Dabous Giraffes

The Dabous Giraffes are a neolithic petroglyph in the Air Massif of Niger by an unknown artist. Estimated completion 8000 BC, the giraffe carvings were first documented by David Coulson in 1997 while on a photographic expedition to the site.

Dabous Giraffes, 1991
Smaller petroglyphs near the Dabous Giraffes

The carving is 20 feet in height and consists of two giraffes carved into the Dabous Rock with a great amount of detail. Dabous Rock is located on the sloping slope of a small rocky outcropping of sandstone in the first foothills of the Air Mountains. One of the giraffes is male, while the other, smaller, is female.

In the surroundings 828 images have been found engraved on the rocks, of which 704 are animals (bovidae, giraffes, ostriches, antelopes, lions, rincerontes and camels), 61 are human and 159 are indeterminate.

The Bradshaw Foundation is an organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of this petroglyph.


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