12,000-year-old rock paintings discovered in Saudi desert

Archaeologists have discovered life-size animal carvings carved into rocks in the Nefud Desert of Saudi Arabia, suggesting that human history in the northern Arabian Peninsula is at least 2,000 years older than previously thought.

According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications, these monumental art pieces were created between 11,400 and 12,800 years ago. They indicate that sophisticated hunter-gatherer communities lived in these once-deserted regions.

As part of the "Green Arabia" project, an international expedition led by the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology and the Saudi Heritage Committee found a total of 176 carvings in three areas - Jabal Arnan, Jabal Mleiha, and Jabal Misma.

Among the finds, life-size images of 90 camels stand out. Also preserved in the rocks are clear, sculptural images of mountain goats, gazelles, wild asses, and now extinct wild bulls, which require a lot of water to survive. This indicates that the climate of the region was much wetter in the past.