The plateau of Tadjerahine lies to the north-west of Tassili n’Ajjer. The first people who came to Tadjerahine were probably hunters from the south, but traces of them are not clear in this area. Next, pastoralists from the east arrived with their cattle around 7,000-7,500 years ago. They left naturalistic paintings depicting mostly their daily life of cattle herding, hunting animals, etc.

Around 5,000 years ago, pastoralists, probably proto-Berber people coming from the Mediterranean coast, arrived with their cattle, sheep and goats. Their rock paintings depict humans and animals in a naturalistic manner with very fine contours and delicate brushwork. Many of the works have a strong narrative quality. There appear to have been many painters, and many works with different painting styles were painted. Their works are known as the Iheren style, after the name of the place of Iheren where their masterpiece is located.

There is a high possibility that the rock paintings of the indigenous black pastoralists in this area were influenced by the Iheren style.  There are many elegant works that cannot be seen in other areas. It is called the Abaniore style after the name of the place where its representative works are located. Many talented painters from different ethnic groups gathered and competed with each other, which probably resulted in a wider range of expression as well as improved painting techniques. The Renaissance was born as a result of many artists gathering in Florence and competing with each other. I suspect that the golden age of the Tassilian rock art was also born in a similar environment. (December 2024)

Route:
Djanet to Tadjerahine, Tadjerahine