Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 51 (2) 2023   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2023.51.2.049-056

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The Pisany Kamen Rock Art Site on the Angara
(Marking the Tercentenary of Its Discovery by D.G. Messerschmidt)

A.L. Zaika

Astafiev Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University, Lebedevoi 89, Krasnoyarsk, 660049, Russia

The petroglyphs at Pisany Kamen on the right bank of the Angara, near Klimino, Kezhemsky District, Krasnoyarsk Territory, first described by D.G. Messerschmidt in 1725, have been examined by many specialists. Most previous studies, however, were superficial, and the information they provided was unreliable and contradictory. To specify the site’s location and to study the petroglyphs in more detail, using more advanced methods, the archaeological team from Krasnoyarsk Pedagogical University visited Pisany Kamen in 1999-2000. A topographic survey was carried out, and the petroglyphs were photographed and copied. Both previously known and new petroglyphs were recorded, showing animals, anthropomorphic figures in masks, and a separate mask. Results were compared with those recorded by Messerschmidt. The estimated dates of the site fall within a broad interval from the Early Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age (2nd millennium BC to 1st millennium AD). The petroglyphs are relevant to various aspects of the ideology and material culture of the ancient population of the region. Their further study will hopefully disclose the semantics of many images and assess their cultural and chronological attribution, relevant to the history of several modern groups of Siberia.

Keywords: Messerschmidt, petroglyphs, Angara, horsemen, Iron Age