This photo taken on March 31, 2011 shows a Somalian archaeolgist pointing to a primitive rock painting, one of a galaxy of colourful animal and human sketches to adorn the caves in the rocky hills of this arid wilderness in northern Somalia, in Laas Geel, home to Africa's earliest known and most pristine rock art. In ten caves in Laas Geel, Somali for 'camel watering hole', outside Hargeisa, the capital of Somalia's self-declared Somaliland state, vivid depictions afford a peek at a pastoralist history dating back some 5,000 years or more. The paintings were discovered in 2002 by a French archeology team and have since been protected to stem looting after their value became apparent to locals who previously feared they were the work of evil spirits.The cave galleries provide a peek into the little known history of this part of the world, which in recent times has mostly been famous for bloody conflicts and instability. AFP PHOTO/Tony KARUMBA (Photo credit should read TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images)
This photo taken on March 31, 2011 shows a Somalian archaeolgist pointing to a primitive rock painting, one of a galaxy of colourful animal and human sketches to adorn the caves in the rocky hills of this arid wilderness in northern Somalia, in Laas Geel, home to Africa's earliest known and most pristine rock art. In ten caves in Laas Geel, Somali for 'camel watering hole', outside Hargeisa, the capital of Somalia's self-declared Somaliland state, vivid depictions afford a peek at a pastoralist history dating back some 5,000 years or more. The paintings were discovered in 2002 by a French archeology team and have since been protected to stem looting after their value became apparent to locals who previously feared they were the work of evil spirits.The cave galleries provide a peek into the little known history of this part of the world, which in recent times has mostly been famous for bloody conflicts and instability. AFP PHOTO/Tony KARUMBA (Photo credit should read TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images)
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First Posted: 02/ 8/2012 5:14 pm Updated: 02/ 9/2012 12:59 pm