O. V. KOVALEVA
Minusinsk Regional Museum of Local Lore

60 Lenin St., Minusinsk, 662608, Russia

E-mail:kovalevahmk@mail.ru

Introduction

Art as a phenomenon of human culture is outside the chronological framework. It outlives its creators for centuries and millennia.

Artistic images, appearing at certain moments in history, become a vivid expression of the spiritual needs of the era. Having been imprinted in people's memory and corresponding to their worldview, they are reproduced and duplicated with minor variations. So style and canon are born-a kind of markers of culture. Within the whole epoch, gradual changes in images and technical means of their reproduction become noticeable, various artistic elements are complemented and excluded. At the same time, only the inner essence of art remains unchanged, expressed in a peculiar, unique style of the era.

Only in the context of a paradigm shift are the ideals of the past purposefully rejected, the style is transformed, and new images are formed. It is this shift that defines the boundary that divides all aspects of culture into two time periods - before and after. Monuments that capture the features of this antagonism can serve as invaluable chronological indicators.

Object characteristics

In the Khakass-Minusinsk basin, there are many monuments with recycled slabs. Of particular importance is the study of burials with drawings on slabs that have become building materials. They were most often used in the construction of elite complexes in Scythian times to emphasize the grandeur of the structure being built. Often, sandstone slabs covered with images from earlier eras were used for the same purpose.

One of the most interesting monuments is the Barsuchy Log mound, which was comprehensively studied in 2004-2005 by the joint Russian - German (German Archaeological Institute-Khakass State University)research group. an archaeological expedition*.

Barsuchy Log mound is one of the largest excavated graves of the Scythian era in the Khakass-Minusinsk basin (Ust-Abakan district of the Republic of Khakassia). The time of construction, determined by material finds and design features, corresponds to the Saragashen stage of Tatar culture (IV-III centuries BC, according to the chronology of E. B. Vadetskaya)**.

The mound was surrounded by a well-preserved square fence measuring 54×54 m. It is composed of horizontally laid slabs (Fig. 1). Massive sandstone slabs placed on the edge were used as facing. The fence is divided into sectors, separated from each other by intermediate stelae. A thorough study of the design features of the mound allowed us to establish,

* I would like to express my sincere gratitude to G. Parzinger, A. Nagler, and A. I. Gottlieb for the opportunity to publish their research results.

** The date is conditional, and it may change in the direction of aging during radiocarbon dating, in which case you will have to revise the chronological definitions for slabs used for the second time.

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that most of the fence lining slabs are recycled stelae. They have a characteristic shape, smoothed surface, traces of windiness on the ends, and some of them have incorrectly oriented images of people and animals.

The study of the mound continues; at the moment, 28 slabs and vertical stelae with petroglyphs have been found. On the eastern wall there are nine, on the southern - 11, on the western - three, on the northern - five slabs (Fig. 2). All the fence slabs placed on the edge were reinforced with buttresses for strength.

A thorough analysis of the images gave interesting results and allowed us to raise a number of problems concerning the origin of the plates with drawings.

On the territory of the Minusinsk basin, there are quite a lot of monumental monuments of Okunevsky art. Stone stelae with fantastic disguises were an integral part of the local landscape. Scientists have proved that these monuments had an independent cult significance and were erected in accordance with the ritual practice associated with the solar and lunar cycles (Leont'ev and Kapel'ko, 2002). However, most of the Okunevsky statues known to us were found in the monuments of later epochs. They are most often found as corner and intermediate stelae in the mounds of the Tagar period and on the monuments of the Chaatas era. Thus, the cult Okunev stelae were often used as building materials by the bearers of inoculature traditions.

It is believed that with the disappearance of the Okunevites, the tradition of erecting monumental pictorial monuments was interrupted. Their closest analogs (deer stones) appeared on the territory of Mongolia, Tuva, and Altai already in the Pre-Scythian period (Volkov, 2002, pp. 21-23). It is also believed that there was nothing like this in the Minusinsk basin. However, the huge number of already used stelae in the fence of the Barsuchy Log mound leads to certain reflections. It is not clear where the creators of the mound could get such a large number of plates with drawings? Based on the available research material and our own observations, we can make two assumptions. First, the mound builders deliberately destroyed earlier burials dating back to the Late Bronze Age and the early stage of Tatar culture. Monuments were looted and partially destroyed. All materials suitable for construction were reused during the construction of the structure. These could include plates with drawings. Second, pre-existing stelae were used in the construction. In this case, the pictorial monuments of the Late Bronze Age and early Iron Age suffered the fate of Okunevsky stone sculptures. This hypothesis is confirmed by the shape of the tiles placed on the edge. Their lower level-

Fig. 1. Fragment of the fence of the Barsuchy Log mound.

2. Plan of the fence of the Barsuchy Log mound. a -slabs with petroglyphs; b-stelae with petroglyphs; c-stelae without petroglyphs.

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the lower part is much narrower than the upper and middle parts. It is usually not filled with images. The original purpose of the stelae remains a mystery, but one thing is clear-they were not placed in funerary monuments: none of the burials of the Late Bronze Age have stelae of the appropriate size (or indeed vertical stelae in general), and they are extremely rare in Early Scythian mounds.

In connection with the latter assumption, it is appropriate to introduce our own observations made on untilled land in Khakassia (Chazy-Pokhayakh Pad, 7 km northeast of Charkov ulus). There, in the foothills, a chain from west to east at a distance of approx. Single stone stelae without drawings stretch 1 km from each other. High flat slabs of a specific shape are dug into the ground and reinforced with buttresses. Their date has not been determined, but by indirect signs (the shape, the presence of buttresses, which appeared as a design feature only at the end of the Late Bronze Age, at the Kamennolozhsky stage), they can be attributed to the turn of the late Bronze and early Iron epochs. The location of the stelae on undeveloped land suggests that the tradition of erecting such monumental monuments did not disappear after the extinction of the Okunev culture, but continued to exist in a slightly modified form. Similar stelae, but already with drawings, were pointed out by I. Aspelin (see [Appelgren-Kivalo, 1931, Add. 110, 217]). It is likely that some of the stele plates in the fence of the Barsuchy Log mound are of the same origin.

Attention is drawn to the nature of the plots and images depicted on the tiles. People in mushroom-shaped headdresses, deer with bent legs, a goat in the Arjan-Mayemir style-all this is evidence of the strong influence of Central Asian traditions. Badger Log is probably one of the few monuments that contain so many visual variants that are not typical for the Minusinsk basin. In this regard, it is appropriate to mention deer stones. The literature has repeatedly noted images identified in the Minusinsk basin that are similar in style to the drawings on deer stones [Savinov, 1976, p.60-61; 1993, p. 69]. Substantial elements of the style, according to D. G. Savinov, were realized here on monuments that differ in appearance from the plate with images of the Late Bronze Age (Savinov, 1993, p. 69). In the light of the new data, it is possible to speak with a greater degree of confidence about the existence of a tradition very close to the tradition of erecting deer stones. The massive stelae of the Barsuchy Log mound, which were used for a second time, are a confirmation of this.

In terms of plot, deer stones can be divided according to the presence of two main content elements: one of them is the image of a male warrior embodied in a schematic three-dimensional image, the other is a carefully designed image of an animal, ungulate or predator. These images are also captured on some slabs of the Barsuchy Log mound. But here the schematic figures of men are not three-dimensional, but flat, ungulates are shown in a more realistic manner and occupy a leading place in the structure of the composition.

The chronological framework of the pictorial monuments of the elite Scythian burial site is quite wide: from the Late Bronze Age to the Hunno-Sarmatian period and the Middle Ages. The latest petroglyphs apparently appeared after the construction of the mound. The most informative, in my opinion, are monuments whose elements bear traces of secondary use. They allow you to accurately determine the upper chronological boundary.

Among these elements, there are several slabs of exceptional interest. On one wall plate with signs of secondary use (inverted animal figures, stele-like shape, etc.) there are stylistically heterogeneous images. Among them, the earliest is the central figure of a huge ram. It is distinguished by a deep polished contour, elaborate details and static posture of the animal. The thoroughness with which this large image is made indicates the significance of the drawing. According to its stylistic parameters, it is difficult to attribute it to a specific, chronologically defined version. The image clearly does not correspond to the early stage of the Late Bronze Age, but rather to the Early Scythian time. However, some features do not allow us to clearly determine the chronological affiliation of the drawing. The large size, polished contour, static posture, lack of decorative elements in the design of the body, etc. - all this is more typical for the period of the origin of the tradition of Scythian art. The instability of the "iconographic standard" has always accompanied critical and" borderline " epochs. In this case, the last stage of the Late Bronze Age is probably represented.

Inside the body of a large ungulate, a small figure of a "cub" is shown with its legs tucked under its stomach. The position of the limbs here should be interpreted not as a stylistic, but as a semantic feature, implying the position of the embryo in the womb. In the free space under the body of the central figure, a small neat image of a goat with elements of a volute-like decorative finishing of the animal's rump is inscribed. The drawing fully corresponds to Kano-

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3. Zoomorphic images of the end of the Late Bronze Age. 1-Bychikha (Sovetova and Miklashevich, 1999, p. 61, Table 4); 2-Lisichya (Kovaleva, 2005, Fig. 3]; 3 - Badger Log.

It is an example of early Scythian art and is made in the Arjan-Mayemir traditions [Savinov, 1998, p. 135-136]. The image of the goat was applied to the slab much later than the central figure. This is evidenced by a clear stylistically defined date and spatial subordination of the figure to the main image of the ram.

The same conclusions can be drawn about the upper images of horses and deer. The silhouettes of these animals are less prominent. They are barely visible on the surface. The drawings are made in a "developed" Scythian style, which is dated by some researchers to the VI-IV centuries BC (Sher, 1980, pp. 250-251). The characteristic setting of the legs ("sudden stop pose", or the limbs tucked under the body), the outline of the body, and the stylization of figures are features of a certain pictorial canon characteristic of the established style of the Tatar culture of the Minusinsk basin.

Anthropomorphic figures differ in image technique and style, but they are united by the extreme simplicity of transmitting the image of a person. The same idea of schematization is implemented on deer stones.

Thus, on the stele in the fence of the Barsuchy Log mound, used for the second time, there are at least three groups of drawings that differ in chronological affiliation. The earliest petroglyphs, which are not subject to unambiguous dating within the Scythian epoch, should probably be attributed to the Kamennolozhsky stage of the Karasuk culture. It would be logical to assume that it was at this stage that the traditions were born, on the basis of which Scythian art later emerged. It was at this time that bronze products with zoomorphic finials, new design features of funerary structures (a more massive fence, the use of buttresses), as well as images that go beyond the Varchinsky style appeared. As a rule, researchers refer such petroglyphs to Karasuk or Early Scythian art, while noting the underformed classical style (Savinov, 1998, p. 135). Such drawings have their own characteristics. They are made in a more realistic manner and this differs from the stylized Tatar and schematic Karasuk ones. Animals in the drawings of the Kamennolozhsky stage are distinguished by long limbs and a three-dimensional sub-rectangular body. Such images, as a rule, show the influence of the Varchinsky pictorial tradition; it is expressed in a certain angularity and geometrization of forms. This type of image probably includes the fourth group of Karasuk petroglyphs identified by O. S. Sovetova and E. A. Miklashevich on the town of Bychikha (Sovetova and Miklashevich, 1999, p. 61, Table 4). Researchers note certain features of similarity of some figures with images on deer stones [Miklashevich, 2004, p. 20]. The same group should probably include bull figures in a composition with objects of unknown purpose on the Lisichya River (Kovaleva, 2005, p. 127, Fig. 3).

The image of a large ungulate on the slab of the fence surrounding the Barsuchy Log mound belongs to the same type (Fig. 3). It is a special monument of creativity of people of different eras. The absence of traces of overlapping animal images on it allows us to suggest the cultural continuity of their creators. Obviously, for a long time the cult-significant stelae were updated taking into account the original plan. At the Saragashen stage of Tatar culture (i.e., at the time of the construction of the mound), the stele was pulled out of the ground and used as a building material. It was turned over, placed on an edge, supported by buttresses and turned into a slab of the mound fence.

The large number of plates with images on the monument Badger Log certainly indicates that the creators of the mound attached some importance to these building elements. Incorrect orientation of the tiles indicates rather a pejorative attitude towards them. Most of the plates with the images were made long before the construction of the mound and were not intended for use in construction.

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4. A slab in the southern part of the fence of the Barsuchy Log mound with the image of people in mushroom-shaped headdresses.

a funeral ritual. Probably, during the construction of the monument, purposefully searched for plates with drawings for the design of the facade of the fence. The mound fence is supported by buttresses; if there are images on the slab, then small thin tiles are laid between it and the buttress to prevent damage to the petroglyphs.

During the search for plates with images, the builders of the mound often came across stelae with drawings that chronologically fall outside the Scythian era. One such slab was located in the southern wall of the fence. Only a fragment of the composition has been preserved on the slab, the rest of the surface is randomly scored with dots, and an anthropomorphic image in the Tagar style is applied on top of them (Fig. 4). The slab shows signs of secondary use. Among the surviving drawings, we should highlight the figures of archers in mushroom-shaped headdresses. What is striking is their complete correspondence to the Central Asian samples that were widely distributed in the Late Bronze Age (Devlet, 2004, p.28). On the territory of the Minusinsk basin, images of people in mushroom hats are very rare. Single images were found only in the largest petroglyph localities on the middle Yenisei, such as Oglakhty III, Ust-Tuba III, Boyary-Abakan-Perevoz (Rusakova, 2005, p. 189). Unlike most Central Asian images, the local ones don't have clubs, leather bags, or any other paraphernalia. In addition, the headdress is relatively small in size [Ibid.]. Petroglyphs on the fence plates of the Barsuchy Log mound are still the only ones that fully correspond to the Central Asian samples (Fig. 5). The images found here are:-

5. Images of archers wearing mushroom hats. 1 - 3-Badger's Log; 4, 5-Mongolia (according to [Jacobson, Kubarev, Tseveendorj, 2001, fig. 489,1165]); 6, 7-Tuva (according to [Devlet, 2004, Fig. 12]).

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6. Anthropomorphic images on a slab in the southern part of the mound fence (drawing).

nicks with mushroom-shaped hats mark the northernmost part of the range of this canonical image.

The plate also has a clear image of an animal in the Varchinsky style. This pictorial tradition is typical for petroglyphic art of the late Bronze Age. It is conventionally associated with the Karasuk culture of the Middle Yenisei (Leontiev, 1980, p. 69-73; Savinov, 1993, p. 69-70). Zoomorphic figures made in accordance with this tradition are extremely schematic, the torso is depicted in one line. A special feature of these images is the upturned head with two small dashes-ears. In terms of technique, the figure is similar to anthropomorphic images in mushroom hats. This confirms the version that the latter belong to the Late Bronze Age, more specifically, to the Karasuk time.

There are also Tagar anthropomorphic images on the slab. They are distinguished by their style and technique of execution. Some figures are extremely schematic, refined, others are more rough and heavy, not detailed, applied over the clogged part of the slab.

Similar figures mixed with earlier ones were found on another slab of the southern wall (Fig. 6). Its surface is covered with various drawings. The earliest are numerous engravings that are not united in content. A huge number of anthropomorphic images are stamped on top of them, forming bizarre chains. The figures of people are not separated from each other. Located one under the other, they merge into a single tree structure. The images are not stylistically uniform. Among them, there are probably earlier ones that convey the figures of people with a sub-triangular torso and wide-spaced straight legs. A few faint figures with their feet turned to one side also appeared here, most likely a little earlier than the others. These petroglyphs are stylistically very different from all the others on this plate; they are more closely related to the images on the Karasuk plate of the time.

According to the chronological heterogeneity of images, the Barsuchy Log mound is a unique monument. His" gallery " of drawings impresses with a variety of styles. In this sense, the monument can only be compared with large cult complexes of petroglyphs on high mountains, such as the Oglakhty, Lisichya, Boyary Mountains, etc. Unlike other monuments on the territory of the Khakass-Minusinsk basin, the mound contains a large number of images that are directly influenced by Central Asian traditions.

On the north and south plates at the eastern entrance, scenes are depicted, the main character of which is a red deer. The drawings are printed on the inside of the entrance slabs and are located opposite each other. The animal on the northern entrance plate is shown in accordance with the Scythian tradition with its legs bent under its belly. Contour drawing

7. Stylistic analogs of the image of a deer on the southern plate of the entrance to the fence of the Barsuchy Log mound. 1, 2-Mongolia (Jacobson, Kubarev, Tseveendorj, 2001, fig. 976); 3 - Badger Log.

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it is distinguished by its pretentiousness. The body of the animal is decorated with a spiral curl, the head is crowned with large branched horns. The triangular ear and eye are shown. The characteristic pose and decorative elements make it possible to compare the image with bronze deer plaques, which became widespread during the heyday of Tatar culture. Direct analogs of this image of a deer on the territory of the Khakass-Minusinsk basin have not yet been identified. The special pretentiousness of the pattern, the presence of a curl on the croup, and the thoroughness of working out the details are more characteristic of Central Asian traditions. Researchers have repeatedly noted the influence of Scythian art on Tatar images of the tribes of Mongolia and Altai (Sovetova and Miklashevich, 1999, p.63). This influence is also demonstrated by the image of a deer made on the southern entrance plate. 7). Its analogs can be found among the Bagaoigurian images of ungulates (Jacobson, Kubarev, Tseveendorj, 2001, p. 384, fig. 976). The same iconographic canon and the same visual means are used on deer stones in Central Asia.

Both images of deer on the Badger Log slabs are made in traditions that are alien to the territory of the Minusinsk Basin. They represent two completely different figures that differ from each other stylistically. The manner of their performance is not typical of the finale, but rather of the heyday of Tagar culture. Therefore, the drawings did not appear at the same time. Since the slabs are located opposite each other at the entrance of the burial structure fence, they certainly carry a special semantic load and did not appear here by chance. It can be assumed that at first only one slab with the image of a deer was found, and later on another slab of the appropriate size, another deer figure was knocked out of the "love of symmetry". It overlaps one anthropomorphic image and partially overlaps another. On the slab there are other petroglyphs of people and animals, sharply different from the figure of a deer and carved, perhaps earlier.

Conclusion

The Barsuchy Log mound is interesting not only for the described art monuments; it also contains quite interesting visual objects that need a detailed description and analysis. The large number of plates with petroglyphs suggests a peculiar phenomenon of the Barsuchy Log mound. Until now, a comprehensive study of the pictorial material of elite burial sites of the Scythian period has not been conducted. An example of the analysis of the identified findings shows the prospects of such a study.

List of literature

Volkov V. V. Olennye kamony Monoglii [Olenny stones of Mongolia], Moscow: Nauch. mir Publ., 2002, 248 p.

Devlet M. A. Stone "compass" in the Sayan canyon of the Yenisei (stone with the image of the "road" at the foot of Mount Ustyu-Mozaga). Moscow: Nauch. mir Publ., 2004, 88 p. (in Russian)

Kovaleva O. V. Petroglyphs of Mount Lisichya // Mir naskalnogo iskusstva: Sb. dokl. International Conference, Moscow, 2005, pp. 125-128.

Leont'ev N. V. Kolesnyj transport epochy bronzy na Yenisei [Wheel transport of the Bronze Age on the Yenisei]. Abakan: Khakniiyali Publishing House, 1980, pp. 65-81.

Monuments of rock art of Central Asia: Public participation, management, conservation, documentation. - Almaty: UNESCO; Republic of Science and Research. and the project, in-T. Monuments material, kul'tury Min-va kul'tury Kazakhstana, 2004, pp. 15-28.

Rusakova I. D. Petroglyphs of the Late Bronze Age of the Boyary-Abakan-Perevoz petroglyphic complex / / Archeology of Southern Siberia: Ideas, Methods, Discoveries. Krasnoyarsk: Krasnoyarsky State University. ped. un-T., 2005, pp. 188-189.

Savinov D. G. K voprosu o khronologii i semantike izobrazheniy na plitakh ogradakh tatarskikh kurganov (po materialam mogilnikov u gori Turan) [On the issue of chronology and semantics of images on slabs of fences of Tatar mounds (based on materials of burial grounds near Mount Turan)]. Kemerovo: Kem. gosudarstvennogo unta Publ., 1976, pp. 52-72.

Savinov D. G. Images of the Bronze Age on slabs from mounds in the south of the Minusinsk basin // Modern problems of studying petroglyphs. Kemerovo: Kem. state University Press, 1993, pp. 61-87.

Savinov D. G. Karasuk tradition and "Arzhano-Mayemir" style // Ancient Cultures of Central Asia and St. Petersburg: Proceedings of the All-Russian Scientific Conference, vol. 70th anniversary of the birth of A.D. Grach. St. Petersburg, 1998, pp. 132-136.

Sovietova O. S., Miklashevich E. A. Khronologicheskie i semanticheskie osobennosti sredneeniseyskikh petroglyphs (po rezul'tam raboty Petroglyphicheskogo otruga Yuzhnosibirskoi arkheologicheskoi expeditsii KemGU) [Chronological and semantic features of the Middle Yenisei Petroglyphs (based on the results of the work of the Petroglyphic Detachment of the South Siberian Archaeological Expedition of KemSU)]. Kemerovo: Nikals Publ., 1999, pp. 47-74.

Sher Ya. A. Petroglyphs of Central and Central Asia, Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1980, 328 p.

Appelgren-Kivalo J. Altaische Kunstdenkmahler. - Helsinki: Helsingfors K. F. Puromies Buchdruckerei A. G., 1931. - 72 S.

Jacobson E., Kubarev V., Tseveendorj D. Mongolie du Nord-Ouest: Tsagaan Slaa/Baga Oigor: en 21. - P.: De Boccard, 2001. - 481 p., 1318 figs. - (Repetoire des Petroglyphes d'Asie Centrale; N 6).

Leont'ev N. V., Kapel'ko V. F. Steinstelen der Okunev-Kultur. - Mainz: von Zabern, 2002. - 238 S. - (Archaologie in Eurasien; Bd. 13).

The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 10.11.05.

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