Laas Geel (), also spelled Laas Gaal, are cave formations on the rural outskirts of

Hargeisa Hargeisa ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, situated in the

Maroodi Jeex Marodi Jeh (, ), formerly known as Woqooyi Galbeed (lit. ''North West'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in western Somaliland. It is the most populous region of the country. It is bordered by Awdal to the west, Sahil to the north, To ...

region of the country. They contain some of the earliest known

cave painting In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric art, prehistoric origin. These paintings were often c ...

s of domesticated African

aurochs The aurochs (''Bos primigenius''; or ; pl.: aurochs or aurochsen) is an extinct species of Bovini, bovine, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of t ...

(''Bos primigenius africanus)'' in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. Laas Geel's rock art is estimated to date to 5,000 to 11,000 years old

Discovery

During November and December 2002, an archaeological survey was carried out in

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

by a French team of researchers. The expedition's objective was to search for rock shelters and caves that contained archaeological sediments and infills in order to document the historical period when production economy appeared in this part of the

(circa 5,000 to 2,000 years BCE). During the course of the survey, the excavation team discovered the Laas Geel

s, that encompass an area of ten rock alcoves (caves).The Journal of African Archeology Volume 1.2 (2003) Chapter 3 In an excellent state of preservation, the rock art depicts wild animals and decorated cattle (cows and bulls). They also feature herders, who are believed to be the creators of the paintings. Laas Geel's rock art is executed in the same distinctive Ethiopian-Arabian style as the Dhambalin and Karinhegane cave paintings that are also situated in Somaliland. Although the Laas Geel rock art had been known to the area's inhabitants for centuries, its existence only came to international attention after the 2002 discovery. In November 2003, a mission returned to Laas Geel and a team of experts undertook a detailed study of the paintings in their prehistoric context.

in general, is home to numerous such

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

s and

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

ic structures, with similar rock art found at Haadh, Gudmo Biyo Cas, Dhambalin, Dhagah Maroodi and numerous other sites, while ancient edifices are, among others, found at

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

, Aynabo, Aw-Barkhadle, Ancient Amud, Heis,

Maydh Maydh (also transliterated as Maedh, Mette, Mait or Meit) (, ) is an ancient port city in the eastern Sanaag region of Somaliland. History Antiquity According to Augustus Henry Keane, Maydh represents an early center of dispersal of the Somali ...

Haylan Haylan (), is a town in the eastern Sanaag region of Somaliland. Overview An old settlement, Haylan is the site of numerous ancient ruins and buildings, many of obscure origins. Northeastern Somalia in general is home to numerous such arch ...

, Qa’ableh, Qombo'ul and El Ayo. However, many of these old structures have yet to be properly explored, a process which would help shed further light on local history and facilitate their preservation for posterity.Michael Hodd, ''East African Handbook'', (Trade & Travel Publications: 1994), p.640.

Description

The Laas Geel cave paintings are thought to be some of the most vivid rock art in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Among other things, they depict cattle in ceremonial robes accompanied by humans, who are believed to have been inhabitants of the region. The necks of the cattle are embellished with a kind of

plastron The turtle shell is a shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles (the Order (biology), order Testudines), completely enclosing all the turtle's vital organs and in some cases even the head. It is constructed of modified bony elements such ...

. Some of the cattle are also portrayed wearing decorative robes. Besides long-horned

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

, the rock art also shows an image of a domesticated

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

, several paintings of

Canidae Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a family (biology), biological family of caniform carnivorans, constituting a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). The family includes three subfamily, subfamilies: the Caninae, a ...

as well as a

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

. The site is excellently preserved due to the location of the paintings which are covered by the granite overhangs.

Demographics

Laas Geel is primarily inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the clan eponyms of Adam Isa and Abokor Isa of Isamusa especially well-represented.

Gallery

File:Laas Geel single cow.jpg, Depiction of a ceremonial cow File:Laas Geel cow and human.jpg, A human and cow File:Laas Geel cow herd.jpg, A herd of cows File:Laas Geel single cow2.jpg, A single cow File:Laas Geel alcove.jpg, One of the alcoves at Laas Geel File:Laas Gaal in Somaliland.jpg, Various rock art File:Laas Geel rock paintings.JPG, Various other rock art File:LaasGeel.jpg, A camel The word laas geel consist of two words according to Somali languages which is laas and geel, the word laas means well and the word geel means camel in Somali. Well refers to a source of water which camels and other livestock drink from as well as the people.

References

External links