Rock Art Research

This article describes an enigmatic petroglyph motif known throughout the Sahara with the exception of the Nile valley and the south-western massifs of Gilf Kebir and Djebel Uweinat and, as far as we know today, occurring nowhere else in the world. The different hypotheses put forward concerning its meaning are presented, none of which are convincing. The figure displays a remarkable ‘family likeness’ all over the Sahara, but regional variations exist. It is perhaps in these variations that can be found the reason for its amazing distribution over such an enormous area.