Bovines in Rock Art in Ḥimā Sites, near Najrān

Rock art in southern Saudi Arabia, particularly the bovine motif found in the Ḥimā Cultural Area near Najrān, challenges traditional timelines of rock art in northern Arabia. While bovine depictions faded in the north by the end of the Holocene humid period due to desertification, hundreds of later representations persist in the south, extending into the Iron Age and Late Antiquity. This suggests a divergent timeline between northern and southern Arabia. The study, conducted by the French-Saudi Archaeological and Epigraphic Mission in Najrān (MAFSN), systematically documented over 300 bovine figures across eight sites, integrating rock art, epigraphic, archaeozoological, and ethological data to analyze morphology, stylistic evolution, and societal development. Some depictions are linked to Ancient South Arabian and Thamudic scripts, providing a rare chronological marker for this region's cultural heritage.

Vartin, R., Prioletta, A., & Al-Qahtani, S. (2026). Bovines in Rock Art in Ḥimā Sites, near Najrān. Athīrat: Journal of Ancient Arabia, 2(1-2), 202–238. https://doi.org/10.1163/30504880-12340030