Fish depictions in the deer stones

Abstract

The autochthonous community of Central Asia, including Mongolia, is based on a nomadic culture, the origins of which go back to the paleoculture, the Bronze Age. The article is devoted to the topic of Central Asia - study drawings, petroglyphs in the Late Bronze Age. On the deer stones, petroglyphs, logograms depicting heavenly bodies (sun, moon), hunting and labor tools, wild and domestic animals, fish, as well as the so-called «pair fish» of which were found during archaeological work in Mongolia, South Siberia, Central Asia. The article notes that in the depicted figures, logos reflected the «world view» of the ancient people, their mythology and ideology, understanding of the world and nature. Some artifacts of the paleoculture discovered during archaeological excavations are still kept in the National Museum of Mongolia. Exploring the artefacts of paleoculture, the author makes his own contribution to the study of the cultural origins of Central Asia.

Keywords

• paleoculture, Central Asia, Mongolia, deer stones, drawings, fish, worldview