Xᵉ siècle av. J.-C. – Iᵉʳ siècle av. J.-C.
Sahara, between North Africa and the southern savannas
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The “chariot tracks” were broad Saharan corridors where horse-drawn chariot technology became established, rather than fixed roads connecting specific cities. One principal axis ran from the Fezzan toward Gao through Tassili n-Ajjer, Ahaggar, and the Adrar of the Iforas; another linked southern Orania and Morocco with Goundam through Zemmour, Mauritanian Adrar, and Tichit-Walata. Chariots disappeared after camel introduction.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The so-called chariot tracks were not roads in the modern sense. They were broad zones of movement linking wells and water-holes, avoiding sand dunes and rock outcrops, crossing mountain passes, and following ground suitable for wheeled vehicles and pasture. The term refers to regions in which the idea of the chariot and the skills required to build one had become established.
The eastern-western axis described in the extract ran from the Fezzan toward Gao on the Niger bend. It passed through Tassili n-Ajjer, Ahaggar, and the Adrar of the Iforas, with subsidiary lines toward Tibesti and Djado and another toward Air. A second axis began in southern Orania and southern Morocco and ran toward Goundam through Zemmour, the Mauritanian Adrar, and the Tichit-Walata escarpment.
Only about fifty of roughly one thousand known Saharan rock-art sites contained chariot representations, although approximately five hundred drawings were known. The corridors were therefore selective rather than universal. Individual chariots were probably unable to survive an entire trans-Saharan journey, and the tracks likely linked successive local areas of use rather than a single continuous expedition.
Horse-drawn chariots spread into the lands adjacent to Libya from about 1000 BC and later appeared farther west and south. Their use declined after the camel was introduced, probably around the first century BC, although the extract allows that cavalry and improved horse breeds may have contributed to an earlier transition. The desert environment made the maintenance of fragile wheels and shafts especially difficult.
Xᵉ siècle av. J.-C. – Iᵉʳ siècle av. J.-C.
Sahara, between North Africa and the southern savannas
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The “chariot tracks” were broad Saharan corridors where horse-drawn chariot technology became established, rather than fixed roads connecting specific cities. One principal axis ran from the Fezzan toward Gao through Tassili n-Ajjer, Ahaggar, and the Adrar of the Iforas; another linked southern Orania and Morocco with Goundam through Zemmour, Mauritanian Adrar, and Tichit-Walata. Chariots disappeared after camel introduction.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The so-called chariot tracks were not roads in the modern sense. They were broad zones of movement linking wells and water-holes, avoiding sand dunes and rock outcrops, crossing mountain passes, and following ground suitable for wheeled vehicles and pasture. The term refers to regions in which the idea of the chariot and the skills required to build one had become established.
The eastern-western axis described in the extract ran from the Fezzan toward Gao on the Niger bend. It passed through Tassili n-Ajjer, Ahaggar, and the Adrar of the Iforas, with subsidiary lines toward Tibesti and Djado and another toward Air. A second axis began in southern Orania and southern Morocco and ran toward Goundam through Zemmour, the Mauritanian Adrar, and the Tichit-Walata escarpment.
Only about fifty of roughly one thousand known Saharan rock-art sites contained chariot representations, although approximately five hundred drawings were known. The corridors were therefore selective rather than universal. Individual chariots were probably unable to survive an entire trans-Saharan journey, and the tracks likely linked successive local areas of use rather than a single continuous expedition.
Horse-drawn chariots spread into the lands adjacent to Libya from about 1000 BC and later appeared farther west and south. Their use declined after the camel was introduced, probably around the first century BC, although the extract allows that cavalry and improved horse breeds may have contributed to an earlier transition. The desert environment made the maintenance of fragile wheels and shafts especially difficult.