Tamga Petroglyphs from Akkainar (Almaty Region) in Kazakhstan
Hermann L. Zheleznyakov B.
2023Margulan Institute of Archaeology
Kazakhstan Archeology
2023#22Issue 2140 - 154 pp.
As a result of the archaeological investigations conducted by the authors, more than 6100 rock engravings in the cultural landscape of Akkainar, located between two important sites of rock art, Tamgaly and Kulzhabasy, were documented. Over 800 of them were attributed to the ancient Turkic period. A small group among them consists of tamgas, representing clan signs placed on hereditary property, including cattle. These tamgas are dated wider from the Early Turkic period to the beginning of the 20th century. While some tamgas from Akkainar have been previously published, a complete repertory for this area has not been available until now. This publication presents new material consisting of 20 tamgas or signs similar to tamgas from Akkainar. Some of the images presented here may not necessarily be tamgas and are published for further discussion. Regarding some images resembling tamgas, two questions arise. Firstly, some of them were previously found in South Kazakhstan, raising questions about the consistent connections between Akkainar and the oases of South Kazakhstan. Secondly, certain signs are associated with zoomorphic images, raising questions about the reuse of former petroglyphs to create new tamgas.
Akkainar , Kazakhstan , medieval nomads , Old Turkic period , rock art , tamga
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Stavelot, Belgium
Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Stavelot
Margulan Institute of Archaeology
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
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