Interpretation of ancient rock carvings of the Chita region (Trans-Baikal Territory)

Yachmenev Oleg Yurievich ORCID: 0000-0001-5761-129X Graduate student; Humanities Institute; Siberian Federal University 79 Svobodny Ave., Krasnoyarsk Territory, 660041, Russia yachmenev.oleh@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction. Interpretation is perhaps the most difficult part of the research related to the work of ancient man. This is determined by the ambiguity of the plots, their, for the most part, ritual character. If, when studying ancient civilizations such as Egypt, China or Mesopotamia, there are a huge number of written sources testifying to the way of life, economy and religion of peoples, then with a society whose life depends on constant movement from one pasture to another, the situation is somewhat different due to the lack of sources other than those found by archaeologists as a result of many years of excavations.

The first attempts to interpret the rock carvings of Transbaikalia were made by N. P. Okladnikov and V. D. Zaporozhskaya in the two-volume monograph "Petroglyphs of Transbaikalia" ^[20]. Later, A. I. Mazin presented a detailed cultural description in the works "Taiga writings of the Amur region" ^[17] and "Ancient Sanctuaries of the Amur Region" ^[16]. We also note the contribution to the attempt to interpret and date the rock paintings by A. V. Tivanenko ^[24], N. N. Kochmar ^[9] and others. However, no such studies have been conducted specifically with regard to the writings of the Chita region.

A brief description of the monuments. More than 270 archaeological sites are known on the territory of the Chita district, including the city of Chita. A significant part of the famous archaeological sites of the area is represented by ancient settlements and sites, as well as numerous burials. They are located in the valleys of the Ingoda and Chitinka rivers, as well as on the shores of the Ivano-Arakhlei lakes, Kenon and Ugdan lakes. A notable feature of the area is the presence of a large number of rock art sites. This work will include information about all the rock art monuments of the Chita region, known for 2023.

There are 9 identified rock art monuments on the territory of the Chita district, characterized by varying degrees of preservation, location, style and manner of application.

The history of the study of the writings of the Chita region is associated with such researchers as A. P. Okladnikov and A. D. Zaporozhskaya ^{[20, pp. 44-45]}, A. I. Mazin ^{[17, p. 25]}, I. I. Kirillov ^[10], M. V. Konstantinov ^{[13, pp. 12-15]}, A.V. Konstantinov ^{[11, p. 176]} and I. A. Ponomareva ^{[22, p. 88]}.

The Sochat Stone. The monument is located on Titovskaya hill. The drawings are concentrated on vertical planes at the foot of the cliff at a height of 2-6 m from the level of the Ingoda River. The writing was discovered in the 1950s by A. P. Okladnikov, who identified 8 groups of drawings made in ochre of two colors – bright red and dark red. The plot is based on anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and ornithomorphic figures, symbols, signs, lines and clusters of spots ^{[20, p. 44]}. In 2023, ZabSU students conducted a monitoring of the Sochat Stone, during which 5 new groups of images were found – spots, lines, anthropomorphic figures, fragments of drawings ^{[35, pp. 194-198]}.

Titovskaya Hill. Pisanitsa is located in the northern part of the Titovskaya hill, in a deep decay. The drawings are focused on the sheer outcrops of siliceous shale, on the left side of the gorge. The object was found by A. P. Okladnikov in the 1950s. The writings are depicted in red ochre. In total, 7 groups of drawings were identified, which represented images of signs, zoomorphs and anthropomorphs ^{[20, p. 44]}. Unfortunately, most of the drawings were destroyed as a result of stone mining ^{[17, p. 25]}. Group 5 remained completely untouched ^{[35, pp. 201-202]}.

Sukhotino-13. The object is located in the southwestern part of Titovskaya hill. The drawings are focused on a small rock mass. The monument was discovered in the 1970s. The scribbles were painted in red ochre. The central image was the figure of a large shaman. The composition also included anthropomorphic figures, lines and spots ^{[39, pp. 12-15]}. However, due to the natural impact, the panel turned out to be under whitish mineral deposits. In June 2023, students identified three new clusters of drawings: men, lines, spots, fragments ^{[35, pp. 198-200]}.

The gorge. The location is located in the deep gorge of Titovskaya hill, 700 m from Sukhotino-13 and northwest towards the garage cooperative. The monument was identified by a group of students in March 2022. 2 groups of drawings were found, made in dark red ochre and represented by images of lines, a zoomorphic figure and an amorphous spot ^{[36, pp. 229-230]}.

Smolensk rocks.The monument is located 10 km northeast of Chita, on top of an elevation with an absolute mark of 1080.8 m. Ancient drawings have been known to local historians since the early 1980s. In 2009, the writings were recorded by D.A. Pukhovskaya ^{[2, p. 268]}. The drawings are made in pale red ochre. Anthropomorphic figures, zoomorphic images, lines, spots are located on the rock plane. Most of the drawings have been preserved thanks to the natural cornice.

Palaces. The object with rock carvings is located 6 km northwest of the Dvortsovskaya group of archaeological sites, on a detached polymineral remnant, in the tract "Palaces" with an altitude of 959 m from sea level. The drawings are concentrated on the northwestern side of the rock face, on a plane with a slight slope forming a canopy. The panel (located) shows images of an animal (possibly a female elk), a shaman figure, a fantastic figure, hedges, lines, signs, ornithomorphs (possibly birds), spots and numerous fragments applied in bright red ochre ^{[33, pp. 208-211]}.

Kolochninskaya pisanitsa (Beketovskaya cave). The monument is located in the interfluve of Chernovka and Kamenka (Ingoda river basin), 2.5 km north of Kolochnoye Lake, on a small rocky massif with a deep grotto in the center, connected with the spurs of the Yablonovy Ridge. In total, 6 points with ancient drawings have been identified – groups of anthropomorphic figures, spots, lines, signs, one zoomorphic image made in dark and light red ochre ^{[34, pp. 3-11]}.

The echo. Pisanitsa is concentrated 28.5 km west of Chita, on a large polymineral rock massif associated with the Yablonsky Ridge. The drawings are located locally, at two points, on the western side, in a small cluster of fragments of figured images made in bright red ochre ^{[34, p. 3]}.

The Arachleian writings. The monument is located on a free-standing polymineral rock outcrop, in the upper reaches of the Gryaznukha River, which flows into the lake. Arachley, on the Apple Ridge. Pallasa Mountain with an absolute elevation of 1,236 m is located 4 km south-east up the slope. The object was discovered in the winter of 2023. The writings are concentrated on the eastern side of the rock. There are 3 conventional planes with ancient drawings in the grotto, which depict various symbols, signs, a figure of an animal resembling a deer and a large number of fragments made in red ochre ^{[30, p. 176]}.

The main results. The most common subjects in the rock art of the Chita region are anthropomorphic figures made in a traditional manner, ornithomorphic stylized images and zoomorphic images. There are also images of crosses, lines and spots.

Anthropomorphic figures in Transbaikalia are represented quite widely, since they are present on the planes of most monuments, including on the territory of the Chita district. According to A. P. Okladnikov and V. D. Zaporozhskaya, images of people on the territory of Transbaikalia were characteristic of two styles – Selenginsky and Lesnoy.

The Selenga style has the following features – fences of various shapes (square, rectangular, round, unfinished) filled with anthropomorphic figures, birds or spots. Birds can be depicted both inside the fence, and next to it, or next to a group of little men. Animal drawings are rare, they resemble horses or predators. Also, as the researchers note, the Selenga style is characterized by numerous conventional signs in the form of Roman letters, for example, "V" or crosses. A permanent element of this style are round and oval spots outside the fences ^{[20, pp. 64-78]}. The Sokhatinyj Kamen scribble partially fits this description, on which there are figures of people, there are birds, groups of spots, but there are no fences. If this factor is not taken into account, then according to all other signs, the Sochatina Stone can be attributed to the Selenga scribble.

The forest (taiga) style, relative to Selenginsky, is few in number, located outside the steppe territories of Transbaikalia, and is associated with the hunting life of ancient peoples. This tradition has no or almost no main feature of the Selenga steppe writings – fences. There are no horses either, their place is taken by a deer-maral, sometimes an elk-elk. A. P. Okladnikov and V. D. Zaporozhskaya developed a special formula for the Selenga and Taiga styles: Selenga style – fence + men + spots; taiga style – deer (moose) + spots, or deer + man + spots. Images of circles and crosses, as well as horizontal lines, are considered to be a frequent phenomenon ^{[20, pp. 129-130]}. The Smolensk Rocks and Palaces, partially the Arachleian and Kolochninsky scribbles fully fit this description.

V. A. Tsybiktarov notes that there are certain similarities between the forest and Selenga traditions, expressed in images common to both styles – crosses, conventional signs, animals, stripes, birds, men, spots ^{[29, p. 262]}.

It can be assumed that there were some connections between these traditions at a certain historical stage, which contributed to the appearance of similar cultural features.

A. P. Okladnikov and V. D. Zaporozhskaya identified two artistic traditions that have a similar age and date back to the second half of the II and I thousand BC. Such a conclusion was made by them on the basis of a number of observations. First, scientists have noticed that sometimes rock carvings of the Selenga style are located next to the tombs of the tile grave culture. Secondly, a Karasuk dagger was discovered in Nerchinsk, on the handle of which birds, horses and men were depicted, having analogies with images of the Selenga tradition ^{[20, pp. 79-80]}.

Grave graves In 1935-1936, G. P. Sergeev noticed that some monuments with drawings were adjacent to ancient graves (we are talking about the culture of tiled graves). Grave graves and scribbles at Sotnikovo village, he revealed the similarity of the ochre color in the grave with rock carvings ^{[19, p. 45]}. E.R. Rygdilon, in the course of work with rock carvings and tombs of tile makers, suggested the presence of common roots among the creators of ancient drawings and burial grounds of late nomads ^{[20, p. 5]}.

Y. S. Grishin also notes the relationship between the culture of tiled graves and the Selenga style. However, he notes that writings of this type were widely spread at the end of the culture of tiled graves ^{[4, p. 167]}. A.V. Tivanenko believes that the Selenga tradition arose at the final stage of the Siberian Bronze Age. In his opinion, the writings of this tradition belong to steppe pastoralists, who significantly influenced changes in worldview concepts and stimulated further creative activity, which flourished in the Early Iron Age, and continued to exist until the first centuries of our era ^{[25, pp. 55-56]}.

Drawings of the forest tradition, according to the interpretation of A. P. Okladnikov and V. D. Zaporozhskaya, coexisted with steppe ones, as evidenced by the figures of birds and deer rarely appearing in forest plots in the Scythian-Siberian stylization, characteristic in some cases of the Selenga tradition ^{[20, p. 132]}.

It follows from the above that the Selenga and forest styles were formed at the same time, in the Bronze Age, but under different conditions and lifestyles of human communities. If the Selenga style is associated with the habitat of nomadic pastoralists, as vividly evidenced by fences with filled spots, people, birds or horses, then the forest style was related to hunters (therefore this tradition is rightly called "hunting"), the peculiarity of which lies in the presence of commercial animals (maral or elk).

A similar interpretation, although with some differences, is presented by A. I. Mazin. It is based on research conducted mainly in Eastern Transbaikalia. According to the scientist, the image of a deer located in the center of the composition, which is fixed on the Arachleian scribble, dates back to the IV-III thousand BC.e., stylistically has similar features to the Byrkin and Hektan rock carvings ^{[17, pp. 106-107]}. In the III millennium BC, different types of human figures were widely distributed. As a rule, these figures are depicted in motion. Many of them, according to the scientist, are not just people, but spirits and gods of local mythology. They chase the beast, dance hand in hand, perform magical rituals (Palaces). At the turn of the Late Neolithic and Early metal, the taiga style is divided into two independent traditions, reflecting the deer scene (deer style) and hunting (hunting style).

The deer style preserves the earlier traditions of images of animals and people, but scenes appear in which human figures, boats, solar signs, animals and people walking behind them or leading them by a leash ^{[17, p. 107]}. None of this is found in the Chita region, with the exception of images on the main plane of the Smolensk Rocks, where the scene of little men following a deer is reflected.

The hunting style includes the figure of an elk, which has characteristic features: a drooping upper lip, slightly raised withers, and a flattened sternum. Horn-shaped anthropomorphs without hands are also distinguished by their characteristic features ^{[17, p. 109]}. The figure of a fantastic creature with horns is on the Palace scribble; the figure of a zooanthropomorph with horns is found on the Sochatin Stone.

During this period, the hunting style also includes other types of images – X-shaped signs, lines, spots, running and flying birds, anthropomorphic figures made in a traditional manner, figures of people running with their arms raised or extended forward, animals made stylized or realistic, masks. This tradition by the early metal era is widely spread across the Amur region and Eastern Transbaikalia ^{[17, p. 110]}.

A. I. Mazin identifies the steppe style, the specific feature of which is the presence of images of anthropomorphic figures in chains (Titovskaya Sopka), fences filled with rows of rounded spots and systematized rows consisting of rounded spots (Sokhatiny Kamen, Kolochnoye), as well as anthropomorphic figures arranged singly (Sokhatiny Kamen, Sukhotino-13, Kolochnoye, Smolenskiye Rocks), anthropomorphic figures, whose hands are additionally painted with long solid lines (Titovskaya Sopka, Smolenskiye Rocks) and a stylized image of an animal (Kolochnoe, Smolenskiye Rocks, Sokhatiny Stone). Also, this tradition includes a figure with a phallus and paired images (Kolochnoe). A. I. Mazin notes that both steppe and hunting traditions of rock paintings are inherent in the culture of tile graves. According to the scientist, the steppe style dates back to the II-I millennium BC ^{[17, pp. 114-115]}. Taiga scribbles are common throughout the taiga zone, and steppe scribbles are common in the forest–steppe zone of Eastern Transbaikalia and the Amur region ^{[17, p. 105]}.

If we take into account the research of A. I. Mazin and the chronology formulated by him, the monuments in the region we study are conditionally dated to the Neolithic era-the Bronze Age, IV-I thousand BC. In this case, the most ancient monuments can be identified as the Palace and Arachleian writings. To the metal age, in general, starting with deut. sexes. II thousand BC. e. up to the era of the Iron Age, beginning. I thousand A.D., such monuments as Sokhatinyi Kamen, Titovskaya Sopka, Sukhotino-13, etc. may belong.

As noted earlier, the most common image of the Chita region, of the most clear and well-preserved, is an anthropomorphic figure. There is no doubt that most, at least the most pronounced figures reflect the image of a person. Such drawings are found on all objects of ancient rock art in the Chita region, except for the Gorge, Echo and Arachlea (with the exception of the fantastic figure).

A. P. Okladnikov believed that the images of anthropomorphic figures arranged in a chain, holding hands, arranged in rows or a fence, is an attempt by an ancient artist to depict a group of people. It is not uncommon for human figures to be accompanied by birds in rock art. In his opinion, the ancient man, depicting birds on rocks, tried to point out the importance of the cult of birds in the ideas of the afterlife of his relatives ^{[20, pp. 65-78]}.

The cult of birds was characteristic of almost all the peoples of Siberia. They were revered in a variety of forms, and many legends and legends were composed about them. The most interesting legends about "bird deities" are found in Yakut folklore, in which birds were identified with the cult of the sun and sky. Eagles played a significant role as mighty conquerors of the sky. The cult of the eagle is found among the Olkhon Buryats. A. P. Okladnikov writes: "The image of the bird was nothing more than a prayer to heaven, and at the same time a magical formula, a spell" ^{[20, p. 123]}. Therefore, images of birds in combination with anthropomorphic figures can be interpreted not only as a "spiritual patron", but also as a totem reflecting the belief in the connection of a tribe or genus with a certain animal.

The ideas about the divine character of birds, apparently, became the basis for their further reflection on many rock art monuments, mostly in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Transbaikalia, which may indicate their predominant veneration among nomadic pastoralists, which, for example, included representatives of the culture of tiled graves ^[30]. There are two monuments in the Chita district, where there are obvious ornithological images – the Sokhatina Stone and Palaces. The amazing similarity of birds with the large wings of the Sochat Stone stretched out to the sides is found in the images of the monument Gorodovaya Utes (Buryatia) ^{[26, p. 82]}.

Reflections of totemic ideas and hunting rituals are (well) traced in the writings of Shaman Mountain, Butikha, etc. In the Chita region, its features are expressed on Palaces and Smolensk Rocks. In both cases, there are cult victims – maral and elk – sacred animals for the Evenks, Yakuts and Buryats, and, most likely, for primitive hunters. The Palaces, among other things, clearly depict a fence. Apparently, this kind of hedge was used by hunters during the corral hunt. There are similar images of hedges on Butikh ^{[23, pp. 82-85]} and Shaman Mountain ^{[14, pp. 4-8]}.

In the Neolithic era, in Yakutia, moose and deer were the main commercial animals, along with roe deer and waterfowl. The image of the moose occupies a central place in the ancient rock art of the Syalakh culture (IV thousand BC), it takes place on the Early Neolithic writings of the Lena, Olekma, Chara rivers, etc. According to A. N. Alekseev, referring to N. N. Kochmar's research, there is evidence of sacrifices of the above-mentioned animals under some writings (drawings by Sylgylyr, Appa) ^{[1, p. 47]}. According to some researchers, some of the rock art monuments were decorated by the Tungus, since the roots of this people go back to the III-II thousand BC, and proto-Tungus tribes arose at the turn of the V-VI thousand BC ^{[21, pp. 8-10]}.

Deer and elk played an important role in the life of the ancient peoples of Siberia and the Far East, not only in ritual activities, but also in everyday life. Thanks to these commercial animals, people received meat, warm skin and bone. This contributed to their further veneration as cult creatures ^{[18, p. 35]}. Therefore, images of moose and deer can be found everywhere. In Transbaikalia there are writings of Khotogoi-Khabsagai, Angir, Bain-Khara, Suduntui, Barun-Kondui, Butikha ^{[20, pp. 193-230]}, Ust-Tsoron, Byrka ^{[17, pp. 205, 230]}.

Later, when the deer among the Evenks-Orochons began to be perceived as a totem animal, its butchering after hunting acquired a special order, with observance of special rituals. A. I. Mazin writes that violation of these rituals promised numerous hardships for the community: failure in hunting, marriage, family life, in reduction, and, even the disappearance of livestock ^{[18, pp. 37-40]}. In the case of unsuccessful hunting, the Evenki-Orochons believed that this was the result of violating established rules in relation to the deer or the actions of hostile spirits and shamans. To restore the luck of hunting, it was necessary to appease the deity, the patron saint of vegetation and wildlife – saveki. To do this, they arranged the chichipkan ceremony, which could be conducted by hunters, but preferably by shamans. The essence of this ritual was as follows. The chichipkan idol was installed with an orientation to the east. A pack caravan with all its possessions was escorted through Chichipkan. At the end, the procession was completed by a senior member of the community (sometimes a shaman), who walked with a stuffed deer. Suddenly, everyone stopped, and as if accidentally leaving the scarecrow behind, he was tied between the "legs" of chichipkan. Then the effigy and the idol were to be burned, in other cases they were hidden deep in the thicket. The head of the stuffed deer was necessarily turned towards sunset. The participants of the ritual left in such a way that they did not look back towards the place of burning or leaving the effigy. The person who hid the chichipkan and the scarecrow left, backing away and shooting with a bow or a gun until the place of the ceremony disappeared from view. If the hunt did not bring the proper result after that, the ritual was repeated until luck appeared ^{[18, pp. 42-43]}.

Another important element in rock art is the presence of images of a shaman. According to Mircea Eliade, shamanism is "... primarily a Siberian and Central Asian religious phenomenon" ^{[31, p. 15]}. He points out that in Central and Northern Asia, in the era when people lived at the stage (development) of the Stone Age, and in some places later, the entire magical and religious life of society centered around the personality of the shaman ^{[31, p. 16]}. It is known that most of the rituals with the participation of shamans were accompanied by dancing, singing (most often throat), blows with a mallet into a tambourine, the thunder of numerous (depending on the rank and status of the shaman) pendants, etc. All this is collectively referred to, according to S. A. Tokarev, as kamlaniye, the main purpose of which was communication with spirits ^{[27, p. 270]}. In the Chita region, images of shamans are found on Sukhotino-13 and Dvortsovskaya pisanitsa. Images of shamans are also present on the planes of other monuments of Transbaikalia – Shaman Mountain ^{[15, p. 342]}, Church ^{[3, p. 326]}, Canopy ^{[6, p. 264]}, Imalyk-I ^{[5, p. 140]}, Baraun-Kondui-III ^{[12, p. 70]}, Baraun Chulutai (Suduntui) ^{[17, p. 179]}, Ust-Tsoron ^{[17, p. 205-208]}. All images of shamans on the listed objects are characterized by the presence of a tambourine and a mallet, sometimes only a tambourine ^{[32, pp. 204-205]}.

In addition to the image of the shaman on the Palace scribble, the figure of a fantastic creature deserves special attention. It can be assumed that this is an image of a hunter who, during the ritual, dressed up in the skin of an animal killed earlier, performing (thus) a ritual dance. The plot of the hunting ritual dance is found in the cave drawings of Zarautsai (Zaraut-Kamar) in Uzbekistan ^{[28, p. 15]}.

In the Chita district on Kolochninskaya pisanitsa, a phallic figure was revealed on one of the planes. A. P. Okladnikov considers such images as an allusion to the cult of fertility, a kind of desire to ensure the productive power of man ^{[20, p. 77]}. In adjacent territories, similar figures are found on the writings of Kara, Chandaich, Mogoitui ^{[17, pp. 169-220]}.

Various symbols occupy a significant place in rock art. The most common in the Chita region are X-shaped and three-fingered figures. The X-shaped sign may be associated with cosmogonic ideas about the appearance of the world among ancient artists. Similar drawings, except for Transbaikalia, are found in Northern China on Anyanni's writings ^{[7, pp. 32-35]}, in Yakutia, the Baikal Region and other regions. N.N. Kochmar believed that the "three-toed" limbs of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images are nothing more than an attempt to depict the three fundamental principles of the universe – fire, water and air, and the rod acts as the base – the earth ^{[41, pp. 138-141]}. Other researchers attribute the three-toed figure to an attempt to depict a frog. According to A. P. Zabiyako and Wang Jianlin, it cannot be excluded that "the drawing of a three-toed anthropomorphic creature is an image combining humanoid features with signs of a frog or lizard" ^{[7, pp. 28-29]}. This point of view is not unfounded. A. I. Mazin writes about one of the legends of the Evenki-Orochons, according to which the world happened thanks to the divine power of the frog ^{[17, p. 142]}. According to another version, a figure with three solid lines is called a "crow's foot" or "trident", reflecting the image of a bird or an anthropomorphic entity ^{[8, p. 91]}.

Conclusion. Thus, the problem of chronology and interpretation is still not completely solved. Nevertheless, based on various analogies, stylistics, manner of application, typology and ethnographic data, the estimated age of the rock carvings of the Chita region is determined by the Neolithic era - the Bronze Age (III-I thousand BC). It is possible that there are rock carvings of a later time.

Regarding the belonging of ancient rock carvings to a certain ethnic group, it is possible to assume that some compositions are connected with the culture of tile graves (Selenga tradition), to communities living in forest and forest-steppe territories (forest and taiga tradition), to the earliest representatives of the Tunguska ethnos. Most of the rock carvings have a cult significance associated with the primitive religious beliefs of the peoples of Transbaikalia and Siberia.