Table of Contents
1. Concept 2. Research Hypothesis 3. Azilian Ornaments a) Main motifs and composition b) Technical features / materials 4. Berber Tribal Tattoos a) Typology: main types of tattoos b) Semantics, symbols, social role 5. Interpretation. Conclusions
Concept
This study is based on the assumption of the existence of intercultural connections between painted pebbles and Berber tribal tattoos. The central idea is that the graphic motifs used in the ornaments on Azilian pebbles may contain the same elements as those found in African tattoos and reflect shared visual symbols (an analogous visual system), encompassing, for example, concepts such as identity, status, and others.
Azilian painted pebbles («galets coloriés, ” „galets peints“) were discovered at the Mas d’Azil site in southwestern France by the archaeologist Édouard Piette. Later, Piette returned to the study of these pebbles and attempted to interpret them as an alphabetic system. In a report presented to members of ISIS, Johannes Deichmüller noted that „Piette saw in the ornaments representations of the sun, trees, and ancient numerical and writing systems“. The diversity of ornamentation on the pebbles gave rise to numerous interpretations, including hypotheses about proto-writing, cult objects, „art for art’s sake, ” gaming pieces, and even sacred anthelmintics.
Tattooing in Ancient Africa developed alongside social life and functioned as a means of communication. Different ornaments were used to convey affiliation and social status, as well as for religious and spiritual rituals. Ancient African tribes created ornaments imbued with deep symbolic meaning. In her work Indelible Signs: Tattooing as a Historical Source, M. B. Mednikova notes that among Congolese peoples (Upper Congo, Northern Congo), scarification was widespread. For example, facial scars among the Bopoto tribe functioned as an ethnic marker, and their application could extend over a period of up to 30 years. Alongside tribal identification, Berbers used tattooing as a divine symbol, a sign of fertility, and more. In Berber culture, applying ornaments to the skin is considered an ancient ritual tradition.
Hypothesis
The motifs of Berber tribal tattoos display ornaments similar to the painting and engraving found on pebbles (stones, cobbles) discovered at Azilian sites. These ornaments are not directly connected but correspond as manifestations of human interpretation of patterns across millennia and may contain a similar traditional visual system and shared symbolic signs.
The aim of this study is to conduct comparative, contextual, and visual analyses of combinations of ornaments in both cultures. For this purpose, it is important to determine what the iconography on the pebbles might signify from the perspective of symbolic signs and a traditional visual system.
Azilian Ornaments: Main Motifs and Composition
a) simple composition
— dots
Source: Soviet Historical Encyclopedia, Mikhail Zilberman, Archaic Writing Systems
— straight lines
— zigzag lines
— curved lines
— perpendicular lines (crosses)
b) composite composition
We identified several elements belonging to composite compositions: — dots within a contour (round or oval pebbles) — perpendicular lines (crosses) within a contour — a straight line and multiple parallel lines — a straight line and zigzag lines — a straight line and dots — compositions using three or more simple elements
— compositions using three or more simple elements
Azilian Ornaments: Technical Features / Materials
— ornaments on pebbles were either painted (drawn) or engraved — the pebbles were painted with ochre
Berber Tribal Tattoos: Typology (Main Types)
Traditional Berber tattoos were applied to women (almost never to men). In addition to gender distinctions, they primarily served two functions: — ethnic tattoos (tribal identification) — symbolic tattoos protecting against the evil eye, evil spirits, and bringing good fortune (semantic identification)
Berber Tribal Tattoos: Semantics, Symbols, Social Role
Tattoo motifs, composed of numerous geometric patterns, varied from tribe to tribe in Morocco and allowed women to publicly and permanently express their ethnic identity. For example, despite the lack of knowledge of the exact names of the symbols, women of Aït Benhaddou typically applied tattoos consisting of two straight diagonal lines intersecting at the base (forming perpendicular lines), creating a V-shaped symbol with three additional perpendicular lines on each main line. Above the composition, three dots were added. This symbol allowed them to be identified as women of Aït Benhaddou.
Chin tattoos among Amazigh women are called siyala and represent their first bodily ornaments. They are placed on the face as a symbol of fertility. Later, as women matured, additional tattoos appeared, reflecting new life experiences. Siyala (like many other symbols) is associated with nature and plants. It represents a palm tree — a straight line with dots on either side. It is closely connected to the Targaginian goddess of fertility, war, and the moon, Tanit.
Tattoos have been and remain a visible reminder of female strength and aesthetics. Thus, Berber tattoos create something that exists between the female body and identity, gathering social experience and publicly and permanently reflecting the importance of women in Berber collective identity, as noted by Cynthia J. Becker in Amazigh Arts in Morocco: Women Shaping Berber Identity.
Symbols associated with animals are also linked to female sexual identity.
Symbols associated with animals are also linked to female sexual identity. Symbols resembling a faceted stone, such as an eye or a flower, were used as protection against evil spirits.
Interpretation. Conclusions
Thus, having conducted visual and comparative analyses, we can conclude that certain elements of ornamentation in both cultures coincide: — the snake symbol in Berber tattoos corresponds to the curved line — the centipede symbol resembles a straight line with multiple perpendicular lines — both cultures use simple and composite compositions — elements such as dots and straight lines are frequently used (ornaments are primitive in structure) Therefore, both cultures may contain a similar traditional visual system and possibly shared symbolic signs.
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Michael Peyron’s Archive
National Anthropological Archive
Историческая география
Ariege
Советская Историческая Энциклопедия
Зильберман Михаил Израйлевич. Архаичные письменности
Кроманьонский человек
Idlisen
Mohammed Jiari’s Art
