Khoit Tsenkher South Gallery — Chandmani Base Cave Art
South Blue Cave · Chandmani Foot Cave
Upper Paleolithic to Mesolithic (19,000–8000 BCE)·Malta-Buret related early Holocene hunter·🇲🇳 Khovd Province, Mankhan soum, base of Chandmani Mountain 220 m lower than main cave, Mongolia
About
About Khoit Tsenkher South Gallery — Chandmani Base Cave Art
Lower gallery at foot of Chandmani mountain directly below Khoit Tsenkher Cave, with Upper Paleolithic red ochre ibex and ostrich overlapping Mesolithic pecked anthropomorphs. Radiocarbon from soot 15,000 BP. The gallery faces south capturing winter sun, hypothesized as cold-season aggregation shrine complementing the main north cave. Documented 2021 E3S conference preservation study.
Why it mattersDemonstrates Khoit Tsenkher is a paired north-south cave system with seasonal complementarity, not single site
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Dating ostrich – did ostrich range to Khovd at 19 ka?
- 02Paired cave seasonal use hypothesis
Theories
- 01Winter sun trap vs summer north cave complementary pair
- 02Shamanic ostrich import motif
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.19,000–15,000 BP ochre; Mesolithic pecked c.8000 BCE
- Period
- Upper Paleolithic to Mesolithic (19,000–8000 BCE)
- Culture
- Malta-Buret related early Holocene hunter
- Purpose
- Seasonal sun-trap shrine paired with main cave
- Abandoned
- c.8000 BCE
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1967
Soviet-Mongolian expedition finds cave
1996
UNESCO tentative
2021
E3S preservation symposium
On the ground
Structures & features
47.3420° N · 91.9600° E · 1540 m · 3 mapped features
Red Ibex Panel South
painting15 ka red ochre ibex with charcoal antlers 80 cm
47.3422° N · 91.9605° EOstrich Pecked Figures
petroglyph3 ostrich-like long-neck birds pecked above ochre
47.3418° N · 91.9595° ESoot Sampling Niche
sampling pointSoot-dated niche where radiocarbon 15k BP taken
47.3423° N · 91.9602° E
Gallery