east bank, 3.5 km from the Nile, El Hosh and Wadi Abu Subeira. An attempt have been done to find points of resemblances between Qurta Rock Art and other selected Rock Art sites to find out if these similarities are enough to suggest an Intercontinental contact or was it by coincidence due to the resemblance in environmental conditions, the comparison will focus on Aurochs female figures. The selection of these two subjects comes from their importance in Rock Art assemblages from the selected site. Aurochs are considered as one of the most important game animals during the Late Paleolithic period in the entire world, Aurochs (Bos primigenius) were a major component of Rock Art Assemblages Qurta Rock Art site and the contemporaneous Rock Art sites outside of Egypt. The selection of female figure as a subject for the comparison comes from them being a unique subject; this subject has intellectual and perhaps ideological implications.Human figures specially the female ones are one of the most important themes of the Upper Paleolithic period.