Old Tuareg Hoggar Talisman – TERAOUT – Algeria

Silver on an iron sheet; copper decorations; leather strap. Weight: 42.5 g (1.50 oz). Dimensions: 12.5 cm high × 13.8 cm wide (4.92 × 5.43 in).

These large pectorals, tera (singular: teraout), are particularly appreciated by Tuareg women of the Hoggar–Tassili region.

The Tuareg people inhabit a vast territory covering much of the central and western Sahara and extending into the north-central Sahel. They are generally considered descendants of ancient Libyan populations, possibly linked to the Garamantes described by Herodotus. Traditionally nomadic or semi-nomadic, Tuareg groups played a major role in the trans-Saharan caravan trade for over two millennia, linking the cities along the southern margins of the Sahara with the Mediterranean coast through established desert routes.

scon