Zayed National Museum announces first temporary show, on 7,000 years of camel history

Centre · 2Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi has announced its first temporary exhibition, Tracks Through Time: The Camel in Society, Trade and Art, which explores more than 7,000 years of camel history. 1 2 Centre · 1It opens in early December, coinciding with the museum's first anniversary, and will be accompanied by workshops, guided tours, activities and a retail range inspired by its themes. 1 Centre · 2The show traces the camel's role in trade, society and art, from its presence in the region thousands of years ago to modern traditions such as racing and beauty competitions. 1 2

Centre · 1Highlights include the first public display of archaeological evidence of an extinct wild camel species: bones from Baynunah in Abu Dhabi dated to 4500–4000BC and Bronze Age remains from Al Sufouh in Dubai dated to 2000–1300BC. 1 Centre · 1Domesticated camel bones from Saruq Al Hadid in Dubai will also be shown; the museum describes them as some of the earliest evidence in the world of the shift from wild to domesticated camels. The artefacts are on loan from Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. 1 Centre · 2Museum director Peter Magee said the exhibition celebrates the camel's significance in Emirati culture and the wider story of the UAE, and draws on archaeological research on the relationship between humans and camels. Gulf News reports the museum says it is the first show anywhere to explore more than 7,000 years of camel history. 1 2

Centre · 2Other exhibits include 3,000-year-old rock art from Fujairah, a rare 1840s children's book on camel species and their uses, UAE postage stamps featuring camels, archival photographs and film, and oral testimonies from camel herders. 1 2 Centre · 2Recordings of Taghrooda, a form of Bedouin poetry, and Alheda'a, the practice of camel calling, will feature; both are recognised by Unesco as intangible cultural heritage. 1 2 Centre · 1Gulf News adds context from research: a 2025 UAE University study places domestication of the dromedary in south-east Arabia between 1100 and 1800 BCE, and a 2016 PNAS genetic study found wild dromedaries from Arabia's south-east coast were among the founders of the domestic camel's gene pool. 2

Centre · 1It also cites figures that the UAE camel population rose from 430,372 in 2015 to 569,527 in 2022, with almost 90 percent in Abu Dhabi, and notes that beauty contests now reward specific physical features, which the 2025 study says is driving selective breeding and higher prices. 2