Zayed National Museum will open its first temporary exhibition in early December 2026, a show dedicated to more than 7,000 years of camel history that the museum is billing as the most comprehensive of its kind ever staged.
Titled Tracks Through Time: The Camel in Society, Trade and Art, the exhibition traces the animal’s presence in the UAE from wild populations in the Neolithic Period through to Al Hejin racing and Mazayna beauty competitions practised today.
Among the standout objects are wild camel bones excavated at Baynunah in Abu Dhabi, dating to between 4,500 and 4,000 BCE, on loan from Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi.
Remains from Al Sufouh in Dubai, dating to the Bronze Age (2,000–1,300 BCE), are loaned from Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. The museum says this is the first time detailed evidence of the now-extinct wild camel species will be shown publicly.
Domesticated camel bones from Saruq Al Hadid in Dubai, dating to the Iron Age (2,600–550 BCE), also feature. According to the museum, these offer some of the earliest evidence anywhere in the world for the taming and rearing of wild camels.
“We are excited to present our first temporary exhibition, which celebrates the camel’s profound significance in Emirati culture and the broader story of the UAE. Tracks Through Time: The Camel in Society, Trade and Art represents our mission at Zayed National Museum to deepen understanding of the UAE through original research and meaningful public engagement. Grounded in the latest scientific research and built through collaboration, the exhibition traces the unique archaeological evidence for the presence of wild camels in the UAE thousands of years ago, initial camel domestication in the UAE, camel-human bonds and daily life, culminating in the prestige of Al Hejin camel racing and Mazayna beauty competitions,” Dr Peter Magee, Director of Zayed National Museum said in a statement.
Other objects include a rare children’s book from the 1840s cataloguing camel species, rock art from Fujairah dating approximately 3,000 years, and camel imagery from UAE postage stamps across different eras.
Audiovisual elements will feature archival photography, film footage, and recordings of Taghrooda and Alheda’a – camel-calling oral traditions inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list – alongside testimonies from camel herders and community members.
A public programme of workshops, tours, and family activities will run alongside the exhibition, together with a dedicated retail offering themed to the show.
