Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 52 (1) 2024   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.1.058-069

Annotation:  Origin of Neanderthals. Neanderthals of the Altai: Myth or Reality? The Origin of Biogenic Horizons in the Pleistocene Strata of Denisova Cave: Mineralogical and Geoche Newly Discovered Remains of a Late Upper Paleolithic Dwelling in the Northern Baikal Area: Cultural Sanctuary with “Kalguty” Style Images in Northwestern Mongolia (Preliminary Data) Pottery Traditions Among the Carriers of the Novosibirsk Variant of the Kulaika Culture: A Multidis Origin and Date of Cast-Iron Moldboards from Southern Siberia The Wanyan Digunai (Wanyan Zhong, Esikui) Funerary Complex in Primorye Cultural Horizons at the Uyelgi Cemetery Mound 11, Southeastern Urals Types of Construction Nails from Markul, Abkhazia (Based on Metallographic Analysis) A Log Structure in the Northern Palisade of Fort Umrevinsky An Archaeobotanical Study of the Bukhta Nakhodka Fort, the Yamal Peninsula (13th to Early 14th Centu Archaeological and Anthropological Study on the Grave of Eunuch-Offi cial Couple Serving for a Royal Traditional Bow of the Selenga Buryats (Based on a 2019 Field Study)   

Sanctuary with “Kalguty” Style Images in Northwestern Mongolia
(Preliminary Data)

V.I. Molodin¹, N. Batbold², L.V. Zotkina¹, D.V. Cheremisin¹, and Y.V. Nenakhova¹

¹Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

²Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Peace Avenue, MAS building-1, Ulaanbaatar, 13330, Mongolia

This article presents the first results of a detailed study of a key rock art site with the earliest petroglyphs in the Mongolian Altai—Baga-Oigur-5 (Right Bank). Basic data on its location, the surrounding environment, etc. are provided. The main groups of petroglyphs are characterized and attributed. The most numerous group, that of the “Kalguty ” style, is examined in detail. This style was previously attributed by the current authors to the Final Upper Paleolithic. Bronze Age and medieval petroglyphs are also present at the site. The most informative panels show single horses, bulls, sheep, and deer rendered in the “Kalguty” style, as well as compositions including these animals. Among the earliest local rock art, for the first time, a nonfigurative sign has been found, resembling a grid, connected with the figure of a horse in a manner that is typical of prehistoric art. The analysis of a multilayered composition—one of the most important—confirms the hypothesis that “Kalguty” style petroglyphs predate the Bronze Age. The unusual natural context of Baga-Oigur-5 (Right Bank) is addressed in detail: a restricted area with available flat rock surfaces standing out against a background landscape with convex boulders. The arrangement of rock carvings within the site is unusual: animal figures on various surfaces combine in a nearly compositional manner. A tentative conclusion is made that the site was a sanctuary.

Keywords: Rock art, petroglyphs, palimpsest, “Kalguty” style, Baga-Oigur-5 (Right Bank), Mongolian Altai