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Stylistic Parameters of Minusinsk Rock Art Style
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2025.53.3.064-073
Abstract
This study focuses on the formal typology of petroglyphs belonging to the Minusinsk tradition. While these are widely distributed, we analyze only zoomorphic images from the Minusinsk Basin, because the earliest rock art in Southern Siberia and Central Asia, we believe, refers to a definite chronological stage, whereas the Minusinsk Style is its regional manifestation associated with the local cultural tradition. The purpose of the study is to identify the specific features of the classic regional Minusinsk Style, distinguishing it from other manifestations of the earliest rock art, peripheral relative to it. We present the results of the stylistic analysis based on formal typological criteria mentioned by various specialists in Minusinsk zoomorphic images. Representations of animals fall in several groups in terms of species, and a set of characteristics has been proposed for each. Because they are highly variable both in the Minusinsk tradition and in the earliest rock art in general, criteria specific for the Minusinsk Style alone (fi rst-order criteria) have been separated from those relevant to other traditions (second-order criteria). The core of the classic Minusinsk Style is defined by a stable combination of formal typological features. Another group of the earliest petroglyphs is nominally described as peripheral, because it doesn’t show this combination.
Keywords
Rock art,
Minusinsk rock art tradition,
Minusinsk Style,
formal typological analysis,
core and periphery of style,
Minusinsk Basin
Supporting agencies: The collection of materials, formal typological analysis, and the article concept development were supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Project № 22-18-00070 «The Earliest Figurative Stratum in the Chronology of Rock art of the Minusinsk Basin: Interdisciplinary Research of the Minusinsk Style» (https://rscf.ru/project/22-18-00070/); the statistical processing of the materials was carried out with the support of IAET SB RAS Project «The Application of Digital Technologies in the Analysis of Archaeological Data and the Reconstruction of the Ancient History» (FWZG-2025-0007). The authors express their deep gratitude to the reviewer for important comments that helped them to clarify the argumentation.
About the Authors
I. V. Abolonkova
«Tomskaya Pisanitsa» Museum-Reserve
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Abolonkova I.V., Department Head
Tomskaya 5a, Kemerovo, 650000
L. V. Zotkina
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Zotkina L.V., Leading Researcher
pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090
K. A. Kolobova
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Kolobova K.A., Professor, Leading Researcher
Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090
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For citations:
Abolonkova I.V., Zotkina L.V., Kolobova K.A. Stylistic Parameters of Minusinsk Rock Art Style. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2025;53(3):64-73. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2025.53.3.064-073
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