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CULTURAL IDENTITY |
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Most rock images belong to periods about which one can say nothing about the language of
prehistoric peoples nor their beliefs. On the other hand, sometimes it is possible to
identify a cultural context without the reconstruction of the meanings of the separate
images. The careful analysis of rock art can enable us to identify ways of life, like hunting
and gathering or nomadism, and suggest which elements (for instance what animals)
played an important role in the culture of these peoples. Furthermore, it is also possible to
approach the question of ethnicity in the interpretations of Central Asian rock art.
period.
When we look at the history of this part of Asia we notice that the area within present day
Uzbekistan was in constant state of struggle between Turkish and Iranian speaking peoples
since time immemorial. This is an important point and can be understood in relationship to
the ethnic identity of the ancient peoples inhabiting the area between the Amu-Darya and
Syr-Darya. This ‘polarity’ is also reflected today amongst the Turkish speaking Uzbeks, who
reside in the north, while the Iranian speaking Tajiks populate the southern part of
Uzbekistan. The latter are the descendants of a very archaic Indo-Iranian heritage which
extends back to III and II millennium BC. This was the time when the land of Uzbekistan
and adjacent regions were within the migration routes of the Indo-European tribes, who by
the end of II millennium BC expanded into India and Iran.
The Indo-Iranians have been the earliest ethnic strata with witch the tradition of rock art
could be supposed. From the Indo-Iranian linguistic unity two linguistic branches derived:
Old Indian (known as Vedic and appeared in the Indian subcontinent in the second half of
the II millennium BC) and Old Iranian. Of course, it is difficult to distinguish if these
peoples, who populated the entire of Central Asia, represented a supposed ‘Indo-Iranian
unity’ or were divided separately into Indians and Iranians. The analyses of petroglyphs in
Sarmish-say Valley in Uzbekistan and
Tamgaly in southern Kazakhstan,
however, led us to conclude that
some important correspondences
between rock imagery and Indo-
Iranian myths can be discerned. These
parallels concern the importance of
single motifs, among which the bull
plays very significant role, as well as
some structural correspondences
dealing with symbolic associations
between recurrent sets of images and
mythical ideas (see additional
reading).
Another important feature of prehistoric art in Central Asia is the so-called ‘animal style’,
which was connected with the early Iranian nomads described by the Greeks as Scythians
and the Persians as Sakas. The distinct characteristics of the animal style were applied in
various media, like wood or metal objects (especially gold), as well as in rock art. It
testifies, moreover, that Uzbekistan was once within the sphere of their cultural activity; a
view supported by historic sources. This was the time when first appeared the rock images
of horses and horse riders accompanied by the first metal tools, like swords. Zoomorphic
images dominate the animal style, but we also can encounter the representation of human figures as well. Artists represented the
images of animals in dynamic poses as
if they wanted to catch them in the
action of movement. The bodies of
animals are often filled with different
ornamental designs, and the spiral, for
example, appears to have been one of
their favourites. Similar motifs can be
found in Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan but
also in more northern parts of Central
Asia, southern Siberia (the Altai,
Khakassia, Tuva), Mongolia and along
the Karakom Highway. The art of the
Sako-Scythian nomads take us closer to
some aspects of their beliefs. By placing a great deal of emphasis on the wild fauna the art
manifests their strong affinity with the natural world. The most important animal was the
deer and its image was carved onto countless stones and rocks across Asia. Another specific
feature of this art, but not very common, was the intentional superimposition of images
which distinguishes it from the earlier art of the Stone or Bronze Ages.
The historic period of Uzbekistan and Central Asia begins in the middle of the first
millennium AD. During this time fundamental transformations began which created new
conceptualisations of the land that were connected with the appearance of a newly
crystallised Turkish culture. The Early Turkic peoples quickly dominated vast areas of
Central Asia, and were subsequently incorporated into the tide of Islam. We are not sure
how these movements influenced the tradition of image making on stones but it is clear
that rock art had changed its character dramatically. Now we find the images of mounted
warriors that seem to reflect a time of
frequent conflict and the cult of the
warrior-hero. From the quantitative
point of view the images are less
numerous than previous time periods.
Islamic ideology of the cult of the one
and only god must have influenced the
‘collapse’ of rock art tradition rooted in
pre-Islamic beliefs (like the cult of
nature, or shamanism). So, does this
mean that rock art in Uzbekistan has
been predominately produced in
prehistoric and early historic periods? As
we will see in the next section, newer
research has cast new light upon this
mystery.
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Bradshaw Foundation
