Zaraut-Say Rock Paintings
Zarautsoy qoyatosh rasmlari · Zarautsoy · Zaraut Kamar · Surkhandarya Shelter
Mesolithic (Early Holocene)·Zaraut Mesolithic hunter-gatherers (Kuhitang cultural complex)·🇺🇿 Surkhandarya Region, Kuhitang Range, Zaraut Say gorge (Baysun), Uzbekistan
About
About Zaraut-Say Rock Paintings
Shallow sandstone shelter 12 m wide on the west flank of the Kuhitang (Ku Tog) limestone ridge at Zaraut Say, one of Central Asia's classic Mesolithic rock-painting sites. Red-ochre silhouette paintings c.8000–5000 BCE show dynamic hunters with bows chasing wild bulls, ibex and dogs, plus finger-dotted hunters in pursuit scenes considered the earliest narrative hunt compositions in Central Asia. The 140-m long gorge preserves over 40 figures in three protected overhangs, sealed by calcite flowstone and dated by associated microlithic industry. Soviet discovery 1939 by G.V. Parfenov, UNESCO/UNDP 2000s conservation with shelter roof.
Why it mattersArchetype for Central Asian Mesolithic narrative art, parallel to Bhimbetka and forming southern link to Zagros shelters.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Dog domestication depiction accuracy
- 02Bull species (aurochs vs bison) identification
Theories
- 01Gorge trap hunting magic
- 02Male initiation staging
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.8000–5000 BCE (Mesolithic to Early Neolithic)
- Period
- Mesolithic (Early Holocene)
- Culture
- Zaraut Mesolithic hunter-gatherers (Kuhitang cultural complex)
- Builders
- Foothill hunter-gatherer bands of the Baysun intermontane
- Purpose
- Hunting-magic and initiation shelter art near gorge bottleneck
- Abandoned
- Neolithic transition with pastoral adoption c.4000 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1939 Parfenov; 1940–1960s Formozov recordings; 2005 Uzbek-Japanese preservation
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.8000 BCE
Earliest ochre bull-hunter panels
1939
Parfenov discovery
1965
Formozov Mesolithic corpus publication
2006
Protective roof and rail built
On the ground
Structures & features
38.5500° N · 67.5830° E · 1250 m · 2 mapped features
Main Shelter — Archer and Bull Hunt
painted panelCentral 4-m frieze with red archers pursuing long-horned bulls and ibex
38.5510° N · 67.5840° EEastern Overhang — Dotted Hunters
painted panelSecondary overhang with dotted hunter figures and dog companions
38.5490° N · 67.5820° E
Gallery