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Sailors on sandy seas: camels in Saharan rock art

Surprising as it seems, the camel is a relative newcomer to the Sahara – at least when compared to other domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, horses and donkeys. Although the process is not yet fully known, camels were domesticated in the Arabian Peninsula around the third millennium BC, and spread from there to the Middle East, North Africa and Somalia from the 1st century AD onwards. The steps of this process from Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean have been documented through many different historical sources, from Roman texts to sculptures or coins, but it is especially relevant in Saharan rock art, where camels became so abundant that they have given their name to a whole period. What is it that makes camels so suited to deserts? It is not only their ability to transform the fat stored in their hump into water and energy, or their capacity to eat thorny bushes, acacia leaves and even fish and bones. Camels are also able to avoid perspiration by manipulating their core temperature, enduring fluctuations of up to six degrees that could be fatal for other mammals. They rehydrate very quickly, and some of their physical features (nostrils, eyebrows) have adapted to increase water conservation and protect the animals from dust and sand. All these capacities make camels uniquely suited to hot climates: in temperatures of 30-40 °C, they can spend up to 15 days without water.

See the great pictures and article from the British Museum at -- http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/research_projects/all_current_projects/african_rock_art_image_project/themes/camels.aspx

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