Traditionally, all images on stone from ancient times (Paleolithic) up to the Middle Ages are called petroglyphs, with the exception of those in which a well-developed system of signs is reliably present. There is no absolutely unambiguous definition. Petroglyphs are called both primitive cave rock carvings, and later ones, for example, on specially installed stones, megaliths or "wild" rocks.
Such monuments are not concentrated somewhere in one place, but widely scattered across the face of our planet. They were found in Kazakhstan (Tamgaly), in Karelia, in Spain (Altamira cave), in France (caves of Font-de-Gaume, Montespan, etc.), in Siberia, on the Don (Kostenki), in Italy, England, Germany, in Algeria, where the giant multicolored paintings of the Tassilin-Adzher mountain plateau were recently discovered and made a sensation all over the world in the Sahara, among the sands of the desert. Akhstan (Tamgaly), in Karelia, in Spain (Altamira cave), in France -Gom, Montespan, etc.), in Siberia, on the Don (Kostenki), in Italy, England, Germany, in Algeria, where giant multi-color murals were recently discovered and made a sensation all over the world.
Basically, these are images of animals - deer, bison, wild boars, wild horses; among them are those that are no longer found on earth today - long-haired mammoths, saber-toothed tigers. Only occasionally come across the outlines of human figures and heads, or rather, ritual masks. Only later, in the Neolithic era, did they begin to depict scenes from the life of a primitive tribe - hunting, battles, dancing and some obscure rituals. Such compositions are approximately dated to the 6th-4th millennium BC. And the earliest images, where "portraits" of animals predominate, belong to the Upper Paleolithic, that is, they were created forty-twenty thousand years ago.
At the end of the XX century native petroglyphics are gaining new momentum in the study of rock carvings and is reaching a qualitatively new level. This is due to the fact that in the territory of modern independent young Kazakhstan since ancient times, people have sought to leave at least some message from themselves for posterity. Most of the monuments of rock art (petroglyphs) that belong to the Bronze and Iron Ages have already been discovered and published.
Due to the absence of technogenic impact in most of the territory of Kazakhstan, many monuments have been preserved, which are being studied by specialists. Petroglyphs of Kazakhstan are magnificent monuments of primitive and medieval art. The specificity of the Kazakhstani relief, the features of the rocks that make up the mountain ranges, led to the wide distribution of petroglyphs.
On the territory of Kazakhstan there is the world-famous archaeological complex of Tanbaly. In 2004, it entered the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. Tamgaly is a monument located 170 km northwest of Almaty, in the Anyrakai mountains, where beautiful rock paintings found their nests, which are truly considered a sacred place for petroglyphs of Kazakhstan. Here you can find about 5000 petroglyphs, which are fraught with interesting mysteries of the past.
The composition of the Tanbaly petroglyphs is unique and has no analogues anywhere in the world. The complex is located near the village of Karabastau, Zhambyl district, Almaty region. In 2003, the State Open Air Museum was established on this site.
Among archaeologists, Anna Grigorievna Maksimova was the first to study Tanbaly since 1957 and, according to her, the time of drawing early petroglyphs was the Bronze Age, the archaeologist wrote about this in 1958 in the republican scientific journal "Bulletin of Science". Later Tanbaly was explored by Almaty archaeologists Z. Samashev, A. Maryashev, A. Rogozhinsky and others. Archaeologist Aleksey Rogozhinsky established the time of petroglyphs drawing, based on the results of scientific research, he came to the conclusion that the time of writing petroglyphs covers several time intervals, from the Bronze Age to the XIII-XIV centuries of our era.
In Tanbaly in the fourth group there is the so-called 118th plane, the length of which is six meters, the height is four meters. In the plane, drawings of different composition are applied: six-headed creatures with a human body.
Now let's compare these petroglyphs with the description of the images of the six sons of Ogyz kagan. The first son of Ogyz kagan was called the Sun - the first petroglyph depicts a man with the rays of the sun rising above his head. Therefore, this is a drawing of the son of Ogyz - the Sun. The second petroglyph depicts a man whose head corresponds to the drawing of the full moon, therefore, this petroglyph depicts the second son of Ogyz - the Moon. On the third petroglyph, small stars are depicted on the head of a man, therefore, the third son of Ogyz is a Star. The fourth petroglyph depicts a man whose head corresponds to the symbol of the sky, respectively, this drawing of the fourth son of Ogyz - the Sky. The head of the fifth person on the petroglyph is round, which means the concept of "high", therefore, this petroglyph depicts the son of Ogyz - Gora. The sixth petroglyph depicts a man whose head tilted like the sea, therefore, the figure depicts the sixth son of Ogyz - the Sea.
Below these drawings, you can see images of 12 dancing people, and the legend says that Ogyz Kagan divided the territory into 12 aimags, therefore, 12 jigits dance in Tanbaly, possibly personifying these aimags.
One of the important petroglyphs in Tanbaly was broken in 1960s while being transported to the museum of the city of Almaty. Its height was three meters. An archival photograph of this drawing has been preserved. In the legend "Ogyz-name" there is a description of Ogyz kagan: "His legs were like those of a bull, his body was like that of a bear, his whole body was covered with hair." If we compare this description with the lost petroglyph, then the similarity with the description of the appearance of Ogyz Khagan will be 100%, and therefore we can assume that Ogyz Khagan himself is depicted on the petroglyph.
The story says that the name of the mother of Ogyz kagan is Ai kagan. In Tanbaly, there is an image of Ai Kagan in petroglyphs, this petroglyph was found and restored by archaeologist A. Rogozhinsky. In Tanbaly, there is only one full-length image of a woman, and the image of women in labor is in two places, respectively, according to legend, one woman is the mother of Ogyz Ai Kagan, and two women in labor are the two wives of Kagan.
It is well known that the runic alphabets are related to the ancestors of the Kazakh people, this is evidenced by the Orkhon monuments. There are runic inscriptions in Tanbaly, an inscription of five letters in the fourth group has been preserved. If you read according to 13 variants of the runic alphabet, which is approved by the scientists of the world, you get the word "nerel" or "naret". It can be assumed that this is an appeal of Ogyz kagan to his descendants and people, because the words are imprinted on the right side of the rock image of the sons of Ogyz kagan and are in planes that have the shape of book pages. Therefore, this is precisely a mandate, the meaning of the words should be compared with the words of Ogyz kagan. Here the word "naret" means "abundance", and the poem contains a broad understanding of this concept, therefore, on the rock drawing, he wanted to wish abundance to his people.
Tamgaly is one of the most interesting museum-reserves in the republic. Monuments from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages were recorded on the territory of Tamgaly. Petroglyphists suggest that this place had sacred significance for the ancient population. In addition to rock carvings, here we see burial grounds and places of worship. The monument was discovered and explored in 1977 by the archaeological expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR under the leadership of Anna Grigoryevna Maksimova.
On the dark surface of the rocks one can see both zoomorphic images of deer, bulls, horses, argali and other animals, as well as anthropomorphic images. Also interesting are the images of horsemen depicted on the stones, dancing figures of little men, apparently performing some kind of ritual dance.
Sun-headed anthropomorphic creatures occupy a special place in the complex of petroglyphs of Tamgaly. Unfortunately, the rock on which the sunheads are depicted is undergoing serious destruction today.
In general, rock art on the territory of Kazakhstan is very diverse and rich. The most famous centers of fine rock art are located in Semirechye. The history of the study and research of these monuments dates back decades, but not much is known about them.
Today, more than 50 monuments have been discovered in Semirechie, in which petroglyphs are concentrated. Moreover, along with major discoveries, there are several thousand small petroglyphs in various gorges. These petroglyphs are of different times, most of them can be attributed to the Bronze Age. Drawings made in the animal style are placed mainly separately from other, more ancient images.
The first information about the petroglyphs of Semirechie was collected by Chokan Valikhanov. He researched and copied images in the Chulaktau mountains, images of Buddhist saints in the Tamgaly tract - Tas on the Ili River and inscriptions to them.
Further study of the petroglyphs of Semirechie is connected with the formation of the Turkestan circle of archeology lovers /1856/.
Great work at the end of the nineteenth century. hosted by N.N. Pantusov. He discovered petroglyphs in the Bayan-Zhurek mountains, in the Chulak mountains, on the river. Kurty, in the Terekty gorge, etc.
In the 30s of the twentieth century. the study of Semirechye was continued by the expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR under the leadership of A.N. Bershtam. Based on the analysis of style and subjects, he developed the dating of petroglyphs, which is still used today.
In 1957, a large accumulation of petroglyphs was discovered in the Tamgaly tract /174 km from Almaty/.
In the 60s, petroglyphs were discovered not only by archaeologists, but also by local historians, travelers and tourists. Many new petroglyphs were discovered by P.I. Marikovsky. On the materials of rock carvings, he described the animal world of ancient Kazakhstan. In the 80s, the expedition of KazPI named after. Abaya discovered a large accumulation of petroglyphs in the Eshkiolmes mountains, and also continued to study Tamgaly. Research was also carried out in the Chulak Mountains, the Dzungarian Alatau, and the Chuili Mountains.
In the late 80s, a Kazakh-French expedition began work within the framework of the UNESCO program. The task of the expedition is to complete the publication of the corpus of petroglyphs of Kazakhstan.
In each of the regions of Semirechye there are original centers of rock art - the largest monuments both in terms of the number of petroglyphs and the richness of subjects, and in terms of the perfection of the style and technique of drawing pictures on the rocks. For the Western Semirechye - this is the sanctuary of Tamgaly, for the North-Eastern - Eshkiolmes and Bayan-Zhurek. Smaller accumulations of rock carvings arose around such sanctuaries. All these places are of invaluable value and are unique values that tell the story of our ancestors.