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1. A Philosophical Discourse Of The World Behind The Rock FaceWhen one thinks of North African rock art, almost by default one thinks of the Fezzan in Libya, or the Tassili in Algeria. The Fezzan is the rocky area that is called the Murzuq Mellet and Murzuq Setaffett, or Idhan Murzuq in SW Libya, and the Tassili-n-Ajjer in SE Algeria, in a region very close to the Libyan border. However there is one other region of rock art research and this is the lesser-known area of the Jabal Akakus in Libya; major towns for orientation being Ghat in Libya and Djanet in Algeria.One might ask whether these areas are only the areas where rock art is found, i.e. is there a bias? Mainly because the Fezzan and the Tassili have been written about in considerable length by a number of scholars over the decades. Other areas have not had such a profile as the Fezzan or the Tassili and await rediscovery. I say this with good reason; all the rock art anywhere in North Africa, and come to that, the Near & Mid East was originally ‘discovered’ by those who created them in the first place, and for whatever reason they were created for. They are not simply ‘discoveries’ made by western antiquarian scholars. The true answer is, of course, that these are not the only areas in the greater Maghreb where rock paintings and engravings are found. We only need to travel over the border to Niger, Chad, Mali, or to Egypt, or Sudan to find what we are looking for, as the ‘evidence’ is all around us – seek and thee shall find – and its all around us. Archaeology is not an exact science by any means; there are many threads that lead to many disciplines, and this paper is an attempt to throw caution to the wind; by introducing a concept that many may not find palatable in terms of ‘conventional’ or ‘traditional’ archaeology. Convention, by definition, possess intrinsic stereotypical ideas – further presenting us with limitations of scholarly exploration. When something is considered ‘unacceptable’ there is generally a good reason why this is so; perhaps the evidence doesn’t quite fit our carefully labelled boxes, or seems too disconnected or remote to be of any use, perhaps something doesn’t seem quite right, perhaps the evidence seems to go against all accepted theories, i.e. to go ‘against-the-grain’, as it were. Indeed, but, why not? In order to progress one must move on and be prepared to acknowledge change, and for its own sake, it is fundamentally important to develop new ways of looking at the evidence – it is not so much ‘interpretation’ but allowing other influences in. Cosmic SerpentsAs an example, traditionalists may think that something like defining a ‘Cosmic Serpent’ (serpentiform/snake-like motifs) metaphor is too theoretical a concept to waste time on, as it is not actually supported by the evidence that is normally required, indeed crucial, and hence irrelevant to archaeology – as a science at least. There are lots of serpentiform motifs found in the Sahara, and noted researchers have written about these kinds of motifs at some time or other. Certainly, it would seem this way, but by definition, the concept that this manuscript is introducing does not depend on science or reason in the real sense of the word. Although it focuses on prehistoric rock paintings and engravings as a concept that is both theoretical and mythological, it is based on data gathered over a long period of time. When speaking of Cosmic Serpents in Rock Art, one must begin by asking the first question, as to what a Cosmic Serpent is, and how it defined in rock ‘art’ motifs. To answer this question, simplistically at least, it is found on all continents except Antarctica (to our present knowledge). The name ‘Serpentine’ describes what the engraved or painted motifs look like, i.e. they are elongated or snake-like motifs. The second question asks whether a Cosmic Serpent theory can be justified; it can. Because the serpent motif is found all through the Greater Maghreb in Northern Africa, in amongst the wadis of Tassili-n-Ajjer, Tassili-n-Timesidjan, and Uan I-n-Meten in Immidir, in SE Algeria, and also in the Algerian Tadrart, the Libyan Tassili, and the Jabal Akakus in SW Libya - we are not short of places where examples of serpentine motifs have been found. Serpentine and indeed, serpent imagery spans west to east. In some places it takes a form of sinuous serpent-like motifs reminiscent of modes of transport (i.e. boats), both painted and engraved, as in Egyptian examples. In others, engravings, both pecked or linear indents, done with a harder material than the rock face is suggested, and painted examples exist in profusion in mountain ranges throughout North Africa, good examples are found in the Fezzan in Libya. For simplicity I have compartmentalised examples in groups as below: 1.1 Anthropomorphic Motifs that possess both human and animal characteristics; these images form a high percentage of known visible rock ‘art’ found in Australia, South Africa, North Africa and The Americas. This also includes images that are ‘shamanic’ in content. 1.2 Therianthropomorphic Motifs that possess the following description from the Greek "The-" and “Therio-“ denoting a person, thing or species, “Anthropo” denoting humanlike characteristics (bipedalism, for example) for a person, thing or species, or "Theri-" "in the form of", or "representation of” “anthropo-“ [human-like] “morphic” changaeble. “-Morphe” or “-Morphic” relates to changing form. Shapeshifters morph into different species. A further description of “Therianthropic” pertains to the possibility that beings with super-human abilities, combining both human and animal characteristics in forms that are ‘fluidic’ (i.e. are transmorphosed from one form to that of another over a period of time. The rock paintings exhibiting these qualities do exist throughout the Sahara; also exhibited are entities with a number of unusual or enigmatic characteristics attributed to say, plants, animals, birds and humanlike forms. An example, human forms with jackal head, elongated ears, a bushy tail, maybe one leg human and the other antelope, or sometimes a feathered wings/elongated fingers and hand and the other hand in the form of a plant, for instance a five leaf branch. A third example, an embryonic form that changes from the image of an embryo to a fully-fledged marine mammal, like a seal – in the Sahara? Indeed, in Tabraqat there is an example of just such an image. 1.3 Floating Entities Floating (elongated) figures, found throughout the Algerian Tassili; most were damaged irreversibly by Henri Lhote and his team in the 1950s, who was joined by Jean-Dominic Lajoux, who passed the time by wet-sponging the paintings down “to make the paintings stand out better”… 1.4 Serpent-boats Serpent-boats (as metaphor for a life-changing transformational energy that clearly occupied the ancient Egyptian almost to the point of obsessive-compulsive behaviour; a terminal illness that the god-kings spent all their life working towards. Toby Wilkinson, doing the study of Egyptology a serious disservice in the process, leapt upon the metaphor of Journeying to the lands in the west as the all-pervading, consuming power. 1.5 Archetypal Depictions of possible archetypal influences in the rock art; the Mythos of people who lived perhaps 12,000 years ago, whose mythos would later influence the cultural impetus of creating cosmogenic myth as a means of communicating with the divine. This also had the desired effect of providing explanations of the origins of people, animals, landscape features etc., in a form that would be easily assimilated and understood by people who lived by the spear, gathered fruit and vegetable matter, foraged for food and fished the ancient palaeolakes of the Sahara. At that time the Northern Hemisphere was experiencing the end of the last Glacial Maximum, which in Quaternary terms, is also referred to as the Holocene, or Younger Dryas. It is also at a time before history was written. Also at this time the Saharan Megalakes of Tunisia, Algeria, Chad and Libya existed. For information on the Sahara Megalakes, the Society of Libyan Studies in London and the University of Leicester are good sources. Mountainous Zones/MassifsBecause there is such a variety of painted images throughout the Sahara, and of many different forms it then comes as no surprise that references to serpents can be found in a great many creation myth in the Algerian & Libyan Tassili and the Jabals Akakus and Tadrart (Libya & Algeria). Serpentine imagery usually presents itself to us a selection of different animal species that are serpentine in character, i.e. they are elongated, serpentine/serpentiform and sinuous. Some even have heads and tails of antelopes or jackals. Australian and African rock art contains lots of entities of this description, and a basic Internet search will bring up in your browser lots of links to check, many will be dodgy but equally, several may provide some good leads. Discussion PointsWhat are we to make of these motifs? It is but one small step to begin looking for ‘evidence’ in the painted ‘serpentiform’ motifs that are, or can be, in all probability, on some level (in this case, the level of concern is that of the “mythic”), attributed to supernatural, mythical, dreamlike or imaginal world elements. It is simply a question of looking for snakelike motifs when you’re out and about in and amongst the dunes and massifs in the Sahara – but it is not as simple as this, I hasten to add, you’ve got to know where and how to look, and you would almost certainly get lost for trying and finding your quest is fruitless. You also have to know how to see (in your minds eye) them for what they really are as symbols, or ‘indicators’ of the potential power of myth and the longevity of belief in cosmic and earthy entities. Imagery is not only variously painted or carved on rock surfaces, found on wood, ceramics, cloth, formed in sand paintings etc, it fundamentally provides a way into the psyche of the creators of these images. They are also done for a variety of different reasons, not least the sanctity of the motifs and how they relate to initiatory experience, for example, the lessons to be learnt through attending ceremonial or ritualised activities. There is, of course, no real ‘style’ to how a Cosmic Serpent presents itself to us in paintings because they are so diverse. They’re given various names, identities and powers by the local indigenous groups, and it is known that these images can appear in many disguises, in any form, a supernatural entity, a mythic being, a rain or water animal, a rainbow serpent (in Aboriginal Australia groups for example), even beautiful people, usually young beautiful women and handsome youths, who are really serpents in disguise. The Cosmic Serpent and its associated forms can be said to be mythic - there are many myths, stories and folktales from around the world about such an entity; the cosmic serpent is a powerful symbol; it speaks of arcane knowledge; of secret doctrines and dark powers, painful initiations, death and rebirth. However the Cosmic Serpent is not just a powerful metaphor for the 21st century, but it is also a mythical archetypal power, that can and does possess dangerous aspects. What relevance does this supposed Cosmic Serpent (creative) energy have to archaeology as a discipline today? This is entirely relevant. Prehistoric rock ‘art’ in the Saharan massifs surrounds us in every direction we care to look. Further exploration will find us inevitably stumbling over the very stuff we’ve come to look for in our quest for the elusive paintings and engravings. Imagery that depicts ‘serpentine energy’ is found throughout the ‘civilised’ worlds of the Near & Middle East; Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia (Sumeria; Iraq, Iran etc), and the Western Asian (Indus Valley) Civilisation. The Sumerians predate the Egyptian by at least 2,500 years, the Earliest Indus Valley civilisation predates the Sumerians by at least 2,000 years, possibly more, so yes, the relevance of ancient belief to archaeology and prehistory, and to our understanding of ancient peoples is fundamental; archaeology and prehistory are not ‘stand-alone’ disciplines, nor is anthropology. Much more can be learnt about earliest times (end of last ice age at 12,000 years ago) if all three disciplines are interlinked. Similarly Island archaeology, (Azores, Canary Isles, Malta, Greek Islands) when it is combined with the other three can offer a unique insight into the human condition and how we have adapted and developed over thousands of years. A ‘cosmic serpent’ (metaphor also, for the creative impulse) also suggests we should look to the cognitive sciences, consciousness studies, and even myth and folklore to fill in the “gaps” in our understanding – all disciplines are interlinked, and often elements of each are juxtaposed with another. ‘Holistic’ research is perhaps what interdisciplinary research should be re-christened as; the term would quite possibly embrace every science and humanities discipline. What then is ‘Rock Art’? To say that created imagery (whether serpentine or not) is just “art for arts sake” is to severely limit its import and relevance to those who created it, indeed, to us who study it. Whether it be simple scribbles, random, mindless but “aesthetically” pleasing incised lines, or something far more relevant is not for us to say – we can make assumptions, but this is all we can do. Finding an example of an expertly drawn beast, whether imaginal, mythic, or both, or, come to that, an actual living example that has been depicted on a boulder or in a rock shelter, even whether it is supernatural or not is to see the Creation of that entity for what it is – an object of reverence and influence with deep reverberating symbolism. It doesn’t matter whether an image is filled with various pigments, or outlined finely and in considerable detail, or both, what does matter is that this should alert us to the fact that this entity is no ordinary beast, and certainly not a absent-minded doodle (although these do exist, according to some scholars). It is something that is profoundly fundamental, possibly even sacred, to the people who created it, an object of supernatural potency, and beauty in the eye of its beholder. However it is depicted, images can equally define both an imaginal and real world. In the past some of these paintings were interpreted in an overtly sexual way, or as a form of fertility magic (fecundity of either hunted or domesticated animals). The interpretation was so bound up by a preoccupation with the sexual act that all else eluded the antiquarian scholars. Luckily for us, it no longer influences our every waking moment. But there are still works written and published with this in mind, so some researchers haven’t quite thrown out the baby with the bathwater yet, will they ever? This remains to be seen. An equally bad interpretation was that of sympathetic magic (paintings of favoured hunted animals that would somehow generate the ideal conditions from the aether for further successful hunts). In its defence it must be said that Australian Aborigines still repaint some images that are used is ‘increasing’ ceremonies, but the intent is far more relevant to the hunt then a reference to sympathetic magic. It is important to bear in mind that when one considers any rock art image from a purely one-dimensional perspective, the images do not present themselves as being particularly special in any way. However when one considers that they might contain symbolic or mythic content, then the suggestion is that, by default, they possess multi-dimensionality, or at the very least, multi-layered essence. It is only after this consideration that the probability exists that they are an aspect of something greater than the image portrays on initial view. And it is only now, that one can really begin to imagine how potentially rich such a field of research would be, were it not for the general system-wide malaise and unacknowledged, unrecognised elements that are inherent in many of the rock paintings. It is, of course, notoriously difficult to glean any understanding from such a distant place and time, and true understanding, it is argued, can only come from finding a way into the minds of the motifs’ creators; it cannot reasonably be found through any other way. The desert and her secrets are an enigma; even physical material context seen as our helper is our enemy here; since context is what material data consists of, it does not, and cannot elucidate the deeper processes or responses of the human conscious mind; all material data can do is indicate what processes were operable on the material level at that time. Hence our ability to understand as archaeologists can be seriously hampered, as our ability to elicit a response from long-dead evidence is still untenable. Concluding CommentsTaken literally the motifs and images can be interpreted in very many ways; this is the nature of soliciting some kind of response or meaning, from whatever preoccupies the mind of the scholars searching for an explanation at that time. However scholars have to be very careful they don’t allow their thoughts to fall into the quagmire that is structural (one-dimensional) archaeology. The secret of unravelling the mysteries of the desert lies in its significance to those who live within her and know her ways and her many moods; we should be prepared to learn from their wisdom. Merely aspiring to become a qualified ‘anthropologist’ will not elicit the desired response, and merely being ‘interested’ in Egyptology will also not bring desired results.
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