Kalbak-Tash II Yaloman North Terrace
Калбак-Таш II Яломан Түндүк · Yaloman North Terrace Kalbak-Tash · Chuya North Bank
Neolithic to Turkic Khaganate·Afanasievo, Okunev, Andronovo, Saka-Pazyryk, Turkic·🇷🇺 Altai Republic, Onguday District, Chuya River north bank, Yaloman village reach, Russia
About
About Kalbak-Tash II Yaloman North Terrace
North-bank river terrace 1.8 km upstream of the classic Kalbak-Tash main panel (south-bank 723 km Chuisky Trakt marker), on the opposite bank at Yaloman bend. The 250-m terrace scarp carries 220+ petroglyphs on fine schist: Neolithic elk-head boats (c.3000 BCE), Afanasievo anthropomorphic masks with rayed heads, and Turkic deer and warriors (6th–8th c. CE) — the only Early Nomadic to Turkic continuity on the Chuya corridor north bank. The Yaloman terrace lacks the famous Kalbak-Tash 'Mongolian lamaism' layered panel but adds river-level boat and fishing weir scenes linking Altai rock-art to Yenisei and Karelian traditions.
Why it mattersNorth-bank complement to world-famous south-bank Kalbak-Tash, documenting riverine boat ritual and Okunev mask horizon.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Link of elk-boats to Karelian petroglyphs
- 02Dating of latticed anthropomorphs
Theories
- 01Fishing-weir marking of spring salmon run
- 02Okunev shamanic mask import from Minusinsk
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3000 BCE–800 CE (Neolithic to Ancient Turk)
- Period
- Neolithic to Turkic Khaganate
- Culture
- Afanasievo, Okunev, Andronovo, Saka-Pazyryk, Turkic
- Builders
- Chuya valley pastoralists and fishers
- Purpose
- River ford marking and fishing weir ritual at Chuya–Katun approach
- Abandoned
- c.800 CE
- Rediscovered
- 1981 Kubarev Yaloman north bank discovery; 2011 Okladnikova latticed study
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.3000 BCE
Elk-head boat pecking
c.1200 BCE
Andronovo chariot band
c.600 CE
Turkic deer warrior addition
On the ground
Structures & features
50.4500° N · 86.6150° E · 980 m · 2 mapped features
Yaloman North — Elk-Boat Frieze (Panel YN-9)
petroglyph panelElk-headed boat with seven paddlers and fish beneath hull, Neolithic boreal style 1.2 m
50.4510° N · 86.6160° EYaloman North — Latticed Mask Gallery (Panel YN-14)
petroglyph panelRayed mask with lattice interior, 0.6 m, Okunev-type anthropomorph
50.4490° N · 86.6140° E