Saharan rock painting. Rock art depicting human figures hunting with a boat. The climate inNorth Africa has varied significantly over the past 12,000 years. This has had a profound effect on human occupation and subsistence. During these wet periods,life flourished deep in what is now desert. The first wet stage occured 12,000 - 8,000 years ago and the second 7,000 - 5,000 years ago. During these phases,populations lived off fish and riverine mammals. Photographed in Tadrart,Tassili National Park,Algeria |