«BULLETIN OF THE IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY. GEOARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY, AND ANTHROPOLOGY SERIES»
ISSN 2227-2380 (Print)

List of issues > «Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series». 2015. Vol. 13

Anthropomorphic Images on the Plates of Tagar Kurgans (Tepsei Archaeological Complex)

Full text (russian)

Author(s)
O. O. Shishkina
Abstract
The article analyzes the petroglyphs on the rocks of Tagar mounds (kurgans) under the mountain Tepsei on the Yenisei which represent a separate group of pictorial sources on the history of Southern Siberia. Anthropomorphous images are painted very often. These images are varied. We meet inverses anthropomorphous images, anthropomorphous in original positions and head-dresses. These petroglyphs belong to the Tagar culture. It is mainly the so-called shape «Tagar» men. Some special images allocated among the images of Tesin time. In general, the application of the petroglyphs on the burial stones has deep semantic meaning associated with funeral rites, hence the most frequent motive – the image of a man (sometimes already dead – inverted) as the main subject of the rite. Apparently, death and strongly related rites and ceremonies played an exceptional role in the life of the Yenisei cultures for many centuries. Performing rituals burial of their loved ones, people performed rituals, during which pales mounds on the plates coated image. Some came up to us. We can only assume that tried to portray local artists. Perhaps because they portrayed themselves buried or gods of the underworld, «shamans» conducting burial rites, etc. In the future, the study of anthropomorphic images on the burial stones can open a lot of new information to researchers about the outlook of the people who belonged to the graveyard for many centuries, about the features of their mythology and ritual practice. Analysis of these images discovers the new sides of world outlook of its creators and gives the whole picture about the particular time.
Keywords
Tepsei archaeological complex, petroglyphs on rocks mounds (kurgans), anthropomorphous images
UDC
7.031.1903.53(571.51)