The Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape comprises a large collection of petroglyphs that reflect the flora, fauna, hunting practices, social structures, and cultural expressions of human societies from prehistoric to medieval times.[1] These engravings provide detailed depictions of anthropomorphic figures, ritualistic dance scenes, men bearing lances, a range of animal species, bullfighting events, camel caravans, and celestial symbols such as the sun and stars. Estimated to date from approximately 5,000 to 20,000 years before present, the rock art offers insight into the spiritual life and daily activities of early human populations in the region.[2] It is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and forms part of the larger Gobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve, which preserves archaeological, cultural, and natural landmarks.
The Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape reflects the history of human development in Eurasia from the Upper Paleolithic era through the Middle Ages.[3] It is situated at the southeast end of the Greater Caucasus ridge in Azerbaijan. it is located approximately 64km (40mi) southwest from center of Baku. The area of the site is 537 ha.[4]
The cultural landscape covers three rocky highlands in the semi-desert territory of central Azerbaijan. There are more than 6,000 rock engravings on more than 1,000 surfaces of rocks that reflects 40,000 years of history of rock art.[5][4][6]
During the archaeological excavation, 104 small-sized engraved stones were also discovered at different archaeological stages[3]
Petroglyphs in Gobustan dating about 5,000 to 8,000 years back contain longships similar to Viking ships.[7][8] The discovery of ship illustrations among the rock paintings in Gobustan shows its relationship with the Mediterranean and the European continent.[9]
Jingirdag, Boyukdash, and Kichikdash mountains and Yazili hill are located in Gobustan, which are the home for the ancient rock art. Most of the rock carving can be found on the upper surface of Boyukdash and Kicikdash mountains. The paintings on the rock walls date back to 3-4 thousand years ago mainly reflect hunting scenes. Human (dancers, hunters, men wearing tropical helmets) and animal (deer and goat) paintings are depicted on the rocks of more sheltered sides.[10]
Images of animals on Gobustan rocks vary depending on the periods because of the change in the hunting targets (from big animals like aurochs and wild horses (during the Pleistocene period) to relatively smaller Holocene animals such as deer, wild boar and bird) according to the climate change starting at the beginning of the Holocene period.[3]
The petroglyphs on the walls of the living sites as “Firuz-1”, “Firuz-2”, “Gaya-arasi”, “Gaya-Arasi-2” on Kicikdash Mountain, “Kaniza”, “Ana-Zaga” on Boyukdash Mountain are similar to the petroglyphs on some stones in this site.[3]
Another remnant of the early time is so-called gaval chalan dash (tambourine stone), an ancient musical instrument described in Gobustan Rock Art.[7]
History
The rock art was accidentally discovered by quarry workers in the 1930s. Following initial archaeological research led by Ishag Jafarzadeh in 1939, scholars from the National Academy of Sciences identified and studied over 6,000 rock carvings, settlements, and burial sites dating from the Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Ages.[11][2] The sticky drawings of the deer, goat and cattle dated between 12th and 8th centuries BC reflect the Neolithic period in Gobustan.[12] Jafarzadeh analyzed approximately 750 rocks bearing more than 3,500 petroglyphs, which he classified into six chronological periods ranging from ancient times to the Middle Ages:
Neolithic period (figures contain men and women drawings with arrow and bow on their shoulders),
Late Neolithic period (drawings of bison, boat, and archers),
Eneolithic period (big drawings of goats, lions and deer),
Bronze Age period (wild animals, horses and pigs drawings),
Iron Age period (man drawings, goats and deer figures, as well as Roman inscriptions)
The Middle Ages (camel caravans drawings, a warrior with a weapon on his hand, symbols, Arabic and Persian inscriptions).[13]
Later on, F. Muradova and J. Rustamov made new discoveries of more than 1.500 images. During the archaeological excavation, numerous Bronze Age structures were found here.[3] Those archaeological excavations were supported by the Institute of Archeological and Ethnography of the National Academy of Science of Azerbaijan.[11]
The area was declared the Gobustan State Historical Artistic Preserve in 1996 by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR. The Gobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve was established in 2006 by a presidential decree.[4] Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.[4][14]
1 2 3 4 5 Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscap -el paisaje cultural del arte rupestre de Gobustán (2016). "Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape"(PDF). Cuadernos de Arte Rupestre: 213–232. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
↑ The sticky drawings of the deer, goat and cattle dated between 12th and 8th centuries BC reflect the Neolithic period in Gobustan. Rosen Pub Group. 2004. p.11. ISBN0823944972.
↑ Matthew, Vincent; Bendicho, Víctor; Ioannides, Marinos; Levy, Thomas (2017). Heritage and Archaeology in the Digital Age: Acquisition, Curation, and Dissemination of Spatial Cultural Heritage Data. Springer. ISBN3319653709.
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