Malika Hachid

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Malika Hachid
BornMarch 1954
Algiers
CitizenshipAlgeria
Occupation(s)Prehistorian; archaeologist
Known forIdentifying forged prehistoric rock art

Malika Hachid (born March 1954) is an Algerian archaeologist and prehistorian, who is notable for her research on cave art in Algeria and her work on the prehistory of the Berbers. She was Director of the National Centre for Prehistoric, Anthropological and Historical Research (CNRPAH).

Contents

Biography

Hachid was born in Algiers in March 1954. [1] In 1974 she moved to Aix-en-Provence in order to study prehistoric archaeology. [1] In 1982 she returned to Algeria and began work as research director at the National Centre for Prehistoric, Anthropological and Historical Research (CNRPAH). [1] In 1987 she became director of the Tassili des Ajjer National Cultural Park. [1] She was a founding member and vice-president of the Sonatrach-Tassili Foundation. [1]

Hachid's research explores the early history of the Berber people, as well as prehistoric cave art found in Algeria. In particular she has studied the cave art 'discovered' by Henri Lhote at Tassili-n-ajjer, as well as the relationship between Lhote and his mentor Abbé Breuil. [2] In 1998 Hachid was able to confirm that a number of the artworks which Lhote had based his controversial interpretations of the site on were fakes, which had been created by French members of his own team. [2] [3] After the publication of her book on the site, further forgeries were revealed to Hachid by members of the team. [2] Hachid has also been outspoken about the irreparable damage done by Lhote and his team to the art, by wetting the works in order to photograph them, which led to a great reduction in the vibrancy of the colours. [4] Hachid has identified some of the figures as being of both Mediterranean and black African origin. [4] [5] In her work on the proto-history of the Berbers, Hachid has argued that it two civilizations, the Capsian and Mechtoid, combined to form the first Berbers 10–11,000 years ago. [6] She believes that Berber identity formed in North Africa. [7]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawiya language</span> Zenati Berber language spoken in Algeria

Shawiya, or Shawiya Berber, also spelt Chaouïa, is a Zenati Berber language spoken in Algeria by the Shawiya people. The language's primary speech area is the Awras Mountains in Eastern Algeria and the surrounding areas, including parts of Western Tunisia, including Batna, Khenchela, Sétif, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa and the northern part of Biskra. It is closely related to the Shenwa language of Central Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tassili n'Ajjer</span> National park in the Sahara Desert in Algeria

Tassili n'Ajjer is a national park in the Sahara desert, located on a vast plateau in southeastern Algeria. Having one of the most important groupings of prehistoric cave art in the world, and covering an area of more than 72,000 km2 (28,000 sq mi), Tassili n'Ajjer was inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1982 by Gonde Hontigifa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saharan rock art</span> Area of archaeological study

Saharan rock art is a significant area of archaeological study focusing on artwork carved or painted on the natural rocks of the central Sahara desert. The rock art dates from numerous periods starting c. 12,000 years ago, and is significant because it shows the culture of ancient African societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaoui people</span> Berber ethnic group in northeast Algeria

The Chaoui people or Shawia are a Berber ethnic group native to the Aurès region in northeastern Algeria which spans Batna and Khenchla, Oum El Bouaghi provinces located in and surrounded by the Aurès Mountains.

The Banu Ifran or Ifranids, were a Zenata Berber tribe prominent in the history of pre-Islamic and early Islamic North Africa. In the 8th century, they established a kingdom in the central Maghreb, with Tlemcen as its capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henri Lhote</span> French explorer, ethnographer, and discoverer of prehistoric cave art

Henri Lhote was a French explorer, ethnographer, and discoverer of prehistoric cave art. He is credited with the discovery of an assembly of 800 or more works of primitive art in a remote region of Algeria on the edge of the Sahara desert.

The rock art of south Oran, are prehistoric engravings dating from the Neolithic period, which are found in the south of Oran Province, Algeria, in the Saharan Atlas Mountains, in the regions of Figuig, Ain Sefra, El-Bayadh, Aflou and Tiaret. Comparable engravings have been described, even further east, around Djelfa and in the region of Constantine. Although in the past some archaeologists affirmed that these engravings derived from European Upper Paleolithic art, this theory is today definitively rejected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock art of the Djelfa region</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock art of the Figuig region</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tadrart Rouge</span>

The Tadrart Rouge or Southern Tadrart or Algerian Tadrart or Meridional Tadrart is a mountain range in southeastern Algeria, part of the Algerian Desert. The area has a rich array of rock art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouled Naïl Range</span>

The Ouled Naïl Range is a mountain range in Algeria, part of the Saharan Atlas of the greater Atlas Mountain System. The range is named after a confederation of nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, all of which claim to hail from Arab ancestors of Banu Hilal origin and this was proven by their genetics.

Karima Dirèche is a French Algerian historian specialising in the contemporary history of the Maghreb. From September 2013 to August 2017, she has been the director of the Institute for Research on the Contemporary Maghreb in Tunis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erg Admer</span> Erg in Algeria

The Erg Admer is a large erg or field of sand dunes in the Sahara Desert. Situated in the Illizi Province west of the oasis town of Djanet in south-eastern Algeria, the erg covers an area some 20 km wide by some 100 km large north to south. It originates in the centre of Tassili n'Ajjer, towards Essendilène and extends southwards to reach Ténéré at the Niger border.

Iheren and Tahilahi are rock painting shelters at the Tadjelahine sandstone plateau some 20 km west of Iherir in the Tassili n'Ajjer mountains in southeast Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tassadit Yacine</span>

Tassadit Yacine-Titouh is an Algerian anthropologist specialising in Berber culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tassili Mushroom Figure</span>

The popularly called Tassili mushroom figures are Neolithic petroglyphs and cave paintings discovered in Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria, which contain features resembling mushrooms. Hypothesized to date back to 7000–5000 BC, they are considered by some researchers to be figures that have shamanic connotations and one of the strongest pieces of evidence for ethnomycological data. It is possibly the oldest example of rock art used to claim the ritual use of fungi in prehistory, with Tassili being the first site that likely may contain representations of the genus Psilocybe. However, interpretations of Tassili's drawings are disputed and it is unknown whether they actually represent mushrooms or specific natural or cultural elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewellery of the Berber cultures</span> Traditional jewellery of Berber peoples in North Africa

Jewelleryof the Berber cultures is a historical style of traditional jewellery that was worn by women mainly in rural areas of the Maghreb region in North Africa and inhabited by indigenous Berber people. Following long social and cultural traditions, Berber or other silversmiths in Morocco, Algeria and neighbouring countries created intricate jewellery with distinct regional variations. In many towns and cities, there were Jewish silversmiths, who produced both jewellery in specific Berber styles as well as in other styles, adapting to changing techniques and artistic innovations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock engravings of Oued Djerat</span> Archaeological site in Algeria

The rock engravings of Oued Djerat, located in the Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria, and dated to the Neolithic period, have many affinities with those of the South Oranese (Algeria) and the Fezzan (Libya). According to Henri Lhote, they date back more than 7000 years.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Malika HACHID (1954- )". xn--malika-ht0d (in French). Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Lesser Gods of the Sahara". The Journal of North African Studies. 8 (3–4): 193–225. 2003-09-01. doi:10.1080/13629380308718521. ISSN   1362-9387.
  3. "Terrorism and paintings in the Sahara". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  4. 1 2 Coulson, D.; Campbell, A. (2010). "Rock Art of the Tassili n Ajjer, Algeria" (PDF). Adoranten. 2010.
  5. admin (2020-09-14). "Thor Heyerdahl, Kabylia, the guanches and the Aztecs". mergueze.info. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  6. "Table of Contents: Inventing the Berbers". www.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  7. "Indigenous peoples in Algeria - IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs". www.iwgia.org. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  8. Camps, Gabriel (1993). "M. Hachid, Les Pierres écrites de l'Atlas saharien. El Hadjra el Mek- touba". Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée. 70 (1): 132–134.
  9. Hachid, Malika (1998). Le Tassili des Ajjer : aux sources de l'Afrique, 50 siècles avant les pyramides. Alger: Edif 2000. ISBN   2-84272-052-0. OCLC   40869820.
  10. Hachid, Malika (2000). Les premiers Berbères : entre Méditerranée, Tassili et Nil. Aix-en-Provence: Edisud. ISBN   2-7449-0227-6. OCLC   412587904.