Supplementary Information

SI Fig. 1. Male ibex on the cliffs of the Ramon Crater, central Negev highlands (Photograph

by U. Avner, 2012).

SI Fig. 2. Ibex hunting scenes in neighboring deserts: A. Sakaka, Sa‘udi ‘Arabia (‘Abdul

Nayeem 2002:202), B. Najran, Sa‘udi ‘Arabia (courtesy of Christian Robin), C. Wadi

Abu-Qwei, Eastern desert, Egypt, late Predynastic (Redford & Redford 1989:13, c.f.

Morrow et al. 2010:218), D. Wadi Abu-Wasil, Eastern desert, Egypt (Morrow et al.

2010:189).

SI Fig. 3. Ibex with dogs and hunters in Near Eastern art: A. Susa, Iran ca. 4000 BC. (Clark

2001:69), B. Iran, ca. 800 BC (Kist et al. 2003: Fig. 11), C. Saqqara, Egypt, ca. 2320 BC.

(Malek 2001:83), D. Hierakonopolis, Egypt, ca. 2990 BC, lower part of palette (Malek

2001:32, Ashmolean E.3924).

SI Fig. 4. Saving the ibex: A. Achaemenid seal impression, Persepolis, ca. 600 BC (Root

2002:182), B. Mesopotamian seal impression, ca. 4th millennium BC (Amiet 1961: No.

698). C. Dilmun, Baḥrain (Højland et al. 2005: Fig. 17).

SI Fig. 5. Seal impressions with ibex up and down: A. Akkad, ca.1800 BC, (Hartner 1965:

Fig. 25), B-D. Cyprus, ca.1600 BC (Kenna 1967: Figs. 15, 28, 29).

SI Fig. 6. Metal object from Nabataean temple at Jebel Serbal, Sinai, 1st century BC-3rd

century AD (Avner in press: Fig. 13).

SI Fig. 7. Susa, Iranian bowl, ca. 3400 BC (Pope & Ackerman 1938: Pl. 3c).

SI Fig. 8. Ibex with celestial symbols: A. Ramat Matred, central Negev Highlands, B. Har

‘Arqov, central Negev Highlands, C, D. Har Karkom.

SI Fig. 9. Ibex with celestial symbols in Near Eastern art: A. Iranian Goblet, Tepe Sialk, ca.

3300 BC. (Woolley 1961:39). B. Pottery decoration, Susa, ca. 4000 BC (Pope & Ackerman

1938: Fig. 32j,k), C. Tepe Gian, ca. 4000 BC (Amiet 1961: No. 85), D. Early Assyrian

(Ward 1910:181, No. 494), E. Iron Age, Jordan (Timm 1993:192, No. 6), F. Proto-Elamite

(Amiet 1961: No. 537), F. Iron Age II (Sass 1993: Nos. 59/158).

SI Fig. 10. Sky-map with reconstructed the ibex constellation (Hartner ,1965: Diagram 1).

SI Fig. 11. Star constellations: A. Bronze astral bowl, ca. 700 BC (Lemair 1999: Fig. 1), B.

The constellation of Orion (following the astral bowl) with Lepus below him. C.

Reconstruction of ibex below Orion (following the astral bowl).

SI Fig. 12. Middle Bronze Syrian seal impression, an ibex with ‘rabbit ears’ in the mid lower

part (Collon 1982: Fig. 3f; Zevulun & Ziffer 2012: Fig. 24).

References for SI

Abdul Nayeem, M. 2000. The Rock Art of Arabia. Hyderabad.

Amiet, P. 1961. La glyptique Mésopotamienne archaique. Paris

Amiet, P. 1966. Elam. Paris.

Anati, E. 2015. The Rock Art of the Negev and Sinai. Capo di Ponte.

Avner, U. 2015. The Nabataeans in Sinai. ARAM 27: 389-421.

Clark, T. 2001. The dogs of the ancient Near East. In, Brewer, D.J., T. Clark and A. Phillips

(Eds). Dogs in Antiquity, Anubis to Cerberus. Warminster. Pp. 49-79.

Collon, D. 1982. The Aleppo workshop- A seal cutter’s workshop in Syria in the second half of

the 18th century BC. Ugarit Forschungen 13:33-43.

Hartner, W. 1965. The earliest history of the constellations in the Near East and the motif of the

Lion-Bull Combat. Journal of Near East Studies 24:1-19.

Højland, F., P. Bangsgaard, J. Hansen, N. Haue, P. Kjaeum and D. Danner Lund. 2005. New

Excavations at Barbar temple, Baḥrain. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 16:105-128.

Kenna, V. 1967. The seal use of Cyprus in the Bronze Age II. Bulletin de Correspondance

Hellénique 91: 552-557.

Kist, J., Collon, D. and Wiggermann, F.A.M. 2003. Ancient Near Eastern Seals from the Kist

Collection: Three Millennia of Miniature Reliefs. Leiden.

Lemaire, A. 1999. Coupe astrale inscrite et astronomie araméenne. In. Y. Avishur and R.

Deutsch (Eds). Michael. Historical, Epigraphical and Biblical Studies in Honor of Prof.

Michael Heltzer. Tel Aviv. Pp. 195-211.

Malek, J. 2003. Egypt, 4000 Years of Art. London.

Morrow, M., M. Morrow, T. Judd and G. Phillipson (Eds). 2010. Desert RATS, Rock Art

Topographic Survey in Egypt’s Eastern Desert, Site Catalogue. Oxford, BAR

International Series 2166.

Pope, A. U. and P. Ackerman. 1938. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Time to the

Present. Vols. I-VII. London and N.Y.

Redford, S. and D.B. Redford. 1989. Graffiti and petroglyphs old and new from the Eastern

Desert. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 26:3-49.

Root, M,C. 2002. Animal in the art of ancient Iran. In, M. Collins (Ed). A History of the Animal World in the Ancient Near East. Leiden, Brill. Pp. 169-209.

Sass, B. 1993. The pre-exilic Hebrew seals, iconography and Syro-Palestinian religion of Iron

Age II: Some afterthoughts and conclusions. In, B. Sass and C. Uehlinger (Eds). Studies in

the Iconography of Northwest Semitic Inscribed Seals. Gottingen. Pp. 194-256.

Timm, S. 1993. Das ikonographische repertoire der Moabitischen sieglel und seine enwjcklung:

von maximalismus zum minimalismus. In, Sass, B. and C. Uehlinger (Eds). Studies in

the Iconography of Northwest Semitic Inscribed Seals. Gottingen. Pp. 161-193.

Ward, W. H. 1910. The Seal Cylinders of Western Asia. Washington.

Woolley, L. 1961. The Art of the Middle East. New York: Crown Publishers.

Zevulun, U. and I. Ziffer. 2012. Back from the hunt: A pictorial Tell El-Yahudiyah juglet in the

Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv. Egypt and the Levant 22:431-447.

Symbolism of the ibex motif in Negev rock art

Uzi Avner a, *, Liora Kolska Horwitz b, Wayne Horowitz c

a Arava-Dead Sea Science Center, Israelb National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israelc Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 13 October 2015

Received in revised form

27 March 2016

Accepted 22 November 2016

Available online 9 December 2016

Keywords:

Petroglyphs

Rock engravings

Nubian ibex

Dog

Ritual hunting

Celestial constellations

a b s t r a c t

The male ibex is the dominant zoomorphic motif in rock art of the Negev desert, Israel. It recurs in

thousands of petroglyphs, either alone or in association with several recurring images; commonly with

dogs or other predators but also with hunters. These associations occur in all chronological phases of

Negev rock art, implying that they had an enduring symbolic significance. Here we address only some

aspects of ibex iconography, focusing on its associationwith dogs, hunters and astral symbols. We discuss

the possible meaning of these associations with regard to the ritual hunting of ibex and connection to

deities associated with rainfall, seasonal cycles and celestial constellations.

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Thousands of rock engravings are found in the Negev desert of

Israel. In a few areas of this desert they have been systematically

recorded; at Har Karkom (Anati, 1993:61e91, 1996, 2001:121e128,

154, 2015), Timna (Rothenberg, 2001, 2003), Har Miḥia, ‘Ezuz and

Ramat Matred (Eisenberg-Degen and Rosen, 2013; Eisenberg-

Degen and Nash, 2017), while in the broader region, surveys are

currently being undertaken by members of the Negev Rock Art

Center (Razy Yahel of Sde Boqer and Lior Shwimer of the Israel

Nature and Parks Authority). Though absolute dating of petro-

glyphs is problematic, relative chronology is possible based on

superimposition and varying shades of patination of engravings on

a given panel. Additional information regarding their date can be

obtained from the presence of period-specific images such as do-

mestic animals. Since the approximate time of appearance of do-

mestic animals in the region is known from archaeozoological

studies and other sources, they can supply a terminus post-quem

for these images. Based on these parameters, different times have

been suggested for the beginning of the Negev Rock art; the Early

Neolithic, ca. 10,000 BCE (Anati, 2015:16, 58) or from the 6th

millennium BCE (Eisenberg-Degen and Nash, 2014:16). However, in

many rock art sites, more exact dating of engravings is possible

when comparing their patination to that of adjacent inscriptions

(Fig. 1aed), written in Thamudic (1st and 2nd centuries CE, Halun,

1990:36), Nabataean (2nd century BCE to 4th century CE, Negev,

1991:209; Healey, 2007) and Early Islamic (7th-8th centuries CE,

Sharon, 1990:9*). As a result, we learn that much of the Negev rock

art is only 1000e2000 years old, while the remainder is either

earlier or later.

The identification of ibex amongst the zoomorphs depicted in

Negev rock art is unambiguous, due to its portrayal with extremely

arched and large horns, often exaggerated (Figs. 1 and 2). Given the

current situation of petroglyph surveys in the region it would be

premature to present detailed statistics for the region as a whole,

but the impression is that the adult, male ibex is the most

commonly depicted zoomorphic motif. For example, according to

Anati and Mailland (2009:25) ibex account for 57.5% of all

zoomorphic elements at Har Karkom. They comprise 74% of horned

ungulates depicted in all engraving phases at Har Miḥia; 78% of all

horned ungulates portrayed at Giva't HaKetovot (Eisenberg-Degen

and Rosen, 2013:245e246); and ca. 40% of all zoomorphic motifs in

the Naḥal Nizzana catchment (Schwimer, 2015: calculated from

Fig. on pg. 113). Moreover, as noted by these researchers, on many

panels, images of ibex have been reworked, indicating their

importance throughout the entire chronological span of the Negev

rock art. In contrast, depictions of female ibex and domestic goat

* Corresponding author.

E-mail addresses: uzi@adssc.org (U. Avner), lix1000@gmail.com (L.K. Horwitz),

whorowitz@mscc.huji.ac.il (W. Horowitz).

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Arid Environments

journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate/ jar idenv

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0140-1963/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Journal of Arid Environments 143 (2017) 35e43

are extremely rare. Interestingly, irrespective of period, the male

ibex recurs with the same combinations of motifs. For example;

ibex attacked by dogs or other predators - either from behind or in

front (Anati, 1999:26e27; Degen-Eisenberg and Nash, 2015: Fig. 7);

ibex hunted by archers and/or riders (Rothenberg, 1972:120; Anati,

1999:26; Eisenberg-Degen and Nash, 2014: Fig. 5); ibex with hu-

man footprints (Anati, 1999:32; Degen-Eisenberg and Nash, 2017);

orante figures (anthropomorph with raised arms) (Eisenberg-

Degen and Nash, 2014: Fig. 6); male and female fertility symbols

(Schwimer, 2015:113e114), amongst others. All these associations

are meaningful, especially since they are common in both rock art

and the general art of the greater Near East (e.g. Porada, 1948: No.

600, Plate LXXXIV; Anati, 1972: Fig. 26; Clark, 2001:60; Abdul

Nayeem, 2000:202; Schmidt, 2009: Figs. 4, 5 and 9; Vahdati,

2011: Fig. 6:9). In this paper, only two associations are addressed,

the ibex-dog or ibex-dog-hunter, and ibex with celestial symbols.

2. Background to the Negev ibex

The species of ibex found today in the Negev desert, and most

probably in the past, is the Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana, SI Fig. 1).

This species is well adapted to arid and hyper-arid environments,

but restricted to steep mountainous terrain (Harrison and Bates,

1991:180e83; Habibi, 1994:46e54, 63e69). Ibex in the Negev and

surrounding areas were almost decimated due to massive hunting

with firearms following World War I (Yom-Tov and Mendelssohn,

1988; Paz, 2001), but since then greatly recovered due to prohibi-

tion of hunting in Israel. In the past, the numbers of ibex in the

Negev desert were probably higher than today, given the abun-

dance of their remains in prehistoric archaeozoological record. For

example, in three Natufian sites (14,000e9500 BCE) in the Negev

Highlands, ibex bones are dominant and comprise 26% of the

osteological assemblage fromUpper Besor 6, 36% from Rosh Ḥorsha

and 66% from Rosh Zin (Butler et al., 1977; Horwitz and Goring

Morris, 2000). In the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (ca. 8500e6400 BCE)

site of Naḥal ‘Issaron in the southern Negev, again ibex bones

comprise the majority of animal remains (Goring-Morris and

Gopher, 1983). From the Late Neolithic (6400e4600 BCE) on-

wards, however, the composition of archaeo-faunal assemblages in

the Negev changes drastically, with ibex bones absent or very

scarce. In the Southern Negev, a small faunal assemblage from the

Late Neolithic cemetery of Eilat contained no ibex bones (Horwitz

and Avner, in press) as was the case in the 5th-3rd millennia BCE

sites in the ‘Uvda Valley (Horwitz, unpublished data). In the

northern Negev, no ibex bones were found in Chalcolithic sites (ca.

4600e3600 BCE; e.g. Grigson, 1987, 1995), nor in any 3rd

Fig. 1. Rock engraving with inscriptions: A. Har ‘Arkov, central Negev Highlands, ibex and dog are patinated to the same degree as the Nabataean inscription (ca. 2000 years old). B.

Be'er ‘Ada, southern Negev, extensive patina of dog and ibex petroglyphs indicates they are somewhat older than the Thamudic inscription (ca. 2000 years old). C. Netafim Passage,

Eilat region, ibex and dog have the same patina as the transitional Nabataean-‘Arabic inscription (ca. 1500 years old, Avner et al., 2013). D. Har Eldad, Central Negev Highlands, ibex is

later than the ‘Arabic inscription, ca. 1000 years old.

U. Avner et al. / Journal of Arid Environments 143 (2017) 35e4336

Fig. 2. Ibex and dogs: A-D. Various compositions from Har Karkom, SW Negev Highlands. E-G. Dogs kill ibex: E, F. Har Karkom, G. ‘Uvda Valley, southern Negev.

Fig. 3. Ibex hunting scenes: A-B. Har Karkom (for B- c.f. Anati, 1996:28), C. Har Eldad.

U.Avner

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millennium BCE Early Bronze Age sites, even those located in the

Negev Highlands, despite the latter being the most suitable natural

habitat for ibex herds (Horwitz et al., 2002; Hakker-Orion, 2014).

Likewise, ibex remains are absent in Middle Bronze Age (ca.

2000e1550 BCE), Iron Age (ca. 1200e586 BCE) and Persian (ca.

586e332 BCE) period sites in the Negev (Horwitz and Raphael,

1995; Hakker-Orion, 1999, 2004, 2007; Sapir-Hen and Ben-Yosef,

2014) with a few, tentatively identified ibex bones in only one

Persian period fortress, Ḥorvat Rogem (Hakker-Orion, 2004). With

the exception of two ibex bones identified among 1300 bones at the

Late Roman fortress of Yotvata in the southern ‘Araba Valley

(Halbmaier, 2015), to date, no ibex remains have been found in any

of the Roman, Byzantine or Early Islamic sites in the Negev (37 BCE-

1099 CE, e.g. Horwitz, 1995, 1998; Horwitz et al., 1997; Kishon et al.,

in press). The paucity of ibex bones in sites post-dating the 6th

millennium BCE is further highlighted by the opposite picture for

gazelle, a species whose remains are present inmany ancient Negev

sites, albeit in low percentages (e.g. Hakker-Orion, 1999, 2004,

2007, 2014). However, depictions of gazelles are extremely rare in

the Negev rock art (c.f. Eisenberg-Degen and Rosen, 2013;

Schwimer, 2015).

The faunal data clearly demonstrates that from the 6th millen-

nium BCE onwards, the ibex played a negligible economic role for

the Negev inhabitants despite being present in the region, as evi-

denced by their occasional remains in archaeological sites and its

continued presence in the Negev up until today (Yom-Tov and

Mendelssohn, 1988). The main reason is undoubtedly the adop-

tion of animal husbandry by the desert populations around 6000

BCE, a mode of subsistence which replaced hunting (Avner,

1990:127, 1998:152; 2002:12, 32, 152; Rosen et al., 2005; Babenko

and Khassanov, 2007). However, as noted in the introduction, the

bulk of the Negev rock art appears to have been engraved by the

agro-pastoral inhabitants of the Negev and not by earlier hunter/

gatherers.

In light of the above data, the dominance of the ibex in the

Negev rock art is remarkable and clearly not a naturalistic depiction

of an important dietary element. Due to its power, large horns,

unique climbing ability and adaptation to a variety of harsh envi-

ronments, it has been suggested that the ibex was impressive

enough to stimulate artistic depictions (c.f. Keel and Uehlinger,

1998:20). Another suggestion is that for Negev herding societies

the ibex symbolized wildlife and virility (Eisenberg-Degen and

Nash, 2014). As valid as these arguments are, they do not seem to

explain the ibex's dominance in rock art. This impression is

enhanced by the fact that ibex engravings are prominent even in

steppe zones, away from their natural, mountainous habitat, e.g. at

Giv‘at HaKetovot (NW Negev, Eisenberg-Degen and Rosen, 2013) or

in the sandy steppe of southern Sinai (U. Avner, personal observa-

tion). So, the question remains, what was the source of the

importance of ibex?

3. Ibex hunting versus ritual killing

In Negev rock art, the most common iconic combinations are

ibex with dogs, the latter are depicted attacking the ibex, chasing,

confronting, mounted on their backs or surrounding them

(Fig. 2aed). In some scenes, the ibex is depicted upside-down next

to an upright dog (Fig. 2eeg), while in others the dog is portrayed

upside-down and the ibex upright. We interpret the animal por-

trayed upside-down as representing one that is dead, while the

upright animal is alive.

In other instances, ibex are shown hunted by archers, with or

without the support of dogs (Fig. 3aec). Ample similar associations

of the ibex with dogs and with hunters are known from both the

rock art and the general art of the Near East (for a few examples see

SI Figs. 2e3). As suggested by several researchers (e.g. Fares,

2006:41e2; Rollefson, et al., 2008:18; Judd, 2011:193; Anati,

2015:71e2, 115e142), the hunting scenes reflect economic reality

and represent sympathetic magic, intended to ensure a successful

hunt. However, since ibex did not play a major economic role for

desert communities after the Early Neolithic, a possible option is

that the hunt depicted was a ritual. A ritual-social explanation,

based on pre-Islamic poetry, has been offered by Corbett

(2010:180e182) who related the ibex hunt to an initiation event

from adolescence to adulthood.

As will be discussed below, basing ourselves on several different

sources including artistic iconography of the Near East spanning

different periods (e.g. Porada, 1948; Keel and Uehlinger, 1998), we

propose that the ritual nature of the ibex hunt as depicted in Negev

rock art holds greater symbolic dimensions. Two examples of rock

engravings support this impression. Fig. 4a appears to represent a

person holding an ibex by the horns while another is shooting an

arrow at the animal. Given this interpretation, the ibex appears to

have been captured sometime before, while the scene focuses on

the very act of the kill. In the second (Fig. 4b), the hunter seems to

be shooting an arrow through the ibex's horns to kill the dog

behind it and so ‘saves’ the ibex. This scene is not common, but is

also not an isolated occurrence. In additional examples from Negev

petroglyphs, the dog depicted as behind or in front of the ibex is

upside-down i.e. dead (Fig. 4c, d). This theme is paralleled and well

illuminated in examples from the greater Near East (listed in

ascending chronological order). For example, an Achaemenid seal

impression from Persepolis (5th century BCE, Iran), presenting a

hunter shooting arrows at a lioness attacking an ibex- and so

‘saving’ the ibex (SI Fig. 4a). Another parallel is an Akkadian seal

impression (ca. 1700 BCE, Mesopotamia), presenting two scenes (SI

Fig. 4b). In the upper one the dog kills the ibex, as in many other

examples (Fig. 2 and SI Figs. 2e3), while in the lower, the snake kills

the dog, thereby “saving” the ibex. In a third example, a seal from

Dilmun (ca. 1800 BCE, Baḥrain), the ibex and the snake are both

above the dog, i.e. defeating him (SI Fig. 4c). Further examples are

found on glyptics from Iran (ca. 1800 BCE) and Cyprus (ca. 1600

BCE) where the ibex is often depicted both upright and upside-

down (SI Fig. 5aed) which, following this reasoning, means that

the ibex is depicted both alive and dead.

The assemblage of examples from rock art and from the general

art of the Near East illuminates the symbolic association of the dog

and the ibex. Since the dog so often attacks the ibex and also kills it,

we suggest that the dog probably represents death and the un-

derworld, similar to Anubis (the jackal god) in ancient Egypt (Hart,

1990: 21e27; Altermüller, 1975) or Cerberus in the Greek mythol-

ogy (Bloomfield, 1905). The ibex, on the other hand, depicted both

alive (upright) and dead (upside-down), may represent a cycle of

life and death, possibly a dying and resurrected god such as Dumuzi

in Mesopotamia, Ba‘al in Cana‘an, Osiris in Egypt and Adonis in

Greece (Frazer, 1913: Vols. IV, V, VI, VIII; Mettinger, 2001). Ample

artistic representations from the greater Near East support identi-

fication of the ibex as a divine symbol that undergoes resurrection

(see below). In the context of Egyptian rock art, Huyge (2002:201)

similarly interprets the ibex as a symbol of renewal and rejuvena-

tion. The cycle relates directly to nature and to the change of sea-

sons, which strongly influences the life of desert societies. The

month of July (Akkadian- Du‘�uzu, Hebrew- Tamuz) is the month of

the death of the Mesopotamian god Dumuzi. At this time, vegeta-

tion is parched, water sources are scarce, animals and humans are

stressed. In the autumn season (December), Dumuzi returns from

the underworld, bringing rain that revives the vegetation and re-

stores nourishment to animals and humans (Mettinger, 2001: Ch. 7,

with references). The death and resurrection cycle is well repre-

sented in a rock engraving from Naḥal ‘Amram, southern ‘Araba

U. Avner et al. / Journal of Arid Environments 143 (2017) 35e4338

(Fig. 5a). It shows two mirrored ibex, the upper one stands nor-

mally, with what appears to be a leopard behind him, while the

lower animal is depicted upside-down. A horizontal line separating

them seems to represent the surface, implying that the lower,

upside-down ibex, is dead i.e. in the underworld. This scene is well

paralleled by the mirrored image of Dumuzi on an Akkadian seal

impression (ca. 1700 BCE), depicted both upright and upside-down

between a pair of senior deities (Fig. 5b), and beside them the

familiar ibex and dog.

4. Ibex and rain

The ritual nature of the ibex hunt is well attested in the studies

of Ingrams (1937) and Serjeant (1976), who recorded such hunting

expeditions in the 1930's through 1960's in the Arabian Peninsula,

mainly in the Hadramaut. In all cases, several days of ceremonies

both preceded and followed the ibex hunt. During the latter, hun-

dreds of people shared the meat of the hunted ibex, such that no

direct economic benefit was derived from these hunts. However,

when interviewed, a mansab (spiritual leader) said: “If we did not

hunt (an ibex) the rain would not come to us …” (Serjeant, 1976:36).

The connection of the ibex with rainfall is also expressed in

older Arabian sources. In a Sabaean inscription (CIH547; ca. 8th

century BCE), the god ‘Attar prevents rain from his tribe since they

did not perform the (ibex) hunt properly (Beeston, 1937:50e52;

Serjeant, 1976:35). Furthermore, the storm gods ‘Attar and Ta‘lab

were identified in south Arabia with the ibex (Serjeant,

1976:74e77).

Rain invoking rituals were still practiced in the mid-20th cen-

tury in northern Iraq, preserving the connection to the ibex. This is

illustrated in a Kurdish rain ritual, where the main figure is a male

dancer whose costume included a goat beard, while a Yazidi rain

ritual in the same region addressed Malek Ta‘uz (¼King Tamuz),

whose symbol was an ibex or a domestic goat (Frankfort, 1934),

with the animals apparently interchangeable in this rite. In the

greater Near East, the use of the name Tamuz indicates an associ-

ation with an older tradition relating to the death and resurrection

cycle of the deity Dumuzi/Tamuz, as has been discussed above.

An older connection between the ibex and rain may be found in

a small Nabataean temple, dated from the first century BCE to the

3rd century CE, built on the summit of Mount Serbal, southern Sinai

(2070 m a.s.l.). In the temple, several metal objects were found (SI

Fig. 6), one was a pair of ibex horns cast in copper, 12 cm long,

probably from an ibex statue (Avner, 2015). The ibex, as a mountain

animal, is the best candidate to represent the main aspect of

Dushara, the chief Nabataean god and a mountain god- “that of the

Shara Mountains” (Healey, 2001:87; Zayadine, 2003:59), that brings

rain from the sky, much like the Arabian deity ‘Attar (see above), the

Canaanean Ba‘al (Wiggins, 2000) and other mountain-storm gods

(Green, 2003).

The connection of ibex with rain may actually have had much

older roots. On a pottery bowl from Susa, Iran, ca. 3600 BCE, two

mirrored scenes are depicted (with other motifs, SI Fig. 7). In each,

an ibex with tree-like horns is shown, with a dog on its back and

another dog and a bird behind him, all are standing on top of a

“comb”. Based on parallels, Ackerman (1967: 2920e27) interpreted

the “comb” as a rain-giving cloud and pointed to other examples

where the ibex is connected with rain. Due to this association, she

interpreted the ibex as a symbol of both Anu, the sky god, and Sin,

the moon god.

5. Ibex and celestial constellations

In the Negev rock art, the ibex occurs sometimes with a star, a

cross, a circular spot or with the sun (SI Fig. 8aed). The same

symbols recur with the ibex in rock art in other Near Eastern

countries, similar to their co-occurrence in other art media of this

region (SI Fig. 9aeg). Repetition and connotations of these symbols

Fig. 4. Dead ibex and ibex alive with dead dogs: A. Killing the ibex, Har Karkom (c.f. Anati, 2015, Fig. 145), B. Killing the dog, Har Karkom, C. Har Miḥia, the dog to the right of the ibex

is upside-down, D. Har Miḥia, the dog is upside-down relative to the ibex.

U. Avner et al. / Journal of Arid Environments 143 (2017) 35e43 39

indicate their celestial origin (Henning, 1936:34e36; Van Buren,

1945:82e5, 110e14: Ackerman, 1967:2920e25).

Since the ibex is a mountain animal, it may have been perceived

as being closer to the sky than humans and their habitations,

located at lower altitudes, but this explanation seems unsatisfac-

tory and simplistic. Some scholars suggested a broader and deeper

connection, identifying the ibex with the Capricorn constellation

(Barnett, 1966:275; Lemaire, 1999:197; Haghighat and Sa‘doddin,

2010:67e72; Younger, 2012:215). Based on ancient

Mesopotamian-Iranian art and archaeo-astronomy, Hartner (1965)

showed that until the 4th millennium BCE an ancient star

constellation was viewed as an ibex (SI Fig. 10). It made a heliacal

appearance in the sky in December and disappeared in June, syn-

chronized with the revival and death of the Mesopotamian deity

Dumuzi and with the change of the seasons (Hartner, 1965:1e6,

8e10, Diagrams 1e5; c.f. Rogers, 1998:24 and Fig. 7). Later, the

timing of the ibex in the sky could no longer be synchronized with

the cycle of Dumuzi, since the times of the rising and setting of all

constellations changes by onemonth in every 2106 years due to the

sun's precession. As a result, the ibex almost disappeared from

Mesopotamian-Iranian art, replaced by another celestial drama -

the combat between the lion and the bull (i.e. Leo and Taurus,

Hartner, 1965:15e16). Hartner (1965:9), and more recently Dibon-

Smith (2015:28), further suggested that by themid-4thmillennium

BCE the ibex constellation was divided into two- Capricorn and

Aquarius. Support for this celestial concept may be found in the

name of the ninth Sumerian king (ca. 2800 BCE), EN.NUN.DAR-

A.ANNA (Jacobsen, 1939:170, Tables 1 and 2) or EN.DARA.AN.NA

(Zevulun and Ziffer, 2012:443), translated as “Lord Ibex of Heaven”.

Indeed, ibex imagery did not totally disappear from the Near

Eastern art. It was common in Late Bronze-Iron Age seals (e.g. Keel

and Uehlinger, 1998: Nos. 1a,b, 101b, 152b, 154b; Ornan, 2005:

Figs. 33, 42, 43,122 and 171; Sass,1993: 224, Figs.111e113) and very

common in the Iron Age metal works of central-western Iran (the

Fig. 5. A. Naḥal ‘Amram, southern ‘Araba, mirrored ibex (alive and dead) with what may be a leopard behind the upper one. B. Akkadian seal impression, ca. 1800 BCE, showing a

dead and alive young god between two senior deities, with an ibex and dog and additional details (Ward, 1910; No. 1160; Winter, 1983; Abb. 98).

U. Avner et al. / Journal of Arid Environments 143 (2017) 35e4340

“Luristan Bronzes”, early first millennium BCE; Amiet, 1976,

passim). A bronze bowl from Luristan, originated in Syria or Phoe-

nicia and dated around 700 BCE, is important in this context. It

presents a large anthropomorph in the center, striding above an

ibex, surrounded by the star-full sky, with the sun, the moon, six

zodiac constellations and the planets (SI Fig. 11a, Barnett, 1966;

Lemaire, 1999; Younger, 2012). The anthropomorph, facing to the

right, is identified by the writers as Orion, the hunter or hero in the

Greek mythology, while the ibex, facing left, is identified with

Capricorn. However, in the sky, the constellation just belowOrion is

Lepus, the rabbit (who is facing right), and not Capricorn (the ibex)

(SI Fig. 11b). This, brings to mind the possibility that in the past

another tradition existed, one that perceived and drew the celestial

constellation Lepus as an ibex facing left, as depicted in the Luristan

bowl (SI Fig. 11c). This theory may find possible support in a Syrian

cylinder seal that seems to present an ibex with rabbit ears,

combining the two traditions (SI Fig. 12, Collon, 1982: Fig. 4g;

Zevulun and Ziffer, 2012: Fig 24).

The connection of Orion with the ibex, representing the deity

Dumuzi/Tammuz, is also echoed in an earlier group of cuneiform

astronomical texts. “Astrolabe B” from Berlin, a 12th century

bilingual Sumerian-Akkadian hemerology, states the following in a

passage for the month of Tammuz:

Translated from Sumerian- “The month of Tammuz, mulsipa.-

zi.an.na (¼ The True Shepherd of Heaven), Nin�subur, the great vizier

of An and Inanna. The month of heaping up seed, taking out seed early.

The wailing of Ninrurugu, the month when the shepherd Dumuzi was

captured. (Horowitz, 2014:64).

Translated from Akkadian- “The month of Tammuz (the

constellation) �Sitadallu, Papsukkal, the great vizier of Anu and I�star.

The month of heaping up seed, taking out early seed. The wailing of

Ninrurugu, the month when the shepherd Dumuzi was captured”

(Horowitz, 2014).

In the Astrolabe tradition, Orion rises in the month of Tammuz,

also named here Ninrurugu, (Horowitz, 2015: 64e68), the fourth

month of the Mesopotamian year, the height of the Mesopotamian

summer, when lamentation rituals were recited for Dumuzi's

death. Yet, following the Sumerian tradition and the mainstream

Mesopotamian astronomy, Orion is not a hunter. His Sumerian

name, mulSIPA.ZI.AN.NA, literally means- “The True Shepherd of

Heaven”. This title suits the Mesopotamian plain, where herding

sheep and goat was a central pillar of economy, while viewing

Orion as a hero or hunter only began with the Greek and Roman

mythology (Pat-El, 2008:564). The Akkadian name for the

constellation, �Sitadallu (alternatively �Sidallu or �Sitaddaru) literally-

“The Onewho is Smitten byWeapon” (Kurtig, 2007: 445) provides a

hint for the possible association between Orion and the ibex

tradition, that was known in Mesopotamia. Two additional Akka-

dian texts cited by Horowitz (2014: 67e68), also link Orion with

Dumuzi.

In light of the cuneiform texts, we suggest that the iconography

of the bronze bowl from Luristan (SI Fig. 11) reflects a tradition

identifying the hunter/shepherd Dumuzi/Tammuz and the ibex

with Orion and Lepus - the latter viewed as a left-facing ibex (SI

Fig. 15c).

Though the specific role of the ibex in the sky, in different times,

is currently not totally clear, the frequent association of ibex with

the dog, the hunter and stars, in petroglyphs and in the art of the

Near East in general, seems now well connected to celestial cos-

mology. Indeed, there is nothing new in linking rock art and general

art with astronomy, cosmology and mythology (e.g. Hartner, 1965;

Sognnes, 1996:25e6; Whitley, 1998, 2005; Bradley, 2006;

Kristiansen, 2010; Melheim, 2013). The profound interest of past

societies in the sky is well attested through ample written docu-

ments of various cultures. They carefully recorded the stars’ timing

in the sky, identifying stars and constellations with deities - relating

them tomythological stories and seasons, and decorated numerous

artefacts with their images (Evans, 1998; Ruggles, 2005). For the

ancient Near East, the most detailed recording of the starry sky is

that of the series MUL.APIN (the “Plough Constellation”, written

early 1st millennium BCE). It embodies Sumerian and Akkadian

traditions of the third and second millennia BCE (probably even the

fourth), with the addition of new, first millennium ideas concerning

the sky (Horowitz andWatson, 2011; Horowitz, 2005). The fact that

the ibex is not recorded in the mature Mesopotamian stellar

repertoire of the second and first millennia BCE, fits well with the

theory of Hartner (1965) and Dibon-Smith (2015) elucidated above.

6. Conclusions

A brief survey of the symbolic role of the male ibex in the Negev

rock art shows that the animal was highlighted in most panels.

More so, its recurrence and predominance throughout the rock art

chronological sequence is not paralleled by any other zoomorphic

image. Though the exact role of the ibex for past desert societies is

not fully understood as yet, the evidence presented here seem to

support its identification as a symbol of a dying and resurrected

god, related to rainfall, the changing of seasons and the fertility of

the soil, animals and humans. This symbolic - iconic linkage was

apparently adopted by early desert communities and continued

into the Islamic era. The ibex and its combinations with other

motifs also appears in artistic representations from the greater Near

East that are older than the majority of Negev engravings, appar-

ently indicating that a shared iconographic tradition (and possibly

symbology) spanned large geographic realms and chronological

periods in this region.

The Negev rock art scenes, whether executed during a ritual or

not, involving shamans or commoners, were meant to invoke the

divine to provide well-being and fertility. The cultic, mythological

interpretation makes better sense when ibex appears with the

associated elements, but its meaning is more hidden when it was

just engraved individually. Perhaps the ibex alone was an abbre-

viated representation of the broader idea (pars pro toto), known

both to the engraver and to spectators. For example, the ibex could

be engraved as an act of invoking him to come back from the un-

derworld and bring rain, which was obviously crucial for desert

inhabitants.

Though the precise meaning of rock art is generally obscure to

us, by following associations and repeating patterns, and by using a

broader array of sources - artistic, textural, anthropological

zoological and archaeo-astronomical, some rock art themes may be

contextualized and so deciphered. Our impression is that rock en-

gravings contain rich cultural and mythological content which

require and justify such intensive and broad-spectrum research.

Although many ethically refrain from interpreting rock art, we find

it essential, even with the chance of erring. Discussions and cor-

rections in interpretation of archaeological artifacts are regularly

ongoing, so rock art requires and deserves the same approach.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to: Christian Robin for providing Beeston's paper

and the text of CIH547 with explanations, and SI Fig. 2b; Dr. Irit

Ziffer for providing a copy of her paper published with U. Zevulun,

and the reference to Jacobsen, 1939; Dr. Mohammad Naserifard for

sending us the link to his publication and additional Iranian ma-

terials; Wienie van der Oord of the Israel Astronomic Association

for the suggestions concerning the ibex as a star constellation and

for preparing the illustration (SI Fig. 11b, c). U. Avner would like to

thank Prof. Tryggve Mettinger (Lund University) for sending him

U. Avner et al. / Journal of Arid Environments 143 (2017) 35e43 41

his book “The Riddle of Resurrection”; Wienie van der Oord and

Dominique Slous for assistance in reading German and French

publications; and the Negev Rock Art Center for support. Photo-

graphs are by U. Avner, unless otherwise stated.

Appendix A. Supplementary data

Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://

dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2016.11.009.

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