Кінь на петрогліфах бронзового віку Центральної Азії.

Abstract

The study of rock paintings is an important component in the reconstruction of daily life, beliefs, mythological and aesthetic representations of ancient people. One of the questions that petroglyphs can help to answer is the spread of the horse cult in Central Asia, which many archaeologists understand as one of the indicators of the presence and influence of the Indo-European cultures. The purpose of the article is to search for the markers of the cult of the horse in the set of petroglyphs of Central Asia.The article analyzes the key plots of petroglyphs associated with the image of the horse. From petroglyphs depicting a horse in the context of a hunt in its wild, non-domesticated form, to sled animals in chariots and scenes related to ritual actions regarding the horse. I consider such plot blocks as the horse near the world tree, the heaven chariots, the conceptual pairs horse-dog, horse-goat, horse-snake, horse images in the form of a deer, etc. are compared with the myths and ritual practices of the Indo-Europeans represented in written records in order to make an attempt to interpret them.Considering the results of analysis, it can be concluded that the cult of the horse in the classical sense was completly entrenched in Central Asia only in Late Bronze Age. Certain stages of the formation of the cult are traced, from the object of the hunt to the harness of animals. Combined with a chariot it symbolizes the movement of the god and, finally, to the world animal, which in turn is associated with the king and the gods.