Early Iron Age Imageries on the Greater Karatau Petroglyphs

This article examines the results of research conducted by the authors on the petroglyphs of the Greater Karatau ridge. 16 objects were selected for this study. The materials character-istic of the fi ne arts of the Early Iron Age are published. The area of the monuments and the number of petroglyphs vary, and the chronological framework of some monuments ranges from the Neolithic period (VII–III millennia BC) to the Late Middle Ages (XIV–XVIII cen-turies). Among the Saka-Scythian ‘trinity’ there are motifs depicted in the ‘animal style’, which form the basis of rock arts. The development of this style is noted to have infl uenced the stylistic and even thematic compositions of the local Bronze Age. This perspective off ers new insights into the issues on origins, chronology, and regional variations of the animal style within Saka-Scythian archaeology. Although the rock engravings of the southern and southwestern regions of Kazakhstan developed as a part of the general Saka-Scythian cul-ture, among them the authors can distinguish depictions evolved from local traditions. This is particularly evident in the depiction of regional fauna, where scenes featuring the Bactrian camel predominate, in contrast to the deer imagery common in eastern regions. These fea-tures indicate the correctness of the scholarly view of a polycentric animal style origin in the Saka-Scythian archeology. However, at the beginning of the I millennium BC, the fi ne art of Altai and Zhetysu had a great infl uence. The article also clearly traces the chronologi-cal limits of the Saka-Scythian petroglyphs, provides examples of applied art, and suggests alternative interpretations of some types of weapons. Among them, the authors can mention the iconographic elements such as felines which are drawn in a circle, depictions of vultures and other zoomorphic fi gures. Study of the Greater Karatau rock arts allow the authors con-sider the Ulken Karatau ridge, as a region that made a certain contribution to the formation of Saka-Scythian (Scythian-Saka) art.