Petroglyphs of Central Asia

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Facing East ::

:: Stone sculpture and petroglyphs of Central Asia::

 

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By Tjalling Halbertsma

 

One of the delights of travel in Central Asia is the sheer number of

ancient monuments to be found in its original surroundings, preserved

by remoteness and obscurity. Chance encounters range from deer stones

of the iron and bronze ages to ancient burial sites, graves and

thousands of petroglyphes carefully carved in canyons at the foot of

sacred peaks in the Altai Mountain range. To walk through Central

Asia is to walk through time.

 

Most frequently though, one will stumble upon stone sculptures

erected by Turkic tribes in Central Asia. The statues, balbal in

Turkish, are scattered over what is now Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan,

western China, Russia and Mongolia. The stones are as diverse as the

Turkic people that carved them and the distribution shows how wide

the practice had become by the 8th century. Originally preserved by

awe and ritual, the statues are now permanently guarded but remain in

situ.

 

The balbal depict male figures with highly idiosyncratic features but

they have one thing in common, they all face east. Often, two lines

of stones form a ceremonial walkway accentuating the direction

towards sunrise. Today they are used as beacons for travelers, but

originally the stones are believed to be grave markers as many balbal

stand at grave and burial sites. The graves consist of piles of stone

boulders and are often surrounded by rows of rocks positioned in a

square. Sometimes several graves are lined up sideways all guarded by

individual balbal. The sites are easily distinguished from the much

earlier kurgan graves which are circular in shape and date back over

four thousand years.

 

But above all the Turkic figures are stunning works of art and

engineering. The faces have delicate features with almond shaped

eyes, curly moustache highlight the Turkic origins. Nose bridges are

articulate and prolonged and mine carvings reveal earrings and other

jewelry. The robes, draped over sturdy limbs and broad shoulders,

differ from area to area. Hands clutch a vase or vessel and tools,

such as knives or flints for making fire, dangle from decorated

belts. The craftsmanship is clear: after fourteen centuries it is

astonishing that the features can still be seen at all, for the

sculptures stand in one of the fiercest climates in the world.

Temperatures in Central Asia can drop from 40 degrees C. in summer to

minus 40 degrees C. in winter, and in spring frequent sandstorms

shape the sculptures rough edges into smooth lines.

 

Erecting the sculptures must have taken great effort because for

every two meters above the ground at least one meter is buried in the

sand and many of the stones measure well over three meters in height.

Some of the statues have tilted slightly or fallen but most remain as

they were positioned originally: Central Asia remains the world's

largest open-air museum in Asia.

 

In Mongolia the balbal, called khuuni chuluu in Mongolian or `stone

man', are predated by bagan chuluu, spectacular deer stones from the

iron and bronze ages. The stone pillars also seem to be positioned

towards the east and feature exquisite carvings of deer with enormous

antlers rolling down their backs and elongated snouts. The few deer

stones that have human faces are amongst the earliest depictions of

human beings in Central Asia.

 

Most of the bagan chuluu are found in the heart of the Mongolian

empire on the southern shores of Lake Huvsgul where they tower over

three meters high. The pinnacles of granite cluster around graves

from the same period but it remains unclear if they should be

interpreted as grave markers or were erected for other rituals or

commemorations.

 

The stones echo an era of two dimensional petroglyphes which be found

in Bayan Olgii Province, a remote region situated at the heart of

Central Asia. It is a landscape dominated by the peaks of the Altai

Mountains, stretching from Russia via Mongolia to western China. At

the foot of these sacred mountains over ten-thousand petroglyphes and

rock engravings, depict an ancient world dominated by deer, bears,

hunters, wolves and life stock. The engravings measure from a tiny

argali sheep of two centimeters, to a life-size horse in full flight.

The images are often cut through oxidized rock making use of the

colors of different layers of the rock to make the carvings stand out

from their surroundings.

 

Petroglyphes in Bayan Olgii include an image of a deer attacked by

wolves, hunting scenes and scores of wild animals. Others depict more

domestic scenes of yaks dragging carts, the wheels and horses

flattened sideways like hieroglyphs, and two-dimensional herders on

horseback.

 

Though respective government have now taken measures to preserve the

artwork from looters and decay, the sculptures and rock carvings

remain in situ on the steppes and in the sacred Altai Mountains of

Central Asia.

 

Tjalling Halbertsma http://www.halbertsma.com is based in Asia and

frequently writes on Mongolian and Chinese art