TABLE 1 
Location of rock art centres depicting ostriches 
Wadi Farrah 
24° 
24° 
35'N 
40'N 
38° 
38° 
25'E to 
30'E 
Wadi Rakhu 
24° 
24° 
40'N 
45'N 
38° 
38° 
OO'E to 
30'E 
Wadi Abath 
24° 
30'N 
38° 
35'E 
Wadi Khalsah 
(near Al Biqa) 
24° 
25'N 
38° 
35'E 
Jebel Figrah 
24° 
20'N 
39° 
OO'E 
Wadi Quhah 
23° 
20'N 
39° 
15'E 
Harrat east 
Um Lajj 
24° 
55'N 
37° 
45'E 
Jadidhah 
(Medina Road near Badr) 
23° 
45'N 
38° 
45'E 
Habitat: Seven of these rock art centres are in wadis, which are lightly wooded 
with acacias, of the piedmont zone of the Tihama. The wadi areas would 
probably have been similar to those used today by Ostriches living on the 
southern edge of the Sahara (Cramp & Simmons, 1977). One centre, however, is 
at a height of 2000m on the plateau of Jebel Figrah. The vegetation of the jebel is 
relatively verdant and includes Juniperus phoenicea, Commiphora spp and a rich 
ground flora, including thistles; euphorbia's and figs grow on the lower slopes. 
A sketch depicts a presumed hunting scene with Ostrich, ibexes and a dog. 
Possibly hunting involved driving animals over the high cliffs of the area. The 
presence of Ostriches in rock art on the mountain must raise the possibility that 
Ostriches formerly migrated up the mountain slopes during the dry season. 
Passage of birds through wadis would have been possible. 
Age: Rock art, using the pecking technique, as is the case in all central Hijaz sites, 
dates back to the Neolithic period. However, most of the drawings, particularly 
at the most prolific centres of Wadi Farrah and Wadi Rakhu, which are associated 
with Thurmadic script, are clearly Iron Age. A post-Neolithic date is also 
indicated by the absence of bovids, which disappear from more recent artwork, 
and by the abundance of camels, ibexes and Ostriches accompanied by stick 
figures and horse riders holding spears. The Badr site along the Madinah road 
is the only site, close to Yanbu, where bovids have so far been found. The 
appearance of camels and larger numbers of Ostriches could have been the result 
of a change to a more arid climate during the intervening Bronze Age. 
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