Abstract
The article analyzes rock art compositions depicting peculiar horsemen with two-pronged “forks” in their hands, and raises the question of their possible use as fi ghting weapons during the Tes stage of the Tagar culture, which was a time of global changes in the Minusinsk Basin. A composition from the destroyed Lnishchenskaya rock art site, which was reconstructed by E.A. Miklashevich using A.V. Adrianov’s archive materials, shows a scene of hunting with such peculiar two-pronged “forks” – a traditional agricultural tool. E.A. Miklashevich suggested that that they were used as hunting weapons (in chase of some animals, which can hardly be defi ned and specifi ed). The authors of this article raise the question whether these “forks” could be used as battle weapons. Similar horsemen form a separate independent group, and can be found on other sites: in battle scenes holding some other weapons or without weapons. Yet, the figure of a horsemen with a similar “fork” was found at Ust-Tuba III, and an anthropomorphic figure standing with a vertically positioned “fork” in his hand was discovered at Tepsei II; in both cases the purpose and the usage of “forks” is not obvious. The analysis of the battle scenes from the sites of the Minusinsk Basin (Bychikha, Kunya, Sukhanikha, Tepsey, Ust-Tuba, AbakanoPerevoz, Sunduki, etc.) allows making the assumption that while other types of battle weapons such as hammers, axes, spears, and bows were weapons of death (the vanquished kneeling in front of the enemy, asking for mercy, raising their hands, lying in anticipation of a fatal blow, etc.), the “forks” could be used to infl ict non-fatal wounds with the aim of capturing rather than killing the enemy (Abakano-Perevoz).
Keywords
Rock art, Minusinsk Basin, Tes stage, weapons, battle scenes, hunting scenes.
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