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O.S. Sovetova, O.O. Shishkina (Kemerovo) – New Themes in the Tesin Rock Art of the Minusinsk Basin

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Abstract

On the base of their own field materials and previously published data, the authors analyze new images and themes that they have identified in the rock art of the Minusinsk Basin, which are related to the Tes’ era. Among them are scenes with images of snakes, anthropomorphic figures sitting in an “oriental” pose, as well as with hairstyles, headdresses, and small horns on their heads. Scenes with images of profile birds (bustard (Otis tarda) /dudak) were also identified on such rock art sites as Tepsey, Sulfatskaya, Abakano-Perevoz, Sosniha, Sulek, etc. This character was not found in other eras on rock art sites of the Minusinsk Basin, and it is possible that it can be considered a marker of this era. It has been suggested that the anthropomorphic character holding a snake in his hands, depicted on one of the burial mounds of the Tepsey burial ground, may be associated with an underground cult. Among the design elements of the heads of automorphic figures of the Tesinsky layer, a new series of images with hairstyles in the form of a “ball” was revealed, as well as headdresses of the ‘bowler’ type or hats with small brims, often with a vertically placed feather, and / or a braid. The diversity of headdresses can be partly explained by the need to emphasize one or another character, in particular, a leader on a hunt or an actor, a participant in some ritual actions, possibly a funeral feast. It is suggested that characters with “horns” on their heads can be associated with the mythical horned character of the Xiongnu (by analogy with the one known from the images on the handles of the Abakan Palace), who, according to Yu.N. Esin, could be the patron or ancestor of the Xiongnu.

Keywords

Petroglyphs, rock art, Tes’ era, semantics.

Olga S. Sovetova, Kemerovo State University, Kemerovo, Russia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Olga O. Shishkina, Kemerovo State University, Kemerovo, Russia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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