While working on this week's livecast on Ancient Sahara , I found more photos of the very old petroglyphs of women at the Dakhleh Oasis in the far eastern Sahara (western desert of Egypt).

Prominent among them are abstract figures of very wide-hipped women, wearing waist beads (a very long throughline in African history, up to the present) and fan-like headdresses. I've seen estimates that these date to 7000 bce, or even older. 

Another example: Three very abstract women, one in feather headdress with waist beads or other hip ornamentation, at what one source described as an "altar-site" (Q640) in the eastern part of the Dakhleh Oasis. What look like shields are interpreted, in light of other finds, as sandals added much later, in dynastic times. (But placed as if they are shields).

This very abstract style, with narrow upper body and wide hips, heavy legs, is common at Dakhleh.

The figures above are abstracted to even more geometric shapes, the hips and lower body extended to the point that they appear like centaurs. Layered over the older giraffes is a Seth animal added by ancient Egyptians.

This photo isn't the best angle to see the petroglyphs on this ground boulder, but it looks like more female figures.

Three seated women.

There are also lots of vulva petroglyphs at Dakhleh.

The swastika on this one is many thousands of years later than the vulvas, but still ancient.