Zayed National Museum Explores 7,000 Years of Camel History

The latest:

Zayed National Museum will open its inaugural temporary exhibition, Tracks Through Time: The Camel in Society, Trade and Art, in early December 2026, the museum announced through WAM. The museum describes it as the world’s first exhibition to comprehensively explore more than 7,000 years of camel history, tracing the animal’s place in the society, trade networks and creative cultures of the UAE and the wider region.

Details:

• The scope: According to the museum, the exhibition follows the camel from the earliest evidence of wild herds on Emirati land through to living traditions still practised today, covering domestication, camel-human bonds and daily life, and ending with Al Hejin camel racing and Mazayna beauty competitions.
• The oldest finds: Wild camel bones excavated at the Baynunah archaeological site in Abu Dhabi, dating to the Neolithic Period between 4,500 and 4,000 BCE, are on loan from Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, the museum said.
• A first for the public: Remains from Al Sufouh in Dubai, dating to the Bronze Age between 2,000 and 1,300 BCE, are loaned from Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. The museum said this is the first time detailed evidence of the now-extinct wild camel species will be shown publicly.
• Domestication evidence: Domesticated camel bones from the Saruq Al Hadid site in Dubai, dating to the Iron Age between 2,600 and 550 BCE, also come from Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. The museum said these remains offer some of the earliest evidence worldwide for the taming and rearing of camels.
• The director: Peter Magee, Director of Zayed National Museum, said the exhibition reflects a mission to “deepen understanding of the UAE through original research and meaningful public engagement,” and described it as grounded in the latest scientific research and built through collaboration.
• Object highlights: Displays include a rare children’s book from the 1840s detailing camel species and their uses, rock art from Fujairah depicting camels some 3,000 years ago, and representations of camels on UAE postage stamps across the years.
• Sound and film: Audiovisual sections will carry rare archival photography and film footage alongside recordings of Taghrooda and Alheda’a, or camel calling, oral traditions inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, plus oral testimonies from camel herders and community members.
• Around the show: A public programme of workshops, activities, tours and family sessions will run alongside the exhibition, together with a standalone retail offering inspired by its themes. The museum did not give an exact opening date, a closing date, or ticket details.

Background:

Zayed National Museum is the UAE’s national museum project in Abu Dhabi, built around the story of the country and its founder. Tracks Through Time is its first temporary exhibition, following the permanent galleries that define the institution’s core narrative.

Between the lines:

The loan list is as notable as the objects: material from Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and Dubai Culture and Arts Authority placed in one show points to cross-emirate institutional cooperation. The arc the museum describes, running from Neolithic wild camel bones to Mazayna beauty competitions, frames archaeology and present-day camel culture as a single continuous story rather than separate subjects.

What’s next

The opening in early December 2026 is the next marker, along with the museum’s release of a precise date, ticketing arrangements and the schedule for the accompanying workshops, tours and family programme.