Abstract
To date, no remains of tanks have been found in the Sahara. However, their presence in every landform (from the Atlantic to the Tibesti) where rock art is known, and the multiple technological variations represented, testify to their use in the Sahara and to the creativity of the builders. The absence of figurations from the Tibesti to the Nile shows that cartwrighting evolved independently of its Nilotic counterpart, and was part of a paleoberber world. The study of the context, technological details and hitching partially lifts the veil on the users of these carts and their relations with other Saharan populations. These data and areological analysis also enable us to better measure the impact of metallurgy on the emergence of Saharan cart-making.
