Shimaily, the petroglyphs

Several locations of rock images, including multi-temporal petroglyphs in the Shimaily tract, were discovered in the mountains of Tarbagatai as a result of search works of the branch of the Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh.Margulan.

Petroglyphs of the Bronze Age are characterized by the predominance of multi-figure compositions consisting of diverse subject lines, possibly interrelated. Thematically, they are most often associated with the idea of fertility, hunting, cult and other actions. In the petroglyphs of Shimaily a special place is occupied by images of man, mostly related to hunting and fishing activities and religious and mythological notions, as well as battle stories. Painted figures of horses and bulls are also connected to some extent with anthropomorphic images, which, depending on the plan, are shown, for example, between the animals standing opposite each other, which is interpreted in mythological consciousness as an equivalent of the world tree, or are located around large images.

A large number of images of chariots have been recorded. They are mainly a pair horses drawn, they show different situations: battles, hunting, cult, etc. On one sample the details of the chariot construction are worked out to the smallest detail and shown with carved lines of reins located on the sides of the drawbar, and the ascendants themselves - in the process of hunting, in the thick of animals. Among the rare motifs of the images are the figures of bears with cubs recorded here. Several battle scenes with the participation of riders on camels are also rare. In addition to the figures of animals, birds and people, there are images of solar symbols, circles, hoof-shaped figures, tamgas of different periods, etc. Nozzles with petroglyphs are located not far from each other and around the burial ground of the Bronze Age, represented by granite slab fencing. This circumstance opens huge prospects for the future complex researches of all kinds of archaeological monuments.

Images of animals and symbolic signs refer to the number of basic motifs of rock art in the vast zone of Eurasian steppes, used for chronological attribution and study of the worldview of the region's population in the Bronze Age. Rock art of the Bronze Age, as well as other spheres of spiritual activity, reflected those deep social and economic processes and ethno-cultural phenomena which occurred in a society which are presented by various cultural-historical communities.

Shimaily hill has been a sacred place since ancient times. Sacrifice rituals, syncretic deer of the early Iron Age are the proof of this. In the petroglyphs of Shimaily there is a continuous historical and cultural connection from the Bronze Age to the ancient Turkic period. Of great value are the drawings depicting various activities, including hunting, as well as images of chariots, rare animals and birds that lived here. Rare are images of successive riders dating back to the early Iron Age (Hunnosarmatian period).