Pictures in Transformation: Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent 9781407307114, 9781407337111

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
List of Contributors
Foreword
Recent developments in rock art research in India with special reference to the EIP Project
Painted Shelters from Lower Swat (Pakistan). Recent Discovery in the frame ofthe AMSV Project
Animal style of the steppes in Ladakh: A presentation of newly discovered petroglyphs
Authors of Petroglyphs in Ladakh and Baltistan
Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures
Rock Art in Afghanistan and Hidukush: an Overview
Rock Carvings in the Yaghnob River Valley (Tajikistan): A Preliminary Study
Kazakh petroglyphs in the light of recently discovered stations and their dating

Citation preview

BAR S2167 2010

South Asian Archaeology 2007 Special Sessions 2

Pictures in Transformation OLIVIERI (Ed)

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent Edited by

Luca Maria Olivieri PICTURES IN TRANSFORMATION

B A R

in collaboration with

Laurianne Bruneau and Marco Ferrandi

BAR International Series 2167 2010

South Asian Archaeology 2007 Special Sessions 2

Pictures in Transformation Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent Edited by

Luca Maria Olivieri in collaboration with

Laurianne Bruneau and Marco Ferrandi

Thematic Symposium (Special Sessions) XIX International Conference on South Asian Archaeology Ravenna, 6 July 2007 Conference supported by Fondazione Carlo Leone e Mariena Montandon and Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente - Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan

BAR International Series 2167 2010

Published in 2016 by BAR Publishing, Oxford BAR International Series 2167 South Asian Archaeology 2007. Special Sessions 2 Pictures in Transformation © The editors and contributors severally and the Publisher 2010 The authors' moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher.

ISBN 9781407307114 paperback ISBN 9781407337111 e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407307114 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library BAR Publishing is the trading name of British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd. British Archaeological Reports was first incorporated in 1974 to publish the BAR Series, International and British. In 1992 Hadrian Books Ltd became part of the BAR group. This volume was originally published by Archaeopress in conjunction with British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd / Hadrian Books Ltd, the Series principal publisher, in 2010. This present volume is published by BAR Publishing, 2016.

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Contents Recent developments in rock art research in India with special reference to the EIP Projecy���������������������������������������1 Giriraj Kumar Painted Shelters from Lower Swat (Pakistan). Recent Discovery in the frame of the AMSV Project���������������������� 13 Luca Maria Olivieri (in collaboration with Faiz-ur-Rahman) Animal style of the steppes in Ladakh. A presentation of newly discovered petroglyphs�������������������������������������������� 27 Laurianne Bruneau and Marin Vernier Authors of Petroglyphs in Ladakh and Baltistan������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 37 B.R. Mani Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures����������������������������������������������� 43 Phuntsog Dorjay Rock Art in Afghanistan and Hindukush: An Overview��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 59 Marco Ferrandi Rock Carvings in the Yaghnob River Valley (Tajikistan): A Preliminary Study������������������������������������������������������������ 69 Marta Passarelli Kazakh Petroglyphs in the Light of Recently Discovered Stations and Their Dating�������������������������������������������������� 77 Irina Shvets

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List of Contributors Laurianne Bruneau French Archaeological Mission in Central Asia (MAFAC), CNRS, Nanterre, France ([email protected]) Phuntsog Dorjay Indipendent Research Scholar on Himalaya Buddhist Art, Hannover, Germany ([email protected]) Faiz-ur-Rahman Assistant Director, Quetta Sub-Regional Office Departement of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan, Block 4 Sitara Market G7 Markaz, Islamabad, Pakistan ( [email protected]) Marco Ferrandi Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan, Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO), Via Aldrovandi 16, 00197 – Roma, Italy ([email protected]) Giriraj Kumar Faculty of Arts, Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra – 282 005, India ([email protected]) B.R. Mani Joint Director General, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), New Delhi, India ([email protected]) Luca Maria Olivieri Joint Director, Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan, Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO), Via Aldrovandi 16, 00197 – Roma, Italy ([email protected]) Marta Passarelli Italian Ethnolinguistic Mission in the Yaghnob Valley, Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO), Via Aldrovandi 16, 00197 – Roma/ University of Bologna, Italy ([email protected]) Irina Shvets Institute of Archaeology “A. Ch. Margulan”, Ministry of Education and Science Republic of Kazakhstan – 4, Dostyk av., 050010, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan ([email protected]) Martin Vernier Indipendent Research Scholar on Ladakh and Tibet History and Archaeology, Rue du Villages 23, 1078 Essertes, Switzerland ([email protected])

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Foreword Before presenting the symposium “Pictures in Transformation. Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent” and briefly introducing the articles contributed, it is a pleasure to recognize those who have made this symposium possible. First of all, we would like to thank the board of the European Association of South Asian Archaeologists, and particularly the 2007 Acting President, Professor Maurizio Tosi, for having accepted and supported the idea of including a separate panel dedicated exclusively to rock art research in the framework of the XIX EASAA Conference. We would also like to acknowledge the Carlo Leone e Marina Montandon Foundation and the Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO) – the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan, for their financial aid. The concept of including a separate thematic symposium at the XIX EASAA Conference has been supported by Professor Tosi since 2006, and tested in Heidelberg, some months before this Conference. On April 26 to 27, 2007, at the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities a small but intense thematic conference on rock art research in the Hindukush-Karakorum region research was held. This event (In the Shadow of the Mountains. Rock Art between Upper Indus region and Swat) was organized by the Academy Research Unit “Rock Carvings and Inscriptions along the Karakorum Highway” and the IsIAO Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan. To a certain extent, the model of the Heidelberg conference has been replicated in our thematic symposium, especially concerning its focus: 1) recent rock-art issues in the regions across the Pamir-Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya belt, and in particular: 2) problems connected to the integration and collision between local styles, cults and cultures, and regionally dominant cultures; and 3) the possibility of absolute dating in rock art. Obviously, none of these issues has been addressed in depth, given the nature and duration of the symposium, but a small step forward has been made. Several scholars directly involved with the fieldwork in the study area contributed to the realization of the Ravenna symposium. Unfortunately, not all of them were able either to attend the conference in Ravenna or to prepare their papers for this volume: therefore, almost all the contributions from Pakistan are unfortunately missing (which explains why a discussion of Baluchistan, Middle Indus, Upper Indus and Baltistan rock art is absent from this volume). Vice versa, other contributors who could not attend the symposium later presented papers for publication (for instance, P. Dorjay and M. Passarelli). Therefore, only a paper deal with rock art in Pakistan: Painted Shelters from Lower Swat (Pakistan). Recent Discovery in the frame of the AMSV Project by Luca Maria Olivieri, in collaboration with Faiz-ur-Rahman (IsIAO). This contribution represent also the continuity between the Heidelberg conference and this symposium. The IsIAO Italian Archaeological Mission’s background and activities are well known thanks to a long list of publications. The progress of the AMSV project (and the connected study of rock art) has been addressed at the EASAA Conferences since 2001. There are four papers dealing with rock art in India, covering the period from the Stone Age to the end of the first millennium A.D. One of the papers is dedicated to Madhya Pradesh; the other three deal with Ladakh ( Jammu & Kashmir). The first paper, Recent developments in rock art research in India with special reference to the EIP Project by Giriraj Kumar (RASI), deals in particular with the issue of absolute dating techniques. From 2001 to 2006, the author conducted excavations at Daraki-Chattan. During the excavations, cupules (or cup-marks) stratigraphically associated with Lower Palaeolithic artefacts were discovered. Moreover, for the first time, sound chronological records have been obtained for other rock art sites in central India (mainly from Bhimbetka) through AMS 14C, OSL and microerosion techniques. All of the other papers deal with Ladakh. Very little has been published regarding the archaeology of this western Himalayan region. The papers, presenting petroglyphs as well as rock-reliefs, give an archaeological overview of the region from the Iron Age to the development of Buddhism. The paper written by Laurianne Bruneau and Martin Vernier deals with the Iron Age of Ladakh. As its title specifies (Animal style of the steppes in Ladakh: a presentation of newly discovered petroglyphs), it attempts to present all of the documented carvings in the region which are relevant to the study of the animal style of the steppes, which is emblematic to the Central Asian Saka tribes. Issues such as how, when, from where and by whom this style was introduced are not raised. Instead, the authors’ aim is to provide all the data needed for a future analysis of these

iii

questions. The other two papers (B.R. Mani, Authors of Petroglyphs in Ladakh and Baltistan, and Phuntsog Dorjay, Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures), complete the picture of the Ladakh rock art horizon. The next group of papers deals with regions to the west of the Indo-Pakistani Subcontinent, from the Hindukush mountains to Tajikistan’s river valleys and Kazakhstan’s steppes. The study of the rock art of the Hindukush mountain range is still a relatively new field. Marco Ferrandi has provided a paper (Rock Art in Afghanistan and Hindukush: An Overview) which provides an introduction to the current state of the research in this area, complemented by observations and statistics. Distribution maps, frequency of the depicted subjects, notes on style and techniques are drawn on the basis of a comprehensive catalogue of the data published on this topic so far. The paper written by Marta Passarelli – Rock Carvings in the Yaghnob River Valley (Tajikistan): A Preliminary Study – deals with the research conducted in an area of northern Tajikistan that was previously primarily familiar to ethnolinguists, because of the local language, Yaghnobi, generally associated with the ancient Sogdian language. During a recent ethnolinguistic fieldwork, some petroglyphs were discovered, both in panels and isolated; an entire palimpsest was also found. Overall, the Yaghnob Valley petroglyphs share many attributes (subject frequency, style, etc.) with most Central Asiatic rock art, thus ascribing them to that wider cultural milieu. Kazakh petroglyphs are the subject of Irina Shvets’ paper (Kazakh Petroglyphs in the Light of Recently Discovered Stations and Their Dating). As was the case regarding the rock art of the Hindukush, we are still lacking a good overview of the rich archaeological heritage of this region. Although this material still needs to be systematically and homogeneously reviewed, it is nonetheless possible to attempt a wider overview of the material; Shvets does it, paying particular attention to issues of conservation and vandalism. In her paper, she confronts vital matters such as petroglyph dating (methodologies and chronological hypotheses), style definition and recognition, cultural influences and symbolic.

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Recent developments in rock art research in India with special reference to the EIP Project Giriraj Kumar India is one of the three countries having the richest treasures of rock art in the world, the other two being Australia and South Africa. Therefore, India occupies an important place in rock art heritage and human evolution in the world in general and in South Asia in particular. Rock art constitutes a very significant primary archaeological data in situ representing the visual manifestations of human perception of reality, many facets of his creative dimensions and his cognitive and cultural development through the history of humankind being otherwise difficult to know by other forms of archaeological remains (Fig. 1).

study of the rock art at Bhimbetka and in the surrounding region by different scholars (Pandey 1975; Wanke 1974; Misra 1977, 1978; Neumayer 1983, 1993; Mathpal 1984). Pioneering research work by V.S. Wakankar, in the form of study of rock art and excavations at Bhimbetka and in the surrounding region in the 1970s, laid the foundation of rock art discipline in India (Wakankar 1973, 1975, 1976; Wakankar and Brooks 1976). By this time central Indian rock art had become the synonym of Indian rock art. Bhimbetka received its due recognition when UNESCO included it in the list of natural and cultural world heritage sites in 2003 (Ota 2005). The next phase of the development in rock art research in India witnessed the appearance of regional studies throughout its length and breadth (Tewari 1990; Anand 1991-92; Kumar et al. 1992; Sundara 1994; Mathpal 1995, 1998; Pradhan 2001; Mani 2000-01; Chandramouli 2002; Prasad 2003-4; Rajan, in press). These researches have been adding the regional features and cultural flavours to Indian rock art heritage. Thus, rock art research has been playing an instrumental role in bringing out a new multifaceted, dynamic and vibrant personality of prehistoric India. Formation of the Rock Art Society of India (RASI) along with the establishment of its international journal Purakala in 1990 and their immediate affiliation with the International Federation of Rock Art Organisations (IFRAO) are among the significant developments (Kumar 1991: 37-38). They have been providing international platform to Indian scholars and playing a dynamic role in the exchange of knowledge and ideas with the global community of researchers and scientists working in this field. Thus, the RASI and Purakala have been contributing significantly in bringing rock art research in India on scientific track at par with global developments in the discipline. RASI has been organizing both national and international conferences and field trips for the scholars to rock art sites. The RASI-2004 International Congress (Rock Art Research: Changing Paradigm) has been the landmark event in this field in India. It was nominated as the tenth Congress of the IFRAO. It was followed by post congress field trips to rock art sites in the Vindhyas (including Bhimbetka), Chambal valley and Chattisgarh-Orissa regions. With these events the international community of rock art scientists could get an opportunity to understand and enjoy Indian rock art in its precinct natural environment for the first time (Kumar 2004). Inspired by the RASI activities the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi, with a vision to develop indigenous capability, initiated a major crossdisciplinary project for documentation and conservation of rock art and associated heritage in 2005. Similarly, the Indira Gandhi National Museum of Man, Bhopal, started an intensive study of the tangible heritage including folk art traditions of the villages in the buffer zone of Bhimbetka.

Fig. 1 Sketch map of the major rock art areas in India. (Drawings and Photos by the Author). Technically, Indian rock art is both in the form of pictograms (rock paintings) and petroglyphs, the former being the dominating form. It is generally known for its thematic nature, variety in styles and evolutionary features representing different stages of the development of human cognition both in space and time. Pioneering work and further developments The first discovery of rock art in India was made by Archibald Carlleyle in 1867 (Smith 1906) but the interest in rock art research growed only in the second half of the 20th century (Varma 1964; Pandey 1969; Sundara 1968), especially with the discovery of Bhimbetka by V.S. Wakankar in 1957 (Wakankar 1957, 1975), and later on excavations, documentation and

1

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent Discovery of Palaeolithic cupules: A paradigm shift in rock art research

foundation for the intensive and multidisciplinary research on early Indian petroglyphs with international collaboration through the EIP Project.

Cupules are hemispherical percussion petroglyphs. They represent one of the earliest non iconic human creations on horizontal or vertical rock surface. Throughout the world, iconic form of rock art is preceded by non iconic form. It is a global phenomenon representing the slow but steady evolution in human cognition and cultural development. Indian scholars became aware of the cupules as a form of rock art in 1990 when Robert Bednarik explained the cupules on the Chief ’s Rock in the Auditorium cave at Bhimbetka to Indian scholars (Bednarik 1993a, 1993b). He was on an Indian tour on the invitation of Giriraj Kumar. Previously these were considered as goung marks. This awareness initiated the discovery of the palaeolithic cupule sites in the 1990s and onwards at Bhimbetka (Bednarik 1993b), Daraki-Chattan (Pancholi 1993), Modabhata (Kumar and Bednarik 2002) and other sites (Kumar and Prajapati 2005). It brought a paradigm shift in rock art research in India (Fig.2). Their antiquity was claimed going back to the Lower Palaeolithic and Middle Palaeolithic age (Bednarik 1993, Kumar and Sharma 1995) (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3 Bhimbetka, Auditorium Cave: cupule in Acheulian layer. The EIP Project The EIP Project is a short form of the high profile multidisciplinary project on ‘Early Indian Petroglyphs: Scientific Investigations and Dating by International Commission’. It is a joint venture by the Rock Art Society of India (RASI) and Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA) under the aegis of the International Federation of Rock Art Organisations (IFRAO). It was established by Giriraj Kumar, then President, RASI and R.G. Bednarik, President, AURA as joint Project Directors in 2000 (Kumar 2000-01: 49-68). The work of the EIP Project has enjoyed the support from the Archaeological Survey of India, the Indian Council of Historical Research and the Australia-India Council, Canberra. The Commission is to investigate all matters concerning the very early rock art of India including that of Daraki-Chattan thoroughly, using methods such as carbon isotope analysis, optically stimulated luminescence dating, microerosion analysis, uranium-thorium analysis and archaeological excavation. The Commission consists of geologists, archaeologists, rock art scientists and archaeometrists from India and Australia.

Fig. 2 Sketch map of the petroglyphs sites (ref. to this paper).

Besides, the EIP Project was also to introduce AMS 14C dating method to obtain absolute dates for at least some rock paintings in India and to obtain for the first time OSL dates to the Lower Palaeolithic and Middle Palaeolithic cultural strata exposed in the Auditorium Cave and Misra’s rockshelter at Bhimbetka, which are of considerable importance to Lower and Middle Palaeolithic studies of India.

The data reported from India contradict a great deal of the current model of Pleistocene archaeology. If they were being interpreted correctly, they would rewrite the history of cognitive and cultural evolution of hominids, just as the Pleistocene evidence of seafaring has recently revised the technological paradigm. It has become apparent that the language should be at least a million years old, and that a largely modern form of human cognition might have developed during the reign of Homo erectus. Most of the evidence these new data claims comes from the general area of south Asia. In view of their extraordinary importance to world archaeology it was essential that the claims concerning India’s extremely early petroglyphs be examined thoroughly and critically. It laid the

The fieldwork of the EIP Project was commenced in mid2001 by G. Kumar and several colleagues and speed up in the following years with an intensive campaign involving several specialists (Kumar 2000-2001:49-68).1 The first tangible findings were presented at the RASI-IFRAO Congress in Agra   A project web-page was established by R.G. Bednarik at http://mc2. vicnet.net.au/home/eip1/web/index.html. 1

2

Recent developments in rock art research in India with special reference to the EIP Project

Fig. 4 Indragarh hill with the Daraki-Chattan (DRK) cave.

Fig. 5 S wall of the DRK cave.

Fig. 6 Detail of the cupules on the S wall of DRK. 3

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent Giriraj Kumar from 2002 to 2006. Narayan Vyas was the official representative of the Archaeological Survey of India and was nominated as the co-director of the excavation. Total area excavated was 33 square meters (Fig. 7). Stratigraphy The excavations at Daraki-Chattan from 2002 to 2006 exposed sediments up to a depth of 311 cm from A1 in the main trench. The sediments slope towards west by 150 cm over a distance of 5 m, i.e. up to XB6(2). The nature of the sediment so far exposed in the excavation is fairly uniform with gradations of colour, size of the exfoliated flakes, stones, blocks and slabs (Fig. 8). However, for convenience of study, the sediments have been divided broadly in two parts: a lower deposit with sub-pseudo-layers 6, 5 and 4; and an upper deposit with sub-pseudo-layers 3, 2 and 1 (see Table 1 and Fig. 9). Observations Excavations have proved that DarakiChattan cave is a Lower Palaeolithic site. Initially it was used by humans using artefacts made on big quartzite cobbles and pebbles, a few on flakes both natural and human made. Patinated chert flakes were also found. Stratigraphically these were obtained from the upper part of layer-6 of lateritic soil, and a portion of layer-5 of compact dark brown soil immediately lying on layer-6. Artefacts are highly patinated and weathered. No use of hand axe or cleaver is reported.

Fig. 7 DRK excavation grid plan.

In the second phase, in layer-5, intensity of these artefacts increases considerably. Hand at the end of November 2004 and have been published (Kumar, in press, Kumar et al. 2002, Kumar et al. 2005, Bednarik et al. 2005). Fieldwork continues and will take several more years to complete. The excavations at Daraki Chattan form the major part of the EIP Project. Excavations at Daraki-Chattan (2002-2006) Daraki-Chattan is an extraordinary Palaeolithic cupule site in Chambal basin in India. It is a small cave in the quartzite buttresses on Indragarh hill (Fig. 4). It bears more than 500 cupules on both its walls and yielded Lower Palaeolithic artefacts from its floor surface. Front portions of the walls are heavily exfoliated and are mostly devoid of cupules (Fig. 5 and 6). These exfoliated cupules bearing slabs and some of the hammerstones used for their production must have been lying buried in the sediments in front of the cave. Hence, in order to test the antiquity of the cupule creation in the cave, excavations were carried out at Daraki-Chattan under the direction of

Fig. 8 DRK excavation: section facing S. 4

Recent developments in rock art research in India with special reference to the EIP Project Layer No.

3.

Layerthickness A few -10 cm 15 -24 cm including layer 1 37-110 cm

4.

26-50 cm

5

25-28 cm

6.

25-76 cm

1. 2.

Nature

Associated cultural material

Surface humus Loose brown soil

Artifacts representing transitional phase from Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic

Loose brown soil with exfoliated flakes and stones Compact calcareous yellowish brown soil Compact brownish red soil

Lower Palaeolithic flake artifacts, some on pebbles and cobbles.

Lower Palaeolithic flake tools along with artifacts on pebbles and cobbles. Cupules, petroglyphs and arranged stones. Lower Palaeolithic. More artifacts on quartzite cobbles, pebbles and thick nodules, some also on natural flakes, split pebbles and human made flakes on quartzite, a few on chert also. Rare occurrence of hand axe like artifacts, only one cleaver, some hammerstones and slabs bearing cupules. Artifacts on quartzite cobbles and pebbles, some also on natural and human made flakes and split pebbles, a few on chert also were obtained from the upper part of the red laterite soil, layer 6, overlaid by layer 5 (18-06-05). Otherwise most of the lower portion of this lateritic red soil is devoid of stone artifacts. It corroborates the evidence of Lower Palaeolithic artefacts obtained from only upper layer of laterite deposit at Barodia-Navali crossing (Fanta) on Gandhisagar road.

Comparatively loose lateritic red soil

Tab. 1 Stratigraphy and associated tool typology (section facing south, main trench). Note: Layers 1 and 2 are visible only in the area of XB3 and XB4 and are almost indistinguishable.

Fig. 9 DRK excavation: section facing S. 5

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 10 DRK excavation, section facing N: cobble tool close to bedrock.

Fig. 11 DRK excavtion: other artefacts.

Excavated cupules

axes and cleavers appear but rarely. Artefacts are patinated and comparatively less weathered. In the following layer-4 of compact calcareous yellowish brown soil we have discovered a lot of artefacts both on cores and flakes of Acheulean industry. Still the hand axes and cleavers are rare. Layer-3, 2 and 1 yielded late Acheulean industry. Artefacts are generally patinated and in mint condition. Only a few show a little bit of rolling abrasions; it means that most of the artefacts were either manufactured at the site or brought here by some human agency.

The excavations yielded 29 cupules on 16 slab pieces exfoliated from the cave wall throughout the vertical depth of the cultural sediments of Lower Palaeolithic Age (Fig. 12). Out of these two slabs bearing cupules are still lying in situ in the trench. The one discovered on the 16th of June 2005 is projecting from the section facing south in XB3(2) (Fig. 13a). The dimensions of the cupule are: 32 mm (broken) x 29 mm x 6 mm. It is broken and weathered and represents the earliest cupule from the DarakiChattan excavations (Fig. 13b). It comes from the lower part of layer 5, the slab bearing it lying just 20 cm above bedrock. Another cupule still lying in situ in A2, A3 and A4 in layer 4 was observed on a very big fallen slab (118 x 93 x 34 cm) slanting NW in 2004. The cupule is slightly diagonal and deep, with dimensions 32 (broken) x 34 x 16 mm. It is located just close to the section facing north.

Thus, preliminary observations indicate that early Acheulean artefact industry is preceded stratigraphically by an industry of artefacts made on cobbles, pebbles and flakes both natural and man made (Fig. 10 and 11). Such sort of early cultural horizon preceding early Acheulean bifaces startigraphically has also been observed by V.S. Wakankar in the excavations in the Auditorium Cave at Bhimbetka (Wakankar 1975). Besides, similar observations were made by by Z.D. Ansari at Nittur (1985) and by J. Armand at Durkadi (1980) in central India.

Generally cupules obtained from the lower layers are heavily patinated and weathered as compared to those obtained from 6

Recent developments in rock art research in India with special reference to the EIP Project

Fig. 12 DRK excavation: slab with cupules assembled from 7 fragments.

Fig. 13a DRK excavation: cupuled slab in situ close to bedrock.

Fig. 13b Close up of Fig. 13a. 7

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 15 Close up of a hammerstone found in sediment layer 4 and 5. Fig. 14a DRK excavation: hammerstone from the E side of the trench, close to bedrock.

of cupule creation in the first phase of the use of the cave by humans (Fig. 14a and 14b). This level yielded many Lower Palaeolithic artefacts on quartzite mostly on cobbles, some on flakes; one of them is a 30-cm-long flake. The most recently secured hammerstone, also a quartzite pebble, was found in XB4 (4) on the 18th of June 2005. It occurred at a depth of 140 cm from XB4, where the sediment changes from lateritic red to brownish red soil, i.e. at the junction of layer 6 and 5. Its dimensions are 97 x 81 x 64 mm. It was found along with a Lower Palaeolithic artefact made from a quartzite cobble, a hematite pigment nodule and another cobble tool. All of these four objects come from an area measuring 17 x 16 cm in XB4 (4), at -132 to 140 cm depth from XB4. One more artefact of a quartzite flake, Lower Palaeolithic, comes from nearly 20 cm away from the hammerstone. All these artefacts were found surrounded by decomposed quartzite stone blocks (barbarya bhatas).

Fig. 14b Close up of Fig. 14b.

Other petroglyphs

the upper layers. Their diameter generally ranges between 30.7 mm to 51.9 mm and depth between 4.7 mm to 8.8 mm. The dimensions of the excavated smallest and biggest cupules are 26.1 x 29.0 x 1.85 mm and 50.5 x 51.9 x 7.4 mm respectively.

We also found a block with two engraved lines. They are heavily patinated bearing dark brown patina and thick encrustation at places in the groove. The latter will be tried for U/Th method of dating. In the process of its exposure 20 Lower Palaeolithic artefacts were found from above and along its sides (Fig. 16).

Hammerstones

Study

The excavations also produced 10 hammerstones used for the production of cupules (Fig. 14a, 14b and 15). They are mostly on quartzite cobbles, some on pebbles with hard dark red core. Out of these one hammerstone, discovered in XA1(2) at depth -127 cm from A1 on the 16th of June 2003, was lying just on the bedrock: hence, it represents one of the earliest evidence

Daraki-Chattan is a unique Lower Palaeolithic cupule site in the world. More than 500 cupules on its walls represent different phases of cupule creation in the Lower Palaeolithic Age, beginning in the first phase by users of cobble tools and pebble tools, preceding the early Acheulean. It is evident by the occurrence of the hammerstones and cupule slabs from the very 8

Recent developments in rock art research in India with special reference to the EIP Project

Fig. 16 DRK excavation: engraved slab. beginning in layer-6. The activity of cupule creation continued in the following phases of the Lower Palaeolithic Age. Besides cupules, we have also obtained engraved lines on a rectangular block lying in layer-3. So far we have not observed rock paintings or any other iconic form of rock art created in the cave in terminal phase of Pleistocene or Holocene period. Petroglyphs recovered from the excavations at Daraki-Chattan consist of a total of 29 cupules exfoliated from the cave wall, and two linear grooves. The lack of cupules on exfoliation scars on the cave walls implies that the remaining wall cupules are of ages similar to those in the excavation. The actual age of the cupules must have been much older than that of their archaeological-stratigraphic age, as they must have been exfoliated much later after their production on the cave wall. The same relationship has been suggested for the cupules above ground in Auditorium Cave.

Project team collected pigment and encrustation samples from rock paintings and associated surfaces Rock paintings were also studied at Bhimbetka, Jamunjhiri and Hathitol (Raisen) in Madhya Pradesh in 2002. The preliminary estimates of age range from 1100 to 5200 years ago (Tab. 2). Watchman observed that white paint at the various locations contains carbon, but its identity has not yet been investigated. The carbon in the white paint is easily dated, but the red paints sampled so far do not contain dateable material. It means obtaining AMS 14C dates for early rock paintings, mostly executed in red haematite and some in green terraverta pigments; this is still a great challenge in India. However, we have made a breakthrough. OSL dates for Bhimbetka The excavations at Bhimbetka by V.S. Wakankar (1975, 1976) and V.N. Misra (1977, 1978) in the 1970s revealed a continuous cultural sequence from Lower Palaeolithic age to the historic period. However, there were no absolute dates for the Pleistocene sediments, though there were some 14C dates available for Holocene deposits. Looking towards the significance of Bhimbetka in Stone Age archaeology it was important to date its early sediments. Hence, the EIP team collected four soil samples, three from Misra’s trench and one from Wakankar’s trench for OSL dating. About the quality of the later sample we were doubtful from the very beginning as the sediments were dug out while construction of a stone wall in the trench by ASI.

Introduction of absolute dating for Indian rock art and Pleistocene sediments from excavations at Bhimbetka and other sites AMS 14C dates for rock paintings Absolute dating of Indian rock art has been a great challenge and that of petroglyphs is even more difficult throughout the world. However, we started the challenge through the EIP Project. A team of Indo-Australian scientists of the project with the permission of the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, collected 28 pigment and encrustation samples from the rock paintings in central India in 2002. Some of the samples were analysed and got dated by Alan Watchman in Australia. The results are as follows. The EIP

Richard G. Roberts, an earth scientist in Australia, analysed the soil samples for OSL dating. Two kinds of ages have been calculated for each of the samples, using statistical models: the 9

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent Sample Id.

Description

Lab. Number

δ13C ‰

AMS 14C age

HAT - white

Hathitol

OZG370

?

4810 ± 370

J52B - white

Bhimbetka

OZG368

?

1720 ± 310

AS122 - white

Bhimbetka

OZG369

?

5190 ± 310

AS144 - white

Bhimbetka

OZG814

-5 assumed

1100 ± 60

DK-6 coating

Daraki-Chattan

DK-8 coating

Daraki-Chattan

DK-10 coating

Daraki-Chattan



Recently submitted

Tab. 2 AMS 14C age determination. Bhimbetka Misra’s trench

MAM

CAM

BH-3

17.9 +/- 1.5 ka

45 +/- 8 ka

BH-2

41 +/- 12 ka

106 +/- 20 ka

47 +/- 4 ka

94 +/- 11 ka

20.6 +/- 1.5 ka

61 +/- 13 ka

BH-1 Wakankar’s trench BH-4

Daraki-Chattan DC-1

3.04 +/- 0.43 ka

DC-2

3.59 +/- 0.45 ka

DC-3

5.16 +/- 0.54 ka

Tab. 3 The Bhimbetka and Daraki-Chattan OSL ages (in stratigraphic order).

Central Age Model (CAM), effectively a weighted mean that takes into account the dispersion in palaeodose estimates above and beyond that associated with photon-counting statistics, commonly called ‘over-dispersion’, and the Minimum Age Model (MAM), which calculates the palaeodose associated with the lowest-dose population of aliquots (this being appropriate for poorly bleached samples) (Tab. 3).

Microerosion dates

BH-3 was collected from the terminal phase of Middle Palaeolithic and BH-2 from the beginning of Middle Palaeolithic. OSL dates for these samples show consistency and are reliable. Soil sample BH-1 was collected from the lower compact sediment; therefore, its date should be more than that of BH-2. Hence, OSL date for BH-1 is not reliable. Roberts wants to re-run the samples.

Microerosion analysis

Besides, R.G. Bednarik also tried microerosion dates for the cupules at Bhimbetka and in Ajmer district, Rajasthan. This method provides dates when the cupules were last stroked, while their actual age might have been much earlier as they can be stroked by any one at any time after their creation.

Applications of this method of estimating the ages of fractures caused at the time of the production of petroglyphs have been attempted at the sites Auditorium Cave, Morajhari and Moda Bhata. At the first site, one cupule was determined to be beyond the effective range of the method, which is thought to be in the order of 50 ka under conditions of full exposure to precipitation. However, as the quartzite site occurs in a partially sheltered cave location, this would imply an antiquity considerably greater than this figure.

Similarly, OSL dates for soil samples from Daraki-Chattan are very young (Holocene) (Tab. 3). They cannot be considered for the age determination of the Lower Palaeolithic artefacts, because of the partial bleaching of the older sediments and bringing younger sediments by rainwater every year and leaving the heavy stone artefacts behind. Hence, OSL daters we have obtained are for recent soils trapped in the stony sediment, not for the age of the Lower Palaeolithic artefacts.

At Morajhari (Rajasthan), three fully exposed cupules were also subjected to microerosion analysis. In the absence of a calibration curve for the region, the Pilbara (Australia) calibration curve (which derives from a similar arid climate) was substituted to estimate the ages of these three motifs. The

10

Recent developments in rock art research in India with special reference to the EIP Project oldest yielded an age estimate of E5000 +1100 / -950 years BP. The two others on this gneissic rock appear to be slightly more recent.

southern Asia, but it will influence the way we view cognitive evolution generally.

Finally, one large cupule was analysed on the massive crystalline white quartz exposure at Moda Bhata, on a horizontal and fully exposed surface. It yielded an age estimate of E9100 +1200 / -1300 years BP, but also provided clear evidence of reworking about 1800 years ago.

Acknowledgments My thanks are due to R.G. Bednarik for his guidance, cooperation and support for research in rock art with a new vision as a friend and as the co-director of the EIP Project with me. The work of the EIP Project has enjoyed the financial support of the Archaeological Survey of India, the Indian Council of Historical Research and the Australia-India Council. I thank the heads and staff of these three sponsors, especially Prof. M. G. K. Narayanan, Dr R.S. Bisht and Dr R. C. Agrawal. My special thanks are due to the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, for granting us permission for the excavation at Daraki-Chattan and for sample collection from the early Indian petroglyph and rock painting sites. We have also benefited greatly from the collaboration of Dr Narayan Vyas, Dr P. K. Bhatt, Arakhita Pradhan, Dr A. Sundara, Dr S. P. Gupta, Dr R. K. Sharma, Dr Amarendra Nath, P. B. S. Sengar, Ram Krishna, Dr S. Pradhan, K. K. Muhammed, Alok Tripathi, Dr B. L. Bamboria and Dr Ashvini Kumar Sharma. I heartily thank Dr Alan Watchman and Prof Richard G. Roberts for carrying out scientific investigations of samples for AMS 14C and OSL dating respectively. I also wish to thank the visiting scholars of this project for their invaluable participation and contributions: Dr Ewan Lawson (carbon isotope analysis), Dr Carol Patterson (rock art research), Professor V. N. Misra (Pleistocene archaeology), Dr R. K. Choudhury (nuclear physics), Professor S. N. Behera (nuclear physics), R. K. Pancholi (rock art research), Dr G. L. Badam (palaeontology), Dr R. K. Ganjoo (geology), S. B. Ota (archaeology), M. L. Sharma and M. L. Meena (both rock art research). Their co-operation has greatly facilitated the success of this endeavour. My special thanks are due to my wife Gita Devi without whose cooperation this project could not have been done smoothly.

The above microerosion results represent the first scientific dating evidence obtained from any Indian rock art. They were secured by R.G. Bednarik, who developed the method, and as they precede results since reported by others in China and Saudi Arabia, they are also the first such evidence ever obtained in Asia as a whole. The future strategy involves the following essential components: 1. A valid calibration curve needs to be established for quartz in the region of western Madhya Pradesh and nearby parts of Rajasthan. For this, worked surfaces of known ages that have been exposed to precipitation for their life spans need to be found and analysed. 2. Bajanibhat and Pola Bhata need to be subjected to microerosion analysis, as well as granite cupule sites in Bihar, with the help of Dr A. K. Prasad. Microerosion dating method has a severe limitation. It provides an estimate of the age when the petroglyph was last stroked, not that of its production for the first time. Hence, microerosion dates give the minimum antiquity of the petroglyphs under study. Conclusion Recent developments in rock art research have brought out a rich, multifaceted, dynamic and vibrant personality of prehistoric India with regional features and cultural flavours. Through these visual manifestations of the human mind, one can have a glimpse of his perception of reality, many facets of creative dimensions and his cognitive and cultural development otherwise difficult to know by other forms of archaeological remains. Most important contribution has been made by the EIP Project in the current decade. Through the excavations at Daraki-Chattan India has produced the unambiguous evidence of petroglyphs, mostly cupules, from archaeological occupation strata of Lower Palaeolithic Age, right from preearly Acheulean cultural phase. This is a great contribution of immense significance to world archaeology. Besides, the EIP Project has also provided some absolute dates for the first time for Indian rock art.

Bibliography Anand, K. (1991-92) ‘Rock paintings of Mirzapur’, Journal of the Bihar Puravid Parishad 15-16: 55-64. Ansari, Z.D. (1985) ‘Pebble tools from Nittur’, in S. B. Deo and M.K. Dhavalikar (eds), Indian antiquary 4. Professor H. D. Sankalia felicitation volume, 1–7. Bombay. Armand, J. (1980) ‘The Middle Pleistocene pebble tool site of Durkadi in central India’, Palaeorient 5: 105–44. Bednarik, R.G. (1993a) ‘Palaeolithic art in India’, Man and Environment 18 (2): 33–40. Bednarik, R.G. (1993b) ‘About cupules’, Rock Art Research 10 (2): 138–39. Bednarik, R.G., G. Kumar, A. Watchman and R.G. Roberts (2005) ‘Preliminary results of the EIP Project’, Rock Art Research 22(2): 147–197. Chandramouli, N. (2002) Rock art of South India. Delhi. Kumar, G. (1991) ‘RASI Progress report-1990: RASI’s march on the path of progress’, Purakala 2 (1): 37-38. Kumar, G. (2000-01) ‘Early Indian Petroglyphs: scientific investigations and dating by international commission,

Thus, our understanding of art origins is rapidly changing. More than any other evidence during the last 100 years, the evidence produced by the EIP Project, especially from the excavations at Daraki-Chattan, has shown that we have misjudged the time depth of palaeoart and human cognition, creative ability and symbolism. Now time has come to change our mindset. The evidence is so important that it is set to affect not only our concepts of Pleistocene hominid development in

11

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent April 2001 to March 2004’, Purakala 11-12: 49–68. Kumar, G. (2004) Rock Art Research: Changing Paradigms, the RASI 2004 International Rock Art Congress Programme and Congress Handbook. Agra. Kumar, G. (in press) ‘Preliminary report of the excavation at Daraki-Chattan for the session 2003-2004’ [sent to the office of the D.G. Archaeological Survey of India]. Kumar, G., R.K. Pancholi, S. Nagdev, G.S. Runwal, J.N. Srivastava and J.D. Tripathi (1992) ‘Rock art of Upper Chambal valley’, Purakala 3 (1-2): 13-68. Kumar, G. and M. Sharma (1995) ‘Petroglyph sites in Kalapahad and Ganesh Hill: documentation and observations’, Purakala 6: 56–59. Kumar, G., R.G. Bednarik, A. Watchman, R.G. Roberts, E. Lawson, and C. Patterson (2002) ‘2002 Progress report of the EIP Project’, Rock Art Research 20: 70–71. Kumar, G. and R.G. Bednarik (2002) ‘The quartz cupules of Ajmer, Rajasthan’, Purakala 13 (1–2): 45–50. Kumar, G., R.G. Bednarik, A. Watchman, A. and R.G. Roberts (2005) ‘The EIP Project in 2005: A progress report’, Purakala 14-15: 13-68. Kumar, G. and S. Prajapati (2005) ‘Petroglyphs discovered in Ajmer, Rajasthan’, Purakala 14-15: 116-17. Kumar, G., K.B. Pradyumn, P. Arakhita and K. Ram (2006) ‘Discovery of early petroglyphs in Chambal valley, Madhya Pradesh’, Purakala 16: 13-34. Mani, B.R. (2000-01) ‘Rock art of Ladakh: Glimpses of economic and cultural life’, Purakala 11-12: 93-108. Mathpal, Y. (1984) Prehistoric Rock Paintings of Bhimbetka, Central India. New Delhi. Mathpal, Y. (1995) Rock art in Kumaon Himalaya. New Delhi. Mathpal, Y. (1998) Rock art in Kerala. New Delhi. Misra, V.N. (1977) ‘Prehistoric culture sequence of Bhimbetka’, Prehistoric man and his art in central India: 10-16. Poona. Misra, V. N. (1978) ‘The Acheulean industry of rock shelter IIIF-23 at Bhimbetka, central India — a preliminary report’, Australian Archaeology 8: 63–106. Neumayer. E. (1983) Prehistoric Indian rock paintings. Delhi. Neumayer. E. (1993) Lines on stone: The prehistoric rock art of India. New Delhi.

Ota, S.B. (2005) ‘Declaration of painted rock shelters of Bhimbetka as world heritage and its management initiatives’, Purakala 14-15: 83-88. Pancholi, R. K. (1994) ‘Bhanpura kshetra me navin shodha’ [in Hindi], Purakala 5 (1–2): 75. Pandey, S.K. (1969) Painted rock shelters of Madhya Pradesh with special reference to Mahakoshal, Ph.D. Thesis. Sagar University. Pandey, S.K. (1975) ‘Prehistoricity of Indian rock paintings’, Prachya Pratibha 3(2): 33-50. Pradhan, S. (2001) Rock art in Orissa. New Delhi. Prasad, A.K. (2003-04) ‘Important discoveries of prehistoric rock paintings, ancient inscriptions and Stone Age tools in southern Bihar and adjoining Jharkhand’, Puratattava 34: 68-90. Rajan, K. (in press) ‘Rock art in south India- A status report’, Keynote Address delivered in the 12th Congress of the Rock Art Society of India at Sulthan Batheri, Wayanad, Kerala. Smith, V. (1906) ‘Pigmy flints’, The Indian Antiquary 6:185195 Sundara, A. (1968) ‘Rock-shelter, Hire-Benakal Hills, District Raichur’, India Archaeology 1967-68: A Review: 67-68. Sundara, A. (1994) Karnataka Pragitihasa Kalada Kale (in Kannada). Bangalore. Tewari. R. (1990) Rock paintings of Mirzapur. Lucknow. Varma, R.K. (1964) Stone age cultures of Mirzapur, D. Phil. Thesis. Allahabad University. Wakankar, V. S. (1957) ‘Rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh’, Indian Archaeology 1956-57: A Review: 79, fig. 18. Wakankar, V. S. (1973) Painted rock shelters of India, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Poona. Wakankar, V. S. (1975) ‘Bhimbetka — the prehistoric para­ dise’, Prachya Pratibha 3 (2): 7–29. Wakankar, V.S. (1976) ‘Presidential Address’, delivered in the Annual Congress of the Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies, Jaipur in Rajasthan. Wakankar, V. S., Brooks, Robert, R.R.R. (1976) Stone Age paintings in India. Yale. Wanke, L. (1974) Indische Felsbilder als Urkunden einer weltweiten Frühreligion. Icking

12

Painted Shelters from Lower Swat (Pakistan). Recent Discovery in the frame of the AMSV Project Luca Maria Olivieri (in collaboration with Faiz-ur-Rahman) The Survey

Some of the issues discussed in this paper were already, but only partly, presented by Massimo Vidale and L. M. Olivieri on other occasions. First in a recent report published in 2006 (Olivieri, Vidale et al. 2006), then in Heidelberg on the occasion of a seminar, organised by the Research Unit of the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften ‘Felsbilder und Inschriften am Karakorum Highway’, lead by Harald Hauptmann (April 2007). That seminar, entitled ‘In the Shadow of the Mountains. Rock art between Upper Indus region and Swat’ led to the exchanging of data, impressions, and suggestions, between the more active European teams in the field of the archaeology of rock-art in that part of Pakistan (namely the Heidelberger team in Upper Indus and the IsIAO Mission to Swat).

50 years after the initial reconnaissance carried out by Giuseppe Tucci (Tucci 1958), the target of the first phase of the Archaeological Map of the Swat Valley (AMSV Project) was again the area around Barikot. The 2000-2006 survey campaigns focused on an area of approximately 200 square kilometers, focusing on four left tributary valleys of the Swat river, namely from E: Karakar, Najigram, Kandak and Kotah. The surface exploration and mapping of this first selected area has led to the documentation over 400 sites ranging from the Palaeolithic to Late Antiquity (Vidale & Laurenza 2005; Vidale & Olivieri 2002; Olivieri & Vidale 2004; Olivieri 2004, 2005; Olivieri, Vidale et al. 2006; Micheli 2006; Olivieri 2008a).

The present paper also is the last of a series of communications on the Swat rock art delivered at the EASAA Conferences. The other communications were delivered first in Paris in 2001 (Laurenza & Vidale 2005), then in Bonn in 2003 (Olivieri 2005), and in 2005 in London (Olivieri 2008a). Preliminary reports concerning the Swat rock art data have been published in the IsIAO journal East and West at the end of each fieldwork campaign (Olivieri 1998; Vidale & Olivieri 2002; Olivieri & Vidale 2004; Olivieri, Vidale et al. 2006), but also elsewhere (Olivieri 2004, 2007, in press).

The Painted Shelters 49 painted shelters have been discovered in the study area (Fig. 1, Tab. 1). Painted shelters are usually set in large gneiss boulders metamorphosed and eroded by glacier action, generally in remote mountain areas above 1500 mt asl, but clearly visible at a great distance. The inner space, may barely have been sufficient to shelter more than one to three people at a time. The figures are painted in dark red ochre (the more recent in orange ochre) and more rarely in yellow and white. These painted shelters likely span a wide chronological range from the Bronze Age to Historic and the Late-historic phases. This may be indirectly inferred from the presence and/or absence of specific subjects in the painted lexicons: for instance, horses and horsemanship, Buddhist architecture, or weapons. Our reconstruction could at most regarded as logical, but absolutely not certain. Complicating the enigmatic dating are the many cup-marks nearby and inside the shelters.

A monographic study on the painted shelters of the Swat region is in preparation (Olivieri, in preparation), and it will present the final results of the survey campaigns 2000-2010. All the data here presented are part of the research and fieldwork carried out by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan of the Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO, Rome), in close collaboration with the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan.

The Protohistoric Shelters. 1

Geographical setting

The shelters deemed to be the most ancient, those of Sargahsar 1 (Site 04 in Fig. 1; see also Tab. 1) and Kakai-kandao 1 (03), display highly symbolic compositions, the syntax of which is based on associations, oppositions and combinations of iconographic themes. The elaborate structure suggests coliterate cultural contexts, that is, typical of primary orality cultures that nevertheless possess a complex mythopoeietic and lexical heritage. The dominant theme in these shelters seems to be agriculture (Vidale & Olivieri 2002).

The Lower Swat valley rock art panorama, and particularly the painted shelters phenomenon, is not unique at the regional level, as demonstrated by the several data collected by Pakistani research teams in the area of Mardan, Swabi and Attock (S and SE of Swat) (Shah Nazar Khan 1995, Nasim Khan 2000), as well as in other parts of the Swat valley (Bacha Sardar, in press). The discovery of painted shelters in the Black Mountains of the Hazara District (E of Swat, just across the Indus River), near Swabi-Mardan, in the Astor Valley, at the Babusar pass (Diamir, Upper Indus), and particularly those recently discovered at Gor (Gilgit) by Hauptmann’s team (personal communication), breaks any preconceived reconstruction as well as opens new interpretations.

In the open mouth of the natural gigantic face of Sargah-sar 1, three types of actors, are represented in scenes of ploughing, sowing and consecration of the field (Fig. 2). Men and women, equipped with farm implements, have the task of ploughing; 13

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 1 General Map (ref. to Tab. 1). (Drawing by E. Morigi).

14

Painted Shelters from Lower Swat (Pakistan). Recent Discovery in the frame of the AMSV Project Map No.

Figures No.

01 02

District - Valley

Site

Swat - Kandak

Dwolasmane-patai 1

Swat - Kandak

Dwolasmane-patai 2

03

3

Swat - Kotah

Kakai-kandao

04

2

Swat – Kotah

Sargah-sar

05

4

Swat - Kotah

Kamal-china

06

Swat – Kotah

Badze 1

07

Swat – Kotah

Badze 2

08

Swat – Kotah

Dandi-sar 1

09

Swat – Kotah

Dandi-sar 2

10

Swat – Kotah

Malak-ziarat

11

Swat – Kotah

Gwarejo-patai

12

5

Swat – Kotah

Palwano-gata

13

9

Malakand –Thana

Kafir-kot 1

14

Malakand -Thana

Kafir-kot 2

15

Swat - Kotah

Marano-tangai

16

Malakand - Thana

Shamo

17

Malakand -Thana

Hinduano-hatai

Swat - Kotah

Talang

Swat - Kotah

Churkhai (Kabball-dab)

20

Swat -Kotah

Ram-dunai 1

21

Swat -Kotah

Ram-dunai 2

22

Swat -Kotah

Ram-dunai 3

23

Malakand - Morah

Bacha-kot

24

Malakand – Morah

Busus-smast

25

Malakand – Morah

Kwar-patai

18 19

6

26

7

Malakand – Morah

Thakht-gat

27

10

Malakand – Morah

Lal-kamar 1

28

Malakand – Morah

Lal-kamar 2

29

Malakand – Morah

Lala-kamar 3

30

Malakand – Morah

Bara Loe-banda

31

Malakand – Morah

Gweluno-ghar

Malakand – Morah

Banj-smast

Malakand – Morah

Lal-kamar-china 1

34

Malakand – Morah

Lal-kamar-china 2

35

Malakand – Morah

Lal-kamar-china 3

36

Malakand – Morah

Loe-banda

37

Malakand – Morah

Chowra-dab

38

Malakand – Morah

Dab 1

39

Malakand – Morah

Dab 2

40

Malakand – Morah

Dab 3

41

Malakand – Morah

Palangai 1

42

Malakand – Morah

Palangai 2

43

Malakand – Morah

Palangai 3

44

Malakand – Morah

Haji-smast-banda

45

Malakand – Morah

Saffar-kandao

46

Malakand – Morah

Khaista-kamar 1

47

Malakand – Morah

Khaista-kamar 2

48

Malakand – Morah

Drema-palangai

49

Swat-Kotah

Dwoqumbojai

32 33

8

Tab. 1 Site Gazetteer (ref. to Fig. 1). 15

Fig. 2 Sargha-sar, graphic restitution. (Drawing by M. Vidale and F. Martore).

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

16

Painted Shelters from Lower Swat (Pakistan). Recent Discovery in the frame of the AMSV Project

Fig. 3 Kakai-kandao, graphic restitution. (Drawing by M. Vidale and F. Martore). other men, who seem to occupy a hierarchically higher position (they have typical, upside-down U-shaped legs), have the task of sowing the ploughed land which is represented through the symbol of a grid-like ideogram. Lastly a large anthropomorphic figure, with the same characteristics as the sowers, is depicted inside a large ploughed and sown field ideogram. At Kakaikandao the presence of animals in a similar painted ritual is limited to a monkey (Fig. 3).

At Sargah-sar 1 and Kakai-kandao 1 the main compositions are surrounded by secondary figures: archers, dancers or figures with body modifications or open hands extending outwards. The open hands theme has often been associated with a state of shamanic trance or ritual death. These observations probably bring us nearer to the meaning of these remotely located paintings. The action of painting and observing could be linked to long periods of isolation and deprivation and associated with forms of initiatic ritual.

At Sargah-sar, a peripheral sector of the painted shelter is dominated by a heroic scene. An individual with U shaped legs armed with a shining shield is represented between two animals facing each other: an ibex surmounted by an anthropomorphic figure and a large feline. The action of the hero is emphasized by a couple of dots. In this scene we see again, although expressed through a syntactic language, an association between the themes of the feline and the ibex, symbols which are dominant in the earlier phase at Gogdara I (Olivieri 1998) and at Muhammad-patai rock carvings site (Olivieri, Vidale et al. 2006: fig. 19). The ibex icon doubtless corresponds to the hypostasis of one of the many devi of the mountain, known throughout the Karakorum-Himalaya area until recent times.

Protohistoric Shelters. 2 Other paintings, in contrast, include pictograms of warriors and domesticated animals, most prominently humped bulls and horses. While in the older painted shelters the horse is absent and scenes of agriculture is possibly emphasized, in the later examples warriors consistently associated with horseriding are shown. The horse icon was the eponymous animal of the Assakenoi-Askakayana, the hill-tribes living in Swat at the end of the 4th century B.C according to Alexander’s accounts. In fact we have the impression that members of highly hierarchized pastoral societies were the authors of these

17

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 4 Kamal-china, graphic restitution. (Drawing by L.M. Olivieri and M. Vidale).

Fig. 5 Dandi-sar 1, graphic restitution. (Drawing by L.M. Olivieri and M. Vidale).

18

Painted Shelters from Lower Swat (Pakistan). Recent Discovery in the frame of the AMSV Project

Fig. 6 Kabbal-dab, graphic restitution. (Drawing by L.M. Olivieri). society where the highest ranks, warriors, are associated with the possession of large livestock and horses.

paintings. For instance, in the painted shelter of Kamalchina (05), located inside the area of an Iron Age graveyard, everything speaks to us of a herder-horseman culture gathered around often-repeated symbols: battleaxes, right hand, banners and the ownership of herds (Fig. 4). This subject is represented by means of the scene of a man holding an animal both at Kamal-china 1 and at the rock carving site of Sargah-sar 2. The style is typical of the linear later protohistoric rock art in Swat; on the other hand, the syntax is impoverished to the advantage of a composition rendered complex by the redundancy of a small number of themes. This complex of symbols might be hypothetically interpreted, at an elementary level, in the following way: hands = authority and possession; horse and raiders = rank; humped bulls = material wealth; battle axes = warfare and conquest. We suggest that this assemblages of symbols are related to the presence of a sharply stratified

The painted shelters of Dandi-sar 1 (08) and Churkhai (Kabbal-dab) (19) express such progressive lexical and stylistic transformation. At Dandi-sar motifs already observed such as body modifications are rendered with new emphasis. The scene is dominated by a big antropomorh holding a shield and surmounted by an incumbent solar symbol, an icon which seems to be recurrent in the scene (Fig. 5). At Churkhai, where humped bulls and horses crowd the ceiling, two antropomorphs, having perhaps a supernatural value, according to their unrealistic features, dominate the entire scene. One of them is linked to a grid-like pictogram, perhaps having the meaning of ‘Ploughed Land’ (Fig. 6).

19

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent Historic Shelters. 1

Historic Shelters. 2

From the 1st century BC onwards, Buddhist monasteries and sacred areas were developing on the main valley floors of Swat, occupying and transforming the landscape in an unprecedent way. The painted shelters, and early historic rock art in general, seem to testify a certain degree of resistence to the spread of a formalized religion that is symbolized by its impressive architecture. At the sites of Kafir-kot 1 and 2 (13, 14) and Gweluno-ghar (31) stupas are depicted with the characteristics that show connections to the Buddhist architecture in the Swat valley of the first two centuries AD. At the site of Kafir-kot 1 (Nazir Khan 1994; Nazir Khan et al. 1995) the stupa representations are surrounded by archers; in the center stands a crossed wheel, a motif that from Gogdara I onward (late phase) is repeated almost as the emblem of a culture now nearing its epilogue. The opposition between Buddhist architecture and the archers and warriors on horseback (in one case gathering around their emblem) is one of the recurrent themes of historic-age rock-art in Swat. The site of Bang-doghal (Olivieri, Vidale et al. 2006; Olivieri 2008a: fig. 11) is an open-air site with numerous carvings, most of which seem to refer to an actual ideological-religious conflict, as Karl Jettmar defined it, with reference to the rock art evidence of the Upper Indus and the valleys around Nanga Parbat and Hunza ( Jettmar 1997). In this sense, we interpret Buddhist architecture in the Swat rock art, as a representation of an extraneaous world. Still today the Gujars of Swat carve on boulders the mechanical symbols of modern times, for instance the minibuses, as impressive symbols of a mechanised culture that still today is extraneous to their world (Olivieri, Vidale et al. 2006: fig. 79).

A transition phase seems to follow the golden age of Buddhism in Swat: it was no doubt gradual and for a long time the Buddhist centers in crisis, must have coexisted with the progression of the new models for occupation of the territory (Olivieri, Vidale et al. 2006; Olivieri 2008b; Olivieri, in press). This process was probably completed by the 7th century A.D. We wonder if the bright ochre representations of Buddhist architecture, sometime associated to Brahmanical symbols, may be linked to this transition phase. Among the various symbols dotted squares are dominant at Ram-dunai 1 (20), Dandi-sar 2 (09), where trisulas and stupas are also represented, for instance at Malak-ziarat (10) (Olivieri, Vidale et al. 2006: fig. 80). Late-Historic Shelters. 1 In the upper Kotak valley, the late paintings are bright ochre, almost orange, in colour. Human figurations are sometimes represented in profile and the subjects depicted here definitely reflect a mixed Buddhist/Brahmanic religious symbolism. At Takht-gat (26) a possible Shiva representation is flanked by a couple of fighters (Fig. 7). These representations might be regarded as transitional, leading towards a radical ideological change in Swat. For example, at Palangai 1 (41) a rider holding a trisula-spear is associated with Buddhist architecture and wild animals. Some of the latest paintings, for instance those of Lal-kamar 1 (27) (Fig. 10) and those found in a second shelter at Palangai 2 (42), focus on warlike themes and horsemanship: warriors are represented while holding typical late ancient weapons, such as

Fig. 7 Takht-gat (Photo by L.M. Olivieri and C. Primangeli). 20

Painted Shelters from Lower Swat (Pakistan). Recent Discovery in the frame of the AMSV Project

Fig. 8 Lal-kamar China 1, graphic restitution. (Drawing by L.M. Olivieri).

While the evolution of these painted shelters seems to cover a wide time span, some elements are recurrent. For instance, grids and dotted squares, common in the earlier paintings, survive in later paintings, even if slightly modified and possibly transformed in their meaning (Fig. 11). The same form of continuity is detectable in anthropomorphs, that often dominate the painted scenes from Protohistory to LateAntiquity (Fig. 12).

round shields, conical helmets and sabres; mounted on horses using heavy Sogdian-style saddles, stirrups and reins - the same features we found in the carved mounted warriors, partly obliterated by a monumental Brahmi-Sarada rock inscription, near Talang (18), Kotah valley (8th-12th century AD? Olivieri, Vidale et al. 2006). To the same group belong some paintings showing interesting but tricky scenes, associated sometimes with representations of Buddhist architecture, as at Lal-kamar China (33) (Fig. 8), Loe-band (36) a and Drema-palangai (48).

Another aspect of continuity are body modifications and figures with outstretched fingers. In particular, outstretched fingers are typical of dominant figures and might suggest a state of trance or death. This feature is found not only in Swat, but also in the Upper Indus, where dozens of example survives, as well as elsewhere in Eurasia. (see comparisons in Vidale & Olivieri 2002) (Fig. 12).

Late-Historic Shelters. 2 Side by side with the spread of Brahmanism and the Vajrayana, the rock art data also shows a revival of aboriginal cults and cultures that the Buddhist centers had controlled and managed but, probably never converted. In time, the rural communities may have regained control over the land, the pastures and the passes, thereby changing radically the economy of the valleys. At the top of the ridge dividing Swat from Malakand Agency, we found some other painted shelters. The paintings depict caprids, horses and highly modified hieratic characters. The most important shelters are Palwano-gata (12) (Fig. 9), Dab 1-3 (38-40) and Khaista-kamar 1, 2 (46, 47). These late pictorial documents emphasize the possession of cattle, and they might reflect the re-acquisition of grazing land and control of the passes by native tribes. The typical style of the caprids – schematic and linear, is the same as in the recent paintings of the Kalasha peoples of Chitral. The dozens of wine-presses found in the upper Kotah Valley (Olivieri, Vidale et al. 2006), closely resembling the Kafiri examples, enforce the possibility that Middle Swat during Late Antiquity was part of a greater Kafiristan, in accordance with an old and consolidated thesis (Olivieri 2008a).

Actions and rhythmic gestures could generally be named as ‘psycograms’. Psycograms in our images consist of wavy lines connecting and/or deformed figures: elongated arms might convey the idea of property, friendship or control, and elongated arrows could indicate the act of striking the target, and so on. This aspect is also typical of our paintings from earlier sites to the latest ones (see Fig. 12). It is interesting to note that not every kind of pictograms (signs in which we identify representations of objects, animals, human figures) show the same degree of formal evolution in time. Mounted warriors, for instance, show an evident increase in details, characterised in the latest examples by particular details such as reins, saddles, armours and weapons. A similar trend occurs in the depiction of felines and horses. On the other hand, stupa images show a peculiar decrease in details, their architecture being transformed into mere symbolic representation (Fig. 13). Finally, if we look at the painted shelters as a whole, their syntax clearly shows a regressive evolution. The composition initially created a complex language, centred on associations

Conclusive Remarks First, let us remark some points about the paintings’ lexicon. 21

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 9 Palwano-gata, graphic restitution. (Drawing by L.M. Olivieri and M. Vidale).

22

Fig. 10 Lal-kamar 1, graphic restitution. (Drawing by L.M. Olivieri).

Painted Shelters from Lower Swat (Pakistan). Recent Discovery in the frame of the AMSV Project

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 11 Continuity in forms: grid-like ideograms and dot-permutations. (Drawing by L.M. Olivieri).

Fig. 12 Continuity in forms: anthropomorphs, body-modifications, psychograms. (Drawing by L.M. Olivieri). 24

Painted Shelters from Lower Swat (Pakistan). Recent Discovery in the frame of the AMSV Project

Fig. 13 Discontinity in forms: pictograms. (Drawing by L.M. Olivieri).

Fig. 14 Syntax involution. (Drawing by L.M. Olivieri). 25

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent of ideograms surrounded by coherent pictograms. The syntax was simplified when this complex code was replaced by more paratactic repetitions of ideograms and pictograms. Even if prestigious – like the hands and battle-axes, the symbols, due to the absence of a real syntactical center, appear redundant. In late sites, such syntax patterns became totally unstructured and chaotic (Fig. 14).

Olivieri, L.M. (2007) ‘«Scale Armour» from Bir-kotghwandai and Correlated Finds. Clues for a Tentative Historical Reassessment’, Gandharan Studies, 1: 23-43. Olivieri, L.M. (2008a) ‘Hanging Rocks and «Intoxicating Drinks»: The Rock Art Sequence of the Swat Valley’, South Asian Studies, 24: 15-26. Olivieri, L.M. (2008b) ‘Fallstudie Swat: Die Stadt Barikot und ihr Umfeld’, in M. Jansen and C. Luczanits (eds) Gandhara. Das buddistsche Erbe Pakistans. Legenden, Klöster und Paradiese, 294-297. Mainz. Olivieri, L.M. (in press) ‘Land and society in post-Gandharan Swat’. Paper delivered at the Congress Iranian Huns and Western Turks: Archaeology, History, Art History Numismatics. Wien, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Akademie des Wissenschaften and Wien Universität, 1820 November 2008. Olivieri, L.M. (in preparation) Painted Rock Shelters of SwatMalakand. Materials for a Tentative Reconstruction of the Religious and Cultural Stratigraphy of Ancient Swat from the Protohistory to the Buddhism and Beyond. Materialien zur Archäologie der Nordgebiete Pakistans. Mainz am Rhein. Olivieri, L. M. and M. Vidale (2004) ‘Beyond Gogdara I. New Evidence of Rock Carvings and Rock Artefacts from the Kandak Valley and Adjacent Areas (Swat, Pakistan)’, East and West 54 (1-4): 121-80. Olivieri, L. M. and M. Vidale, with contributions by A. Nasir Khan,T. Saeed, L. Colliva, R. Garbini, L. Langella, R. Micheli, E. Morigi (2006) ‘Archaeology and Settlement History in a Test-Area of the Swat Valley. Preliminary Report on the AMSV Project (1st Phase)’, East and West 56 (1-3): 73-150 Shah Nazar Khan (1995) ‘Report on the Archaeological Survey of the Swabi District’. Ancient Pakistan, XI: 75-174. Tucci, G. (1958) ‘Preliminary Report on an Archaeological Survey in Swāt’, East and West, 9 (4): 279348. Vidale, M. and L.M. Olivieri (2002) ‘Painted Rock Shelters from Swat valley. Further Discoveries and New Hypotheses’, East and West 52 (1-4): 173-223.

Bibliography Badshah Sardar (in press) ‘Discovery of a New Painted Shelter in the Saidu Valley (Swat, NWFP)’, Pakistan Journal of History and Culture. Jettmar, K. (1997) ‘Symbolic Systems in Collision: Rock Art in the Upper1 Indus’, in Allchin, R., Allchin, N. Kreitman and E. Errington (eds), Gandharan Art in Context. EastWest Exchanges at the Crossroads of Asia, 55-69. New Delhi. Laurenza, S. and M. Vidale (2005) ‘Towards an Archaeological Map of Swat: A Preliminary Field Test in the Kandak Valley’, in C. Jarrige and V. Lefèvre (eds) South Asian Archaeology 2001, I, 171-77. Paris. Micheli, R. (2006) ‘Early Lithic Tools from Lower Kandak’, East and West 56 (1-3): 43-61. Nasim Khan, M. (2000) Buddhist Paintings in Gandhara. Peshawar. Nazir Khan M. (1994) ‘Rock Paintings at Nokkono Ghwand (Swat)’, Antiquities of Northern Pakistan, 3: 213-5. Nazir Khan, M., A. Nasir, L.M. Olivieri and M. Vitali (1995) ‘The Recent Discovery of Cave Paintings in Swat. A Preliminary Note’, East and West 46 (1-4): 333-53. Olivieri, L.M. (1998) ‘The Rock-Carvings of Gogdara I. Documentation and Preliminary Analysis’, East and West 48 (1-2): 57-91. Olivieri, L.M. (2004) ‘Late Protohistoric Painted Shelters from Swat Valley (North Pakistan)’, in E. Anati (ed), XXI Valcamonica Symposium, 373-75. Capo di Ponte. Olivieri, L.M. (2005) ‘Gogdara I and beyond. The Cultural Sequence of the non-Buddhist Rock Art in Swat Valley. Preliminary Conclusions’, in U. Franke-Vogt and H.-J. Weisshaar (eds), South Asian Archaeology 2003, 215-22. Aachen.

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Animal style of the steppes in Ladakh A presentation of newly discovered petroglyphs Laurianne Bruneau and Martin Vernier The geographical position of Ladakh accounts nowadays for a complex situation, that is to say a land culturally belonging to the Trans-Himalaya but politically to the Sub-continent. It is only legitimate to think that, in the past, the area has always fulfilled its part as crossroads of the Western Himalayas.

Koenig rightfully compared a metal piece in the shape of a bird of prey acquired in Leh to objects excavated in Central Asia and dated from a period between the 8th and 4th century BC (Koenig 1984: 320; Francfort et al. 1990: 26, n. 137). In 1990, a stylistic analysis of random petroglyphs enabled Francfort to confirm that Central Asia shared the animal style of the steppes with Ladakh during the Iron Age (Francfort et al. 1990).

Some authors, more particularly Buddha Rashmi Mani and Henri-Paul Francfort, have since the 1990s hinted at the connection between Ladakh and Central Asia during protohistory. Peculiar motifs such as animals in the bitriangular style, archers fighting a duel or hunters with roundshaped end mace at the waist, for example, enable us to notice this link from the Bronze Age on (Mani 1999, 2001, 2004; Francfort et al. 1990, 1992).

The parallels so far established were chance discoveries. Our aim today is to complete the picture with the data collected during fieldwork. Martin Vernier has, over the last ten years, extensively surveyed and systematically documented the rock art of Ladakh, accounting for 10,000 carvings spread over 100 locations (Vernier 2007). The fieldwork conducted by this independent scholar encompasses most of Ladakh’s territory. Only excluded are: the Purig area and Suru valley near Kargil in the west and the Rupshu and Chang-thang zones in the east (Fig.1).

Concerning the Iron Age and more specifically the relationship between Ladakh and Saka tribes, the question was first raised by Gerd G. Koenig in 1984. The term Saka refers here to the various peoples of Eurasia that shared a common artistic entity known as the ‘animal style of the steppes’ during the first half of the 1st millenium BC. No ethnic, linguistic or even economic identification is implied.

The documentation allows us to give a comprehensive overview of the animal style of the steppes in Ladakh. However, issues

Fig. 1 Map showing the area of fieldwork. (Drawing by Q. Devers). 27

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 2 Map of sites bearing Saka motifs in relation with other sites documented. (Drawing by M. Vernier). such as how, when, from where and by whom this style was introduced into Ladakh will not be raised. Here we aim at providing all the data needed for such a future analysis. From various sources we know the existence of other motifs but as their origin is uncertain or unknown we chose not to include them in our study (Francfort et al. 1990: fig.7, 17, 18 and 19).

Geographical and physical setting Out of 100 rock art sites surveyed and systematically documented, 11 bear motifs of Saka type (85 carvings in total). Most are located along Ladakh’s major river, the Indus, and its tributaries. They spread throughout the territory from lower Ladakh (with the site of Kanutse) to upper Zanskar with the major site of Zamthang, previously published under the name Char (Francfort et al. 1990, 1992), which are about 200 km away from one another (Fig. 2).

Firstly, we will present the sites where carvings of ‘steppic design’ are found. Their distribution through the territory of Ladakh will be established as well as their numerical importance regarding the whole rock art of the area. The geographic and physical features of the sites will be specified, with special interest given to the major site of Domkhar.

Domkhar, in Sham (lad. gsham) area, is the most important site. It was already mentioned by A.H. Francke in 1902 who wrote that the finest carvings known to him were to be found there (Francke 1902: 401). Nowadays, the carvings are wellknown to the local inhabitants who use the area for agricultural purposes and who know the place as ‘thang-jiu’ (lad. thangmjug), literally meaning: ‘the end of the plateau’. This name is appropriate since the carvings are located at the end of Domkhar village, going downstream, about one kilometre after one passes the stream that divides the hamlet in two.

The second part of the paper will deal with the semantic and stylistic content of the petroglyphs. An inventory of the motifs and themes, together with their spatial distribution, will be given. Attention will be drawn upon the way each of these is represented in order to identify permanent stylistic features and variations. To conclude, we will see how the study of the animal style of the steppes in Ladakh can be integrated into a broader, regional one.

The site consists of large rounded boulders that are the broken parts of a huge stone slab that dives almost vertically into

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Animal style of the steppes in Ladakh

Fig. 3 General view of Domkhar site. (All the photographs are by L. Bruneau and M. Vernier).

the Indus and extends on the opposite bank (Fig. 3). This geological feature is recurrent throughout Ladakh. Petroglyphs are often located in such an environment.

One may note that four sites are adjoining the river at places where bridges were or are still located (Kaltse, Sumda Rikpa Bao, Stakna Zampa and Zamthang).

The stone is of hard volcanic type, with a reddish colour, almost purplish iridescent under sunlight. It presents a smooth surface striped with criss-cross cracks.

The sites of Sumda Rikpa Bao, Sumda Do, Stakna Zampa and Zamthang reveal great similarities to Domkhar at a morphological/geological level. The petroglyphs are executed on dark reddish slabs standing out and blocking the landscape.

Engravings related to the ‘animal style’ are restricted to few boulders grouped together, roughly at the centre of the zone (Fig. 4). They contain motifs of various periods and those related to the animal style of the steppes are in the minority. Out of 154 engravings, 44 are related to the animal style of the steppes.

The sites of Kanutse, Tilichang, Kaltse, Stagmo and Tangtse are typical of Ladakh’s environment. They consist of rust orange boulders of various sizes scattered over a flat or slightly sloped terrain. The site of Changa only distinguishes itself by its location and form. Among the sites listed here, and as far as Ladakh is concerned, it is the only one yet reported located on the left bank of the Indus valley. The representations are carved on granitic boulders of pale rusted shade gathered and standing out of a bare plain overhanging the Indus (Fig. 5).

Domkhar is, at the present state of research, Ladakh’s main rock art site regarding the animal style but it is not the only one. Downstream from Domkhar, two sites are found: Kanutse and Tilichang. Upstream, along the Indus, are the sites of Kaltse, Sumda Rikpa Bao and Sumda Do (which are up the Zanskar river just a few kilometres before its junction with the Indus), then Stagmo, Stakna Zampa and Changa. Neighbouring Ladakh proper are the sites of Tangtse, in the Pangong area, and that of Zamthang in the Lungnak valley of Zanskar.

A detailed presentation of the layout of the sites holding Saka type carvings enables us to say that there are no specific or recurrent features that would account for their location and choice. Engravings of the Saka type are unevenly spread over the territory. Out of 85 documented, 44 are from Domkhar. The remaining half is divided among the other ten sites. Right after Domkhar, in order of importance, is the site of Zamthang

All are in the proximity of a river, mostly on the banks proper. The site of Stagmo is the most remote from the river (about four kms) but it is located at one of the widest places of the Indus valley. 29

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 4 Drawing of the main slab bearing Saka motifs at Domkhar. (Drawing by M. Vernier).

Fig. 5 General view of Changa site. 30

Animal style of the steppes in Ladakh

Fig. 6 Carving of a feline, from Domkhar where 14 Saka motifs are found out of 825 engravings documented at the site.

(16), ibex (6), horse (4), yak (2) and bird (1). We shall consider each of them separately.

According to observations, at the various sites the number of Saka carvings relative to their overall content is insignificant. For instance, at Stagmo only three Saka motifs were documented out of 1731 engravings. There are six motifs at Changa and Tangtse, five at Stakna Zampa, two at Sumda Rikpa Bao III and at Kanutse, then one at each of the three remaining sites: Sumda Do Doksa, Stok mon Khar and Tilichang.

One may identify the representation of a feline thanks to a curl-ended tail and claws. On most figures, the tail has the particularity to be curled above the back of the animal. Four felines are striped; it is noteworthy that two of them have their tail rendered in a straight position. One may identify the striped felines as tigers but, as it will be seen below, the stripes can be part of stylistic rules. The only feline represented with its head turned backward is one of these.

Now we should proceed to a detailed study of the carved representations, not only from a semantic point of view but also from a stylistic one.

From a formal view the felines have usually two legs (only two figures out of 20 are four-legged). They are all represented running except one whose foreleg is folded. Attention is given to details: an eye is almost always indicated by a dot or a circle. An ear (or two) is also carved; on some figures it is backward while on others forward, forming a kind of horn or ‘cap’. The feline is often represented with its jaws opened. On some of the carvings there are lines coming out of the jaws.

Semantic and Style Out of 85 carvings relevant to the Saka style and systematically documented, six cannot be identified and 12 are incomplete. As we will see, the latter can be used to gather information on the carving process. The remainder is composed of 49 zoomorphs, 17 signs and one anthropomorph.

Concerning the decoration of the body, the forelegs and/or hindlegs can be enhanced either by a scroll, a dot, a circle or else by a S motif (Fig. 6).

First let us consider the zoomorphic representations. In general the figures are rendered by contour only. Very few of them have their body filled in a silhouette manner.

Finally, regarding the context, four felines are represented behind a stag and two are clearly biting the hindquarters of the herbivore (Fig. 7). One is hunted by a mounted archer.

The repertoire is, in decreasing order: feline (20 carvings), stag

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 7 Carving of a feline hunting a stag, from Tangtse.

Fig. 8 Carvings of stags, from Domkhar.

Fig. 9 Carvings of stags, from Domkhar. (Drawing by M. Vernier).

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Animal style of the steppes in Ladakh Engravings of felines are known at the following sites: Changa (1), Domkhar Thangjiu (9), Stagmo V (1), Zamthang (5), Stakna (2) and Tangtse (2).

Particular attention is similarly given to details: an eye noted by a dot or a circle, an ear, a mouth, almost on each figure, indicated by a thin line and a short tail with its tip pointed upwards.

The stags are recognizable thanks to their antlers and hooves. Most are represented with two or four legs (there is no preeminence), as standing on the tip of the hoof. Several, mostly four-legged stags, have one foreleg folded. Concerning the antlers, there are two main ways of representing them: horizontally or vertically.

Representations of stags are known at: Domkhar Thangjiu (10), Tangtse (3), Stagmo IV (1), Sumda Rikpa Bao (1) and Changa (1). Ibex representations are more uniform. They are identifiable by the bend of the horn(s), one or two, that are (except one figure) represented from side view (Fig. 10). The ibexes always have two legs and, except one figure from Domkhar, they are represented on the tip of the hoof. Their bodies are marked by an S or scroll sometimes associated with a cut-out shape. As for the felines and stags, an eye and an ear are carved.

For the former the antlers are shown as seen from the front: there are three antlers on each side of the head. This is only seen on stags with their head turned backwards. Three out of four stags in such a position have their hindquarters bitten by a feline. We will note on the scene from Tangtse that the stag, like the feline, has a striped body (Fig. 7).

Ibex figures are known at: Domkhar (4), Zamthang (1) and Tilichang (1).

For the latter the antlers are represented as seen from the side. Usually there are three or four antlers, sinuous or curled at the end. The one on the forehead is usually very high. Curled-end antlers can also be projecting forward. It is noteworthy that this type of sinuous or curled-end antlers are known only on representations where the stags’ bodies are wearing cut-out irregular shapes that may recall textiles’ ornamentation. These shapes can be associated with a scroll (Fig. 8 and 9).

Horse representations that come either from Changa or Domkhar are recognizable thanks to the curve of the neck on which a mane is often shown and a long, large tail. One ear or two are carved and on contour images the eye is noted by a dot or a circle. The figures always have two legs, on tip of the hoof or not. The motifs enhancing the body are: a circle, an S or a cut-out shape (Fig. 11).

Except for this peculiar decoration, the bodies show the same motifs as those of the felines: stripes but also scrolls or a S enhancing the forelegs and/or hindlegs. Interestingly enough, one of the stags showing an S has a line coming out of the mouth, like some of the carved felines do.

The two known engravings of yaks are from Domkhar. They are quite alike with two legs on the tip of the hoof. Their tail is rendered in the same manner by a contour line, large and slightly rounded at the end. On both, details such as the eye, the ear and the mouth are noted. Their horns, curved inwards,

Fig. 10 Carving of an ibex, from Domkhar.

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 11 Carving of a horse, from Domkhar.

Fig. 12 Carving of a yak, from Domkhar. are either joining over the head or projecting forward. Both have their body enhanced: by circles on the legs or by an S motif adorned with small scrolls (Fig. 12).

of Ladakh is in accordance with the animal style of the steppes. The animals, as well as their numerical importance, are typical: felines and stags are predominant. The scenes of predation in which they appear are also characteristic. In the background are the ibex and the horse and, exceptionally, there are images of birds and bovids (yak).

The only engraving of a bird is below that of an ibex at Domkhar. The bird is seen from the side with its eye clearly carved. The two wings are represented, and above the head there is a threefold crest (Fig. 13). This image reminds the one from Zamthang published by Francfort which is also next to that of an ibex (Francfort et al. 1990: fig.22).

From a stylistic point of view too the figures match the Saka style. The attention given to details (eye, ear, mouth) is a feature of the style. As a close study of each animal has shown, there are permanent stylistic traits like legs on tip of the hoof or a foreleg folded. The decoration of the body also remains the

Briefly, concerning the zoomorphic representations one can say that from a semantic and stylistic point of view the rock art

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Animal style of the steppes in Ladakh

Fig.13 Carving of a bird, from Domkhar. (Drawing by M. Vernier).

Fig. 14 Carving of a S, from Zamthang.

Fig. 15 Carving of a mounted archer hunting a feline, from Domkhar.

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent same whatever the animal: circle, S motif, scroll, cut-out shape.

A comparative study between the rock art of Ladakh, that of the Upper Indus valley in Pakistan (documented by the research unit of the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften ‘Felsbilder und Inschriften am Karakorum Highway’, lead by Harald Hauptmann.) and that of the Tibetan district of Rutog bordering Ladakh in the east (documented by John Vincent Bellezza) is needed ( Jettmar & Thewalt 1985; Bellezza 2001 & 2002). Though politically divided, these areas of the Western Himalayas are a geographic and cultural entity. A regional study will enable us to know whether carvings with an undeniable ‘steppic look’ are the result of cultural diffusion through successive migrations or if they could represent an additional ‘province’ of the animal style with its own separate line of development.

We may conclude that there is a stylistic framing allowing various combinations of specific elements and that the figures can be distinguished only by two precise anatomic details: the horns and the tail. This observation is true for the Saka style as a whole whether on rock, metal, wood or textile. Even though there is an overall diversity (not two carvings are strictly identical), at Domkhar there is a kind of steadiness. All the animals are carefully executed; they are on tip of the hoof and their body are marked by cut-out shapes. The present state of research enables us to say that a variant of the style is restricted to the site. In Ladakh the bestiary is reinforced by the presence of motifs in shape of a S or of a 8 that are also known in the steppic imagery. The S motif is found at the main two sites: Domkhar and Zamthang but also Kanutse, Stok Mon Khar, Sumda Do and Sumda Rikpa Bao (Fig. 14).

As for now, rock art is the only reliable material for the Iron Age archaeology of the Western Himalayas. Not one of the rare excavated sites in the area belongs to this period. The study of petroglyphs, to be related to the excavated discoveries of the surrounding regions - namely Pamir and Xinjiang - will hopefully enable us to draw a more precise picture of the Saka tribes in southern Central Asia during the Iron Age.

The last carving of importance is that of a mounted archer hunting a leopard (Fig. 15). Its existence is noteworthy: representations of anthropomorphs in the Saka style, compared with that of zoomorphs, are not numerous.

Bibliography

The rider’s body is represented as seen from the front with its feet seen from the side. He is wearing a short gown, tight at the waist, taking the form a triangle and a headdress slightly pointed in front. At the waist, one notices a long sword. In his left hand the horseman has what is probably a dagger or a short sword, whereas in his right hand he holds a bow shooting an arrow. A closer observation of the carving enables us to assert that the second arrow (top one) is a late addition. Thanks to this detailed description we see that the anthropomorph from Domkhar fits well the image of the Saka horseman. Finally one may note that even the saddle is visible on the horseback. The scene as a whole - a mounted archer hunting a feline - is also known in the steppic repertoire.

Bellezza, J.V. (2001) Antiquities of Northern Tibet, pre-Buddhist archaeological sites on the high plateau: Findings of the Upper Tibet circumnavigation expedition, 1999. New Delhi. Bellezza, J.V. (2002) Antiquities of Upper Tibet, pre-Buddhist archaeological sites on the high plateau, Findings of the Upper Tibet circumnavigation expedition, 2000. New Delhi. Francfort, H.P., D. Klodzinski and G. Mascle (1990) ‘Pétroglyphes archaïques du Ladakh et du Zanskar’, Arts Asiatiques, XLV: 5-27. Francfort, H.P. (1992) ‘Archaic Petroglyphs of Ladakh and Zanskar’, in M. Lorblanchet (ed), Rock Art in the Old World, Papers Presented in Symposium A of the AURA Congress, Darwin (Australia), 1988, 147-192. New Delhi. Francke, A.H. (1902) ‘Notes on rock-carvings from Lower Ladakh’, Indian Antiquary, XXXI: 362-3. Jettmar, K. and V. Thewalt (1985) Zwischen Gandhara und den Seidenstrassen, Felsbilder am Karakorum Highway. Entdeckungen deutsch-pakistanischer Expeditionen 19791984. Mainz. Koenig, G.G. (1984) ‘Skythen in Tibet?’, in C.C. Müller and W. Raunig (eds), Der Weg zum dach der Welt, 318-20. Innsbruck/Francfort. Mani, B.R. (1999) ‘Rock carvings and engravings in Ladakh: New Discoveries’, Pragdhara (Uttar Pradesh State Archaeology Department, Lucknow), 9: 65-74. Mani, B.R. (2001) ‘Rock Art of Ladakh: Glimpses of Economic and Cultural Life’, in G. Kumar (ed) Purakala, 11-12 (1-2): 93-108. Rock Art Society of India. Dayalbagh. Mani, B.R. (2004) ‘Exploration in Ladakh’, Indian Archaeology 1998-1999: A Review: 49-59. Vernier, M. (2007) Exploration et documentation des pétroglyphes du Ladakh 1996-2006. Como.

We wish to briefly mention the incomplete images. Whether they are preparatory or failed drawings, they inform us about the carving process. A detailed observation of the 12 incomplete engravings enables us to say that there is no rule in the execution. Carvers start equally by the head, legs or the underbelly. Conclusions In this paper, we carried out a general presentation of the data collected during fieldwork. We have yet to venture on its interpretation and datation. Probably a study of the sites’ spatial distribution would enable us to submit hypotheses regarding the routes taken by Saka tribes into the Indian subcontinent from Central Asia. From a semantic and stylistic viewpoint, it is necessary to compare the images of Ladakh with those of the neighbouring areas.

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Authors of Petroglyphs in Ladakh and Baltistan B.R. Mani

The historical background

centuries AD. Thereafter Tibetan culture engulfed the region. Till the end of the 9th century AD Tibetan Buddhism had negligible influence in Ladakh, though Buddhism had already spread in the region, mainly from Kashmir and Gilgit-Chitral regions as confirmed by huge rock-cut images of Maitreya at Mulbekh, Apati, Kartse Khar and sculptures at Drass (Mani 1999: 65) which can be dated c. 700-900 AD when the area was under the control of local tribal clans. Indo-Iranian (Dardic) and Mongoloid (Tibetan) elements have been traced in the present-day Ladakhi population (mostly following Buddhism in Leh district and Islam in Kargil district. Islamic conversion was mainly initiated in the 15th century AD through the influence of the Sultans of Kashmir in Ladakh and Baltistan).

Mountains did not always represent a barrier, and in this sense Ladakh should not be considered a geographical isolate (see Bruneau & Vernier, this volume). The Karakoram pass, at the north-east corner of Karakoram range, had been the principal Central Asian caravan trade route. Fa-xian came to India through it in 399 AD as well as Mirza Haider Daughlat who invaded Ladakh in 1532. It connects Central Asia with Nubra valley which is nowadays connected with Leh by the Khardung pass (18, 380 ft asl). Karakoram pass had been the easy route connecting Ladakh with Khotan, Yarkand and Kashgar. In between Yarkand and Kashgar, at Darkot pass at about 13,100 ft asl, a large inscribed granite boulder was discovered by Aurel Stein with a Tibetan inscription and the figure of a stupa. Similar engravings of three fold base stupas have been noticed by Stein on a boulder at Charrun in Mastuj and some elements with a carving on a boulder at Pakhtoridini. The Darkot pass engravings (stupa and Tibetan inscription) have been dated to the 8th or 9th century AD and Stein remarks: “This chronological indication has its special archaeological interest with regard to the peculiar cruciform type of Stupas which Dr. Francke has noted before among Ladakh rockcarvings”. Stein reproduced August Hermann Francke’s letter dated Sept. 15, 1921 as Appendix L in his Innermost Asia (vol. 2, 1928) giving details of the inscription and the drawings of the stupa. Francke thinks that rMe-or mentioned in the inscription is the Tibetan clan name of Lirmidor, the erector of the stupa but that his personal name is of Dard origin. This 8th-9th century Tibetan inscription and others found in Ladakh follow the traditional Indian style of using genitive case. This inscription testifies to the conquest of Gilgit by Tibetans in the 8th century AD.

The entire region was known as Dardistan or the land of the Dard or Sanskrit Darada tribe, mentioned in geographical lists of the Puranas and Mahabharata as neighbours of Darvas, Suras, Audumbaras, Kashmiras and Trigartas (Kumari 1988: 71-72). They are the Dadikai of Herodotus, the Derdai of Strabo and Megasthenes (Mc Crindle 1901: 5, 51, 198), the Daradrai of Ptolemy and Dardae of Pliny, famous for collecting gold from the piled up heaps of earth dug in the ground in winter. The ‘gold digging ants’ of Herodotus have been identified as the large size rats still noticed making barrows in Zanskar and other regions along the Indus (Mani 1999). That Daradas were producing and dealing gold is further evidenced by the fact that till 1908 Kargil remained the centre of gold trade (Tucci 1977: 19). The scions of the ancient Daradas or Dards are supposed to be present day Indian Drokpas of Da-Hanu area and the Monpas in Ladakh besides the inhabitants of Skardu, Gilgit and Hunza and those living along the Karakoram highway across the Line of Control (LOC). Nowadays they speak Balti language and practice their own socio-religious system besides Buddhism and celebrate the festival of flowers called Men-tok Stan-mo on an auspicious day selected by an On-po (astrologer), as part of the big harvest festival called Srub-lha (Koshal 2001: 558-61). Similarly the Shon-rches dance (Sushma ‘Saral’ 2002: 97), performed in circle, mostly in honour of Dorge Chenmo, is supposed to have its origin in the Gilgit area under the Monpas. Songs like Shon-glu and Bal-glu which originated in Baltistan became very common in the entire region of Baltistan and Ladakh which were sung along with the dances. During medieval times Baltistan remained a territory under the Kingdom of Ladakh ruled by clan chiefs called Cho who had adopted Islam later and their descendants are still living in the villages in the region. The Monpas in Ladakh have mainly adopted the profession of singing and dancing and they are invited to perform their skill on festive occasions and rituals.

The ancient tribal clans of the Daradas, generally mentioned as Dards, Monpas or Drokpas, who mostly adopted Tibetan form of Buddhism after the 9th century onwards, remained powerful and politically very strong in the regions north of Kashmir (from the Hindukush mountains in the west, to Tibetan borderlands in the east) around the Kingdom of Na-ri c. 700 to 900 AD. Ladakh then came under direct possession of Nyima-Gon who was great-grandson of the Tibetan King Lang-dar-ma who was assassinated in 842 AD. At the time of his death, Nyima-Gon had divided his kingdom amongst his three sons who ruled in Ladakh, Guge and Purang. The Tibetan inscriptions on boulders near Saspol’s bridge on the way to Alchi have been assigned to the period 760 to 840 AD on the basis of orthography and onomastics (Denwood 1979) and suggest the inroads of Tibetan armies during the 8th-9th

37

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent The Daradas

dance scenes, men with triangular body, deer and ibexes. Such scenes can also be seen on boulders two and four kilometres ahead, respectively at Bema and Rugdus.

My idea is that we can distinguish three distinct phases of chronological development associated with the tribal clans of the Daradas: after the earliest phase when they were hunters and gatherers, during a middle phase, possibly corresponding to the advent of the Kushans in the region, they adopted somewhat settled life of pastorals and nomads corresponding. This era of inter-continental trade developments helped them in exchange of commodities and they started adopting more civilized ways of living than before. From the 1st century BC to the 6th century AD they became famous as Daradas (Derdai, Daradrai or Dardae) and found place in classical and other literary works as an organized tribe and became a political power till the 9th century AD. In the last and third phase, they merged in a new social order due to the introduction of Tibetan people and Buddhism in the region, followed by Islam in the 15th century AD in the western part of the region including Kargil area and particularly Gilgit, Chitral, and Baltistan.

The petroglyphs of the early historic phase are dominated by the representation of ibex figures and their hunting scenes. Regarding engravings of ibex figures on boulders and rocks, it is well known that it represents the local tradition of the area connected with the ceremony of ibex hunting, known as thuma saling, a term perhaps of Balti language, as also observed by Ahmad Hasan Dani according to whom “the story refers to a ritual conception of a male ibex, which, if drawn on this Rock, would lead to human pregnancy” (Dani 1985a: 7). This is in the context of the Hunza rock which is also applicable to other places of the region. The male organ of the ibex is also drawn at a number of places. It has been custom in Ladakh as observed by Francke during his tours (Francke 1914: 95-96) that at the birth of a child presents of ‘flour-ibex’, i.e. figures of ibex made of flour and butter, were offered as thanks giving. People also used to go to the pre-Buddhist places of worship to pray and be blessed with children.

Giuseppe Tucci, on the basis of various names of Darada rulers and their attacks over the kingdom of Kashmir as described in the Rajatarangini of Kalhana, suggested they were Hindus (stating that perhaps Buddhism had not been altogether forgotten) (Tucci 1977: 74). In this point I do not agree with him as I think that all the names of Darada rulers - such as Achalamangala in the reign of Ananta (1028-1063 AD), Jagaddala during the time of Uchchhala (1101-1111 AD) as well as Manidhara during the time of Sussala (1112-1120 AD) - are Indian names which can be related to both Buddhism or Hinduism. Because the Darada ruler Achalamangala is mentioned along with seven mlechchha princes Tucci suggests that some understanding between the Daradas and Muslims had already started in the region in 11th century AD. This seems convincing. When referring to the Daradas in connection with the conquest of Lalitaditya Muktapida, Kalhana states that the king could not tolerate their strong alcohol (Pandit 1968: 87, IV, 169). Kalhana writes that Lalliya Shahi was caught between the Darada and the Turushka kings (ibid.: 137, V, 152).

Fertility cult was very popular during the early historical period in India, especially during the Kushan period when terracotta figurines of Naigamesa and Naigamesi were modeled at a large scale and offered in cult worship. They had the face of goat over human body. On the basis of the epic mythology and ancient texts like Kalpasutra, Neminathacharita and Antagada-Dasao, it has been suggested that the deity was worshipped to attain progeny and to take care of the evil influences occurring in the form of sickness ( Jaiswal 1991: 44-45). The ibex figures found on boulders and rocks which are also related to such ritualistic offerings may suggest their dating along with other associated engravings to the period around the beginning of the 1st century AD, when the nomads of the region entered into social order with the impact of Kushans who besides bringing about Buddhist missionaries also encouraged trade and commerce along this region with the trading centres on the silk route.

The petroglyphs

Leh, nowadays the capital of Ladakh, developed into a city because it was the meeting place of various traders and cultural missionaries traveling along divergent routes coming from south of the Himalayas and mainland India, west from Tibet via Kailas-Mansarovar and and extending northwards via Nubra valley to Khotan, Yarkand, Kyzil and Kashgar in China. Westwards via Khalatse, Batalik, Gilgit and Chitral one reaches the area of Wakhan which was once under the Kushan empire.

The early phase is represented mainly by the petroglyphs discovered in Ladakh as well as on the other side of the Line of Control (LOC) along the Karakoram highway (on Ladakh’s petroglyphs, besides Bruneau and Vernier, this volume, see also Benassi & Scerrato 2008, Mani 1999, 2001, 2004, Vernier 2007). They represent mainly animal figures (ibex, cattle, yak, goat, deer, dog, wolf, horse), but also human figures in hunting scenes with bow and arrow or with spear, and in dancing positions in groups; horse riders, fighting scenes and finally symbols of sun, palm and swastika are also frequent. They were sometimes copied in later periods as are evident from overlappings and scratchings without patina and looking fresh on granitic boulders. During the survey of a stretch of 25 kilometres from Sanjak to Batalik in Balti speaking area, at Tilichang (two kilometres NW of Sanjak) a rock shelter was noticed with primitive engravings including several group

The establishments of ‘cities founded by Hushka, Jushka and Kanishka’, as mentioned in the Rajatarangini of Kalhana which can be supposed once between Baramulla and Srinagar – might be also connected to the above mentioned route (via Drass and Khalatse) where ancient remains, sculptures and inscriptions have been found (see aldo Dorjay, this volume). The so called Kanika chorten (stupa of Kanishka) at Sani monastery in Zanskar which has a hemi-spherical dome (anda) is not a usual feature of chortens in Ladakh and may

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Authors of Petroglyphs in Ladakh and Baltistan

Fig. 1 Rock shelter of Tilichang overhanging the Indus, Dah-hanu valley (photo by L. Bruneau).

Fig. 2 Group dance scene, Tilichang, Dah-hanu valley (photo by L. Bruneau).

Fig. 3 Ibex hunting scene, Thangurste, Dah-hanu valley (photo by L. Bruneau). 39

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 4 Stupa and Tibetan inscription, Alchi (photo by L. Bruneau).

confirm the tradition of Kushan presence in the area which is definitely confirmed by the inscription of Vima Kadphises at Khalatse (see Tucci 1958: fn. 27, fig. 8; Orofino 1990). This place was connected westwards with Kashmir and southwards with Zanskar, as well as eastwards with the whole of Ladakh thanks to the route along the Indus.

Archaeologists from Germany and Pakistan, first under the directions of Karl Jettmar and Ahmed Hasan Dani, then directed by Harald Hauptmann (Dani 1983a, 1983b, 1985; Jettmar 1985; Hauptmann, this volume) have explored a large number of sites along the upper Indus banks in Pakistan and have located numerous inscriptions in Brahmi and Kharosthi, datable to the early centuries AD and having names of Kushan emperors, kshatrapas, high officials and local rulers besides traders and monks along with human and animal figures and motifs engraved on boulders and rocks, many of which have a similarity with those found in Ladakh. The West Iranian warrior with broad belt, fringed skirt and leggings, about to slaughter a goat or ibex represented on the Altar-rock at Thalpan Bridge ( Jettmar & Thewalt 1985: pl. 5) and datable to the 1st millennium BC has a parallel at Tilichang in Ladakh engraved in the purely folk art tradition (Mani 1999: pl 30). The folk deities also included Hariti which is represented on a recess in the cliffs of Chilas II with Kharoshthi label inscription and the folk tradition is further supported by a cult pillar to its left having human attributes ( Jettmar & Thewalt 1985: pl. 12). The giant figure from Chilas VI (ibid.: pl. 22) belongs to the folk art of the early historic period. The tradition typical to the region depicting (Fig. 5) a chief or a deity seated on a throne who is offered a bowl by some people at Chilas II (Ibid.: pl. 8) or the enlightened one (Fig. 6) allowing a tigress having

Two inscribed stone slabs containing a famous Buddhist creed were found fixed on either side of the entrance of the main hall at Sani monastery in Zanskar which were perhaps originally fixed along with such other slabs on the façade of the monastery where still a line of such inscribed slabs is visible. The writing suggests an early date of the monastery as also believed traditionally (more recently few new Kharoshti inscriptions have been found by Laurianne Bruneau and her colleagues; personal communication). Francke, during his observations and study of skulls recovered from the Dard graves near Leh, has suggested that they belong to the 1st-5th centuries AD (Francke 1914: 74). Apparently, the Dard nomads must have helped in the trade of the area which got impetus under Kushan rule. Much of the engravings which seemingly date back to this period are located on boulders near the camping grounds of ancient traders and their nomadic helpers.

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Authors of Petroglyphs in Ladakh and Baltistan

Fig. 5 Scene Chilas I (after Jettmar & Thewalt 1987 : 19)

Fig. 6 Scene fom Chilas II (after Jettmar & Thewalt 1987 : 16). no milk for her cubs to devour him. A message of deepest compassion expressed through the tree nymph lamenting with the relatives at Chilas I (ibid.: 19) speak about the folk lores developed from Jataka stories popular among the Daradas and quite efficiently depicted in their artistic endeavour.

Towards the close of the second phase of Darada activities the rock cut sculptures of Mulbekh, Apati, Kartse Khar, Sani, Dras, Hunder and Yansa are representative art works of the age. To this era belongs the group of buildings depicted in engravings which do not have the anda of the stupa and have been identified at Chilas VII with cult buildings (Hauptmann 1997: 46, fig.1).

The second phase which continued till the 9th century AD provides much information about the folk rituals and tradition of the Daradas through the rock engravings found on thousands of boulders in the entire region. Various dance scenes, often in groups, cult-deities, ritualistic activities, symbols like footprints, palm-prints and other features of Dardic tradition and beliefs, Brahmi and Kharoshthi inscriptions mentioning local chieftains, traders, worshippers besides Kushan kings and their figures, stupas and material representative connected with both folk and classical forms, require their detailed study in understanding the life and activities of people inhabiting the region and the those following their movements along the silk roads.

The third phase has mostly engravings of Tibetan style of chortens or stupas, Tibetan inscriptions and figures of Buddha and minor deities in the typical Tibetan style which have little affiliation with the Darada tradition. Bibliography Benassi, A. & I.E. Scerrato (2008) ‘Some brief notes on a survey of the Middle Indus Valley: the connection between petroglyphs, foundation myths and the ritual practices of

41

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent the brok-pas’, in F. Lugli & A.A. Stoppiello (eds), Atti del 3° Convegno Nazionale di Etnoarcheologia, Mondaino, 1719 marzo 2004 / Proceedings of the 3rd Italian Congress of Ethnoarchaeology, Mondaino (Italy), 17-19 March, 2004. BAR S 1841. Oxford. Bruneau and Vernier, this volume. Dani, A.H. (1983a) Human Records on Karakorum Highway. Islamabad. Dani, A.H. (1983b) Chilas the city of Nanga Parvat. Islamabad. Dani, A.H. (1985a) The Sacred Rock of Hunza. Islamabad. Dani, A.H. (1985b) The Sacred Rock of Hunza, Journal of Central Asia, VIII (2): 5-124. Denwood, P. (1979) ‘Temple and Rock Inscriptions at Alchi’, in Snellgrove, D. L. and T. Skorupski (eds), The Cultural Heritage of Ladakh, 2. New Delhi. Dorjay, this volume. Francke, A.H. (1914) Antiquities of Indian Tibet, I. Calcutta. Hauptmann, H. (1997) The Indus Cradle and Crossroads of Civilization. Islamabad. Hauptmann, this volume. Jaiswal, V. (1991) Kushana Clay Art of Ganga Plains. Delhi. Jettmar, K. & V. Thewalt (1987) Between Gandhara and the Silk Roads. Rock Carvings along the Karakorum Highway. London. Jettmar, K. & V. Thewalt (1985) Zwischen Gandhara Und Den Seidenstrassen, Felsbilder am Karakorum Highway, Entdechungen Deutsch-Pakistanischer Expeditionen 1979-

1984. Mainz am Rhein. Koshal, S. (2001) Ploughshares of Gods – Ladakh – Land Agriculture and Folk Tradition, I. New Delhi. Kumari, V. (1988) The Nilamata Purana, I. Jammu. Mani, B.R. (1999) ‘Rock carvings and engravings in Ladakh: New Discoveries’, Pragdhara (Uttar Pradesh State Archaeology Department, Lucknow), 9: 65-74. Mani, B.R. (2001) ‘Rock Art of Ladakh: Glimpses of Economic and Cultural Life’, in G. Kumar (ed) Purakala, 11-12 (1-2): 93-108. Rock Art Society of India. Dayalbagh. Mani, B.R. (2004) ‘Exploration in Ladakh’, Indian Archaeology 1998-1999: A Review: 49-59. Mc Crindle, J.W. (1901), Ancient India as Described in Classical Literature, New Delhi. Reprint 1979. Orofino, G. (1990) ‘A Note on Some Tibetan Petroglyphs of the Ladakh Area’, East and West 40 (1-4): 173-200. Pandit, R.S. (1968) Kalhana’s Rajatarangini. New Delhi. Sushma ‘Saral’ (2002) ‘Laddakh Ke Lok Nritya’ [in Hindi], Hamara Sahitya 2002 (Ladakh issue), J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages. Tucci, G. (1958) ‘Preliminary Report on an Archaeological Survey in Swat’, East and West 9 (4): 279-328. Tucci, G. (1977) ‘On Swat, The Dards and Connected Problems’, East and West 27 (1-4): 9-85, 94-103. Vernier, M. (2007) Exploration et documentation des pétroglyphes du Ladakh 1996-2006. Como.

42

Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures Phuntsog Dorjay Ladakh is situated in the N of India in Jammu & Kashmir state and lies in the Indus Valley basin between 32o.15’ to 36o degrees latitude and 75o.15’ to 80o.15’ degrees longitude (Fig. 1). It is perhaps best known for its extraordinary landscape where the bare rock of the Himalayas appears to thrust through flat expanses of desert to create a dazzling backdrop of peaks and crags. This environment is also famously punctuated religious structures such as mani-walls, chortens (Tib. mChod-rtens), temples, monasteries and carvings in the rock face. Covering an area of nearly 82,000 square kilometres, Ladakh is bordered on the N by China; E by China (Tibet Autonomous Region) and W by Pakistan (through the so-called LCO, Line of Control). Its southernmost reaches lead down to the plains of India via long established trade routes through Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir (Ahmed and Harris 2005:11).

the Kushanas (1st-3rd century AD), if not earlier, from the time of Ashoka (3rd century BC). Unfortunately, no traces of these important inscriptions have survived. Scholars such as Roger Geopper believe that lower Ladakh may have been part of the Kushana Empire during the 2nd century AD (Goepper 1996: 11). There is no direct evidence of Buddhism in the early period. It is taken for granted that Buddhism did not firmly take root in Ladakh prior to Rinchen bzangpo’s missionary work (11th century AD). However, Buddhist rock carvings are found along the present Leh-Srinagar highway from Dras to Leh and there onto Nubra Valley via Sakti village. William Moorcroft’s Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and Punjab etc. (1841) and Alexander Cunningham’s Ladak (1854) have both mentioned the Mulbek Maitreya and Dras sculptures respectively. But the earliest scholarly mention of them has been made by August Hermann Francke (1914); he was followed by Luciano Petech (1977) and then by David Snellgrove and Tadeusz Skorupski (1980). So far there has been no systematic comparative and stylistic study of these Buddhist rock carvings but they are a

Limited information is available on Ladakh, particularly prior to the 10th century AD. There has hardly been any documentation of that time except for the discovery of Kharoshthi and Brahmi inscriptions at Dras and Khalatse (Francke 1914: 94-5). These have strengthened the belief that many Himalayan states, and Ladakh in particular, have been cultural satellites of mainland India at least from the time of

Fig. 1 Map showing the areas of investigation. (Drawing by Dawa Dorjey).

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent remarkable source for the study of not only the early history of Ladakh but also the diffusion of Buddhism (Mani 1999). Before proceeding to such a study it is necessary to understand the commercial and cultural role played by Ladakh.

AD). This period was a time of prosperity and the extant art specimens of the period found at Pandrethan and Parihaspura, near Srinagar, reflect an infallible blend of degenerated provincial Gandharan and Gupta art (Pal 1980: 27). During Lalitaditya’s time Kashmir was closely tied with Central Asia. The prime minister of Lalitaditya (Chakuna) was a Tokharian who had served previously in the Chinese imperial court. It is established that Kashmir played the most significant formative role in the art history of Central Asia (Bussagli 1978: 17). Due to its close proximity, direct contacts of Kashmir with Kucha, Khotan, Iran and even with China resulted in a considerable impact on its art tradition and cultural set up. The triumph of political power in the Lalitaditya’s period attracted artists from all over.

Trade routes and introduction of Buddhism into Ladakh An early trade route must have existed along the Indus River leading from northern India to Central Asia, and the site of the present capital Leh was probably an important trade center. There was good political and cultural contact between Kashmir and Ladakh. India in general and Kashmir in particular were connected with the southern Silk Road and trade took place from the north. Two routes passed through Gilgit and Yasin valley up to Tashkurgan and joined the Kashgar route (Warmington 1947: 22-23). A third route must have connected Kashmir with Khotan through Ladakh and from there it proceeded to Yarkand and Kashgar. The town of Khalatse was situated on a trade route from the time of Kushanas, as proved by the inscriptions mentioned above. This route was important because it was the gateway that led further on to the countries of Tibet and Central Asia. Thus, it is quite obvious that it must have served as a trade route via the Zoji-la pass to Ladakh and from there to Central Asia, via Khotan.

Kashmiri Bronzes Historians have recognized the uniqueness of the Kashmiri idiom in artistic expression. The workshops of Kashmir, active in bronze making from c. the 7th to the 12th century, were renowned both for the extremely high quality of their output and for the wide range of images they produced. Records in the Royal Annals of Kashmir, the Rajatarangini, describe them as cast from gold, silver and brass and many metres in height. Unfortunately, none of these have survived. Only more portable images have survived in finding their way to the monasteries of Tibet (11th-13th centuries AD). Many are preserved in the Potala (Lhasa) and private collections. In addition, Kashmiri craftsmen are believed to have set up their ateliers in Western Tibet. Tibetans, especially those from western Tibet, valued these pieces highly and the subsequent influence of the art of Kashmir upon that of Tibet is well chronicled (Heller 2007: 84).

The Leh trade route was linked with the other important Central Asian trade centers. Hudud Alam, a historical document of the 9th century AD, mentions Ladakh’s commercial links with neighboring countries and their role in the growth of Ladakhi economy (Sheikh 1995: 447). Generally it is believed that Buddhism was introduced into Ladakh from east, from Tibet. It is fairly certain that during the first Tibetan invasion (Yarlung dynasty) in the 7th century AD, their forces overran the Western Himalayas (Beckwith 1987: 29–31). They occupied not only parts of Central Asia and Zang-Zhung but also the lands farther west, probably as far as the Zoji-la. They doubtless established military forts at different points, of which many ruined forts can still be seen throughout Ladakh, but at that early period their culture could have made no real impact on the indigenous population. Prior to the Tibetan invasion and for several centuries afterwards the cultural inspiration came almost entirely from the west, namely Kashmir. Except for paintings of early temples, generally associated with Rinchen bzangpo (958 to 1055 AD), there is not much evidence that Buddhist ideology penetrated into Ladakh before the Tibetan gave it a firm root (Tucci 1933).

The stylistic features of Kashmiri bronzes are: strong bodies with broad shoulders, broad chest, crossed navel and abdominal muscles. In Ladakh we find them, for example, on the sculptures of Alchi Sum-tsek. Arched eyebrows, small mouth, pearl bands under the crown, copper strips in the dhoti (Indian male lower garment) and silver in the eye are some of the typical features of Kashmir school. The sharp pointed diadem and lotus leaves are special to the Kashmiri bronzes found from Tibet which are considered by scholars as made by Kashmiri artist in Western Tibet (Heller 2007: 84). Rock Art Sites Buddhist rock carvings are scattered throughout Ladakh. I attempted to compare the most important ones with Kashmiri bronzes and mural paintings from the early monasteries of Ladakh and western Tibet. So far about 30 carvings from 14 sites have been documented.

Kashmir became a center of Buddhist scholarship by the 1st century AD. The Kushan emperor Kanishka chose Kashmir as the venue of the major Buddhist Council comprising of over 500 monks and scholars. He encouraged missionary activities to Central Asia and China ( Jha 2000: 116). At the time of the Kushanas, Kashmir formed a part of their domain and was intimately linked with the kingdom of Gandhara (Pal 1980: 36). Its perpetual connection with Northwest India left an indelible mark on the art of Kashmir.

Following are the areas of investigation: Kargil area: Dras and Tumel, Kartse and Byama-Khumbu (Suru Valley); Leh area: Khalatse, Alchi, Sangkar, Changspa, Skara, Shey and Sakti; Nubra area: Digar, Hundar and Tirith.

A political status coupled with a martial one, took place in the 8th century AD, during the reign of Lalitaditya (699-736 44

Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures Dras (Kargil) One fine example of direct Indian Buddhist influence in Ladakh are the rock carvings by the wayside at Dras, which depict Maitreya, a lotus flower, a horseman and Avalokiteshvara. They were mentioned by Francke but at present it is very difficult to study them in detail (Francke 1914: 105-6). Earlier these carvings were standing in an open space but recently local people built a masonry wall around them and they are now fully covered with prayer flags. Francke noticed a Sarada inscription on the reverse, which clearly shows the Kashmiri origin of these carvings (Francke 1914: 105-6). The earliest known records in which the Sarada characters appear for the first time are the coins of the Utpala dynasty of Kashmir (9th century AD) (Cunningham 1977: 133, Plate 13). The script evolved from the North Western Brahmi script and it remained in popular use for several centuries in an extensive area of Western Himalaya (Deambi 1996: 81). On the basis of the inscription it can be assume that these carvings could not be carved much before 9th century AD. The figure of Maitreya (above one metre in height) wears a three sharp pointed diadem. He holds a rosary and vase, respectively in his raised right hand and left hand. Avalokiteshvara stands on a lotus throne very similar to Kashmiri bronzes. His headdress has been destroyed. On the reverse is carved a beautiful chorten with thirteen steps. It seems that before the construction of main highway the lotus figure was standing on the opposite side of the road, as described by Francke who traveled through Dras in 1914. Monisha Ahmad described the lotus flower as: “At Dras there is the figure of a horseman wearing a long-sleeved, short jacket over pants and boots, holding a sword in his right hand. This is more likely the outfit of a Central Asian soldier and not a replication of garments worn in Ladakh at that time. An example of this is seen at Mulbek, where the male devotees, at the feet of the colossal Buddha, are wearing long robes with sashes and one wears a hat”. (Personal communication).

Fig. 2 Avalokitesvara at Byama Khumbu (Kargil). (All the photos are by the author, if not stated otherwise).

Suru Valley (Kargil) Rock carvings were noticed at Bya-ma Khumbu, Kartse Khar, Tumel, Sani and Padum in Kargil district. The rock relief at Byama Khumbu (about 33 kilometres S of Kargil) represents Avalokitesvara flanked by two goddesses (Fig. 2). The Kashmiri element can be seen in the style of the Bodhisattva and its feminine attendants. Pratapaditya Pal assumed that the dresses of the lay devotees are Kashmiri (1986: 34-36,109). In fact, it is hard to know how the Kashmiri dressed at that time. Indications are provided by the depictions of Kashmiri garments on Avalokitesvara’s dhoti in the Sumtsek of Alchi. Essentially, due to climate, the Kashmiri dress is somewhat heavier that the Indian one but considerably lighter than that worn in Ladakh. I think that the dress of the devotees is not Kashmiri, but rather local: the male wearing rather heavy simple tunics with a belt and the lady a multi-layered skirt. Since the bottom of her dress is so heavy, I assume the dress covers the upper body and has long sleeves, even if this is not clear in the depiction. Similar dresses can be seen wearing by the lay devotees in the ‘Five Tathagathas’ carving at Shey (see below).

Fig. 3 Maitreya figure at Kartse (Kargil). 45

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 4 Maitreya detail, Kartse. The most impressive carving ever carved in Ladakh apart from Mulbek is situated in Khartse, in Suru valley near to Sanko Village on the way to Zanskar (Fig. 3). Proceeding from Mulbek to Kargil Francke remarked: “People told me that there was a rock with a large Buddhist sculpture at dKar-rtse in the Suru valley, and that is also contained a Tibetan inscription. I could not, however, go there” (Francke 1914: 104). It is the highest statue carved out of rock in Ladakh, above 7 metres in height. It shows Maitreya flanked by two flying Gandharvas on either side of his head. His three sharp-pointed diadem, with pearl bands underneath, is typical of Kashmiri sculpture. The small twists of fabric which extends the crown and drape to shoulder level, are derived from the Pativ, a Persian emblem of royalty adapted by the Kashmiri Buddhist (Heller 1999: 39) (Fig. 4). The divinity wears a lower garment very similar to the Indian dhoti. His right hand is raised high in vitarkamudra or preaching gesture. The left hand holds a vase near the left knee. The figure has a tough body with large shoulders, strong breast, crossed navel all very typical of Kashmiri style. On the left side of the sculpture is a Tibetan inscription, which seems to be of a later period. It is in too poor condition to extract any detail.

here that chortens and monasteries begin to dot the landscape. The old giant rock sculpture of Maitreya is carved in a deep rounded relief (Fig. 5). Jan Fontein in her article on Suru valley Maitreya remarked: “The rectangular holes in the face of the rock indicate that the statue was once protected by a slanting roof, probably of wood.” (Fontein 1979: 5). Similar holes are found at Bamiyan (Afghanistan) and other rock art figures in Ladakh like Kartse, Tumel and Tirith (Nubra). As holes can be noticed at a low level (around the knee of the figure), my assumption is that the artists used these holes, with wooden block, to carve the figures. William Moorcroft visited the site in 1820 and makes no mention of any roof in his detail description of the figure (Moorcroft & Trebeck 1841:17). This figure is popularly known as Maitreya. This identification is clear from the stupa in the crown. However, the figure holds a rosary in the upper right hand, which is a symbol of Avalokitesvara. Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya are often confused because of their ascetic nature. Moreover, they share many symbols. Mulbek’s Maitreya can be compared with the four armed clay sculpture of Maitreya in Alchi Sum-tsek. Snellgrove has dated the carvings of Mulbek, Kartse and Shey from the 9th-10th century AD (Snellgrove & Shorupski 1977: 7-8.) The male devotees accompanying Mulbek’s Maitreya at his feet wear dresses very similar to local Ladakhi dress whereas the female wear more Indian garments.

Mulbek (Kargil) Mulbek is a small Buddhist village situated 34 kilometres E of Kargil on the Kargil-Leh Highway. Coming from Kargil it is

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Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures

Fig. 5 Mulbek Maitreya.

Fig. 6 Maitreya Figure at Tumel (Kargil).

Another Maitreya sculpture of the early period can be seen in Sod area of Tumel village some 10 kilometres N on the Kargil-Batalik Road (Fig. 6). The figure is carved in the same fashion as Kartse and Mulbek, though it is smaller in size. It also has features of Kashmiri bronzes (tough bodies with broad shoulders, strong breast, crossed navel and abdominal muscles).

The almond eyes and small mouth of the figure remind us of the Buddha figure from Gilgit dated from the 8th century (Heller 1999: 39, pl. 22). On the left side of the Maitreya figure, near his lower limb is a small figure in meditation posture on a peacock throne who is probably Amitabha. Maitreya is flanked by two smaller standing figures near his feet.

Fig. 7 Stupa carvings near Alchi bridge.

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent Upper Indus Valley Travelling eastwards from Mulbek one comes to the village of Khalatse, where Francke discovered an inscription from Kushana times (Francke 1914: 94-5). There, he also noticed Brahmi and Gupta inscriptions (4th-5th centuries AD) besides a number of Tibetan ones around the Dard castle and chortens. These and other carvings at Khalatse have been destroyed recently during the construction of a new bridge. That the town of Khalatse was situated along a major trade route from the time of the Kushanas is proved by these inscriptions. This route was important because it was the gateway that led on to Tibet and Central Asia. Travelling eastwards from Khalatse towards Leh a number of pre-historic and early stupa carvings are found along the way in villages such as Nyurla, Tingmosgang, Saspol, Alchi, Nimo, Basgo and Taru (Fig. 7). Leh Leh seems to have developed into a major trade center during the 8th-9th centuries AD and was a meeting place for traders and cultural missionaries. The rock carvings found there are based on the Indian model and are very similar to those found at Dras, Suru Valley and Mulbek in Kargil district. Sangkar (Leh) On the way up from the main market of Leh to the Sangkar monastery, following the footpath, there is a small enclosure open from the front that houses four standing sculptures, each on a separate stone. They are very similar to those found at Changspa, another suburb of Leh, but these sculptures have been painted recently with yellow, blue and white colours. According to local people these carvings were previously lying outside in the field and it was only after the construction of the present Sangkar monastery (last quarter of 19th century AD) that they were brought together and arranged in a row under a house specially built for this purpose. All four carvings are above one metre in height. The two in the middle are depicting Maitreya in abhayamudra whereas the other two, enclosing them, are showing Avalokitesvara with a rosary in his right hand.

Fig.8 Standing Buddha at Changspa (Leh). ii) Avalokitesvara and Hayagriva (Fig. 9) On the reverse side of the same stone is a four-armed figure, about one metre in height, identified as Avalokitesvara thanks to the lotus flower held in his upper right hand. An antelope skin (Skr. ajina) slung over his shoulder, is a sign of a reclusive ascetic, being the mat upon which he engaged in meditation. The same sash can be seen on Avalokitesvara’s shoulder in Alchi Sum-tsek as well as on Kashmiri bronzes from western Tibet. Another proof of this figure being Avalokitesvara is the presence of the smaller adjacent figure of Hayagriva (Tib. rTa-mgrin), with a horse’s head above his own, on his left. He holds a sword in his left hand. Hayagriva or ‘horse-necked one’ is a primary emanation of Avalokitesvara (Thurman & Rhie 1991: 189). So far, it is the only sculpture of Hayagriva in rock art. Opposite, below Avalokitesvara’s right hand is a figure of seated devotee in anjali.

Changspa (Leh) There is a large pyramidal stupa at Changspa in Leh, which is called bkra-shis-sgo-mang or ‘stupas of many doors’. Francke dated this chorten from the 8th-9th century AD but its architecture is similar to Shey’s sGomang chorten which was built around 16th century AD (Francke 1914: 80). There are two rock carvings in the vicinity of this mChod-rten and another one standing some 100 metres eastwards.

A chorten with thirteen wheels, above one meter high, is carved on the left side of the same stone. On a separate slab, leaning on the main stone, is a small Maitreya in abhayamudra with a small figure to his left who seems to be a devotee or donor.

i) Standing Buddha (Fig. 8) On both sides of a two metres high rock are carved Buddhist divinities. The front one shows Buddha standing in dharmachakra or preaching gesture, holding a vase in his left hand. He has an elaborate nimbus and aureole and is flanked by two flying Gandharvas on either side of his head. Near his right leg and left elbow is a kneeling devotee. Their dress and headdress are very similar to the Ladakhi dress, as seen in Shey.

Skara (Leh) At Skara situated S of Leh (near the present airport) is a carved stone adjacent to a round stupa showing on both sides a standing figure of Maitreya in abhaymudra. The one on the

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Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures

Fig. 9 Avalokitesvara with Hayagriva, Changspa.

Fig. 10 Standing Maitreya at Skara (Leh).

rear side, depicted with a diadem and a lower garment similar to dhoti, is carved in deep relief (Fig. 10).

The main carving of the five tathagathas at the lower edge of the mountain is well mentioned by scholars (Snellgrove & Shorupski 1977:10-11) (Fig. 12). Generally dated from circa the 10th century AD, it shows the five Tathagathas seated on their respective vahanas, starting from left to right: Ratnasambhava, Akshobhya, Vairocana, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi. Under the lotus throne, seated in rows, facing upward, are lay devotees. Their dress is similar to Ladakhi Goncha (long sleeved robe worn with a sash) and on their heads is the Ladakhi hat (ti-bi) (Fig. 13).

About 100 metres to the south of this spot another sculpture is found. Only its upper portion is visible as the lower part is buried in the ground (Fig. 11). An elderly member from a neighbouring house, called Karpotok, said that during his childhood there was a shed built by local people to protect the figure from rainwater and sun. That shelter does not exist any longer and stones of the collapsed wall have covered the lower portion of the figure. According to the head and shoulders it seems that the sculpture is of the same size as the above mentioned rock carving (one metre). The figure can be identified as Padmapani Avalokiteshvara with a lotus flower in his left hand and a three-pointed diadem. The sash made from the skin of antelope is slung over his shoulder.

One fine example of rock carving is found near the sGomang chorten in the field behind Shey palace. The figure is identified with Maitreya. Finely carved in deep relief, he carries a lotus flower, with a vase on top of it, in his left hand. The lower garment resembles the Indian dhoti of Maitreya in Mulbek. He wears a three-pointed diadem and is framed by nimbus and aureole. The carving resembles in many ways the 10th century Kashmiri bronze Padmapani Avalokitesvara from Khatse temple (W Tibet) published by Pratapaditya Pal (Pal 20034: 93, fig.3). The work does relate to a large group of bronzes believed to be from 10th-11th century Kashmir (Pal 2003-4: figs. 85-6, 89).

Shey (Leh) Shey, about 15 kilometres SE of Leh, was the ancient capital of Ladakh. The first king of Ladakh Lhachen-Spalgi-gon (11th century AD) constructed a hill top fortress there whose ruins can be seen above the present palace. The village possesses a number of early Buddhist rock sculptures, many of which are about one metre in height.

About 500 metres east of this palace, near Lha rDorje-Chenmo chapel, nine figures are arranged in a row and housed under a 49

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 11 Padmapani Avalokitesvara at Skara.

Fig. 12 Five Tathagatha carving at Shey.

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Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures

Fig. 13 Lay devotees in local costume, Five Tathagatha carving at Shey. shelter built recently for this purpose by the villagers of Shey (Fig. 14). As in the case of Sankar, these figures were lying in the field earlier. The figures are dark as local people, as offering, put oil on them; the lips and eyes are painted red.

This time one can notice a small stupa figure on his crown. Two devotees are on either side of his lower limbs.

The figures from left to right:

vii) Maitreya in abhaymudra seated on a lotus throne, about one metre in height.

vi) Maitreya in vitarkamudra, about 80 centimetres.

i) Standing Maitreya Buddha about one metre in height in dharmachakramudra.

viii) The last figure is broken into two pieces, lying in the right side corner of the shelter. The figure has a very unusual double head. From the ajina slung over its left shoulder, it can be either Avalokitesvara or Maitreya.

Maitreya very similar to the one near sGomang chorten, mentioned above. A little smaller than the first one he helds a lotus stalk in his left hand. His right hand rising above in abhayamudra.

Sakti

iv) Another standing Maitreya similar to the first one, in abhaya mudra, about one meter in height.

Sakti, according to the eminent Ladakhi historian Tashi Rabgais (personal communication), was one of the centres through which most trade routes passed. It is possible that the route from Kashmir to Leh and there on to Central Asia via Nubra valley used to pass through Sakti. Another important route that connected Ladakh with W Tibet used to pass through Sakti to Tangste via Chang-la pass which lead to Rudok and from there onto western Tibet. The discovery of Buddhist sculptures of early period bears the fact that Sakti was a place where missionaries and artists met.

v) Another standing Maitreya little higher than the last one.

Rock sculptures of about one metre in height, are found near

ii) Seated figure (about 50 centimetres) which appears to be a six-armed Avalokitesvara. It is damaged at the bottom and as well as at the lower hands on both sides. iii) Amitabha in dhyanamudra with nimbus and a three sharppointed diadem. The size of the figure is little larger that the last one.

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 14 Series of figures near Lha rDorje-Chenmo chapel, Shey.

Fig.15 Rock figures near Mon castle, Sakti. 52

Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures

Fig. 16 Avalokitesvara figure at Sakti. the ruins of old castles in the valley which goes to the ChanglaPass (Fig. 15). According to the villagers, altogether nine castles or forts used to exist in Sakti village. Three carvings are situated near one of the ruined castles. The rock figures are badly weathered as they are situated on an open slope exposed directly to sun and rain. People from the neighbouring houses called them Chamba, the local name for Maitreya. They are of the same size and style as the series of Maitreya figures near the Lha-rDorje-Chenmo Temple in Shey. These carvings may have once been housed under a shelter as suggested by the ruins.

of Nubra. It is also possible to reach Digar from Leh via the Khardung-la (5400 metres) or via Sabu village. In Digar, three Buddhist divinities, of about one and a half metre high, are carved out in deep relief on a single rock standing near the village (Fig. 17). Wearing the Indian type of lower garment (dhoti), they are identified as Maitreya, Avalokitesvara and Vajrapani (Figs. 18 and 19). Torsos, from the shoulders to the navel, have the same upward-thrust as portrayed in Kashmiri bronzes and clay sculptures of Alchi.

About one kilometre and a half away, I have found another rock carving near a stream, lying under a tree. The sculpture is locally known as Spyan-ras-gzings sRang-jon, literally meaning ‘Self Born or Self Originated Avalokitesvara’. According to the villagers, this sculpture is self originated and as such is highly venerated. Many people from neighbouring villages visit this Avalokiteshvara for their personal wishes to be granted. The sculpture is housed in a wooden box and is only visible through a closed glass window which makes it difficult to see the details (Fig. 16). The figure is about half meter high and seems to have four arms. From the style and iconography it resembles the small figure of Avalokitesvara in Shey near Lha-rDorjeChenmo temple.

Nubra Valley The Nubra valley lies to the north of Leh, between Ladakh and Karakoram ranges. Two rivers: the Shayok and the Nubra meet in Diskit, the headquarters of the valley, and further run to the west to join the Indus in Pakistan. The Nubra valley may have been an important gateway to Central Asia since ancient times. Traders from Yarkand and Khotan used this route till recent times (Bell 1890: 89-90). The Bactrian camels found in the valley testify of this traffic. I noticed rock carvings in the Nubra valley during my survey. Until now no one has mentioned them. Francke, who has described most of the carvings in the Indus valley and in Kargil area of Ladakh, probably never went there. On the right side of Tirith village near the main road towards Saser-la I noticed four Buddhist divinities on a rock about 10 metres high (Fig. 20). From the ruins of a masonry wall it seems that they were

Digar The left side of Sakti valley leads to Wari pass (5200 metres), descending northwards from the pass one can reach Digar village. From there the route proceeds to the Shayok valley

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 17 Rock carvings near Digar Village. (Photo by Tashi Morup).

Fig.18 Avalokitesvara, Digar. (Photo by Tashi Morup).

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Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures

Fig. 19 Vajrapani, Digar. (Photo by Tashi Morup).

Fig. 20 Rock carving at Tirith village, Nubra.

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent once housed inside it. Though the relief of the carving is not as deep as the ones in Kargil and Indus Valley, dresses and features are similar. All four deities have a three-pointed diadem. Starting from left to right is: Manjushri (with a sword in his right hand and a book in his left hand), Maitreya (holding a rosary and wearing a stupa in his headdress) and two figures standing in varadamudra (gesture of charity) (Fig. 21). Their identification is difficult as details are missing.

Their iconography is clearly Indian and stylistically they can be compared to Kashmiri bronzes (for the possibly earlier carvings from Swat, see the list of references in the entry ‘Historic Period. Rock Art - 3.2.3.’ in Olivieri 2006). For this reason the Buddhist carvings of Ladakh are unlikely to be much earlier than the 9th century. We may attribute them from the 9th to the 12th–13th centuries AD. They represent the most important traces of Indian Buddhist influence in Ladakh, most of them pre-dating the Tibetan artistic influence in the region.

Another route, which could have been used by the missionaries and artists, is the Hunder-Phyang route. Near the Maitreya temple at Hunder, I have noticed a rock one and a half metre high carving near the bridge, locally called Chamba or Maitreya (Fig. 22). Situated very near to the high-pressure Hunder stream, the details of the figure have been washed out as the stream often floods during the rainy season. The villagers told me that there are some more rock carvings in the high gorge of the village; they will be part of my next survey.

The work demonstrates the inroads Buddhism made into the region and from here onwards to Central Asia and Tibet. The carriers of the Buddhist faith (or those that walked these roads) were traders, missionaries, pilgrims and artisans. They carried the faith along with them, teaching as they went on, commissioning the construction of monasteries/temples and artwork. Rock sculptures are direct surviving evidence of the latter, since most of early monasteries do not stand any longer. The earliest that does is that of Alchi, apart from the ruins of Nyarma. By studying the rock carvings of the region it become more evident that Buddhism first came to Ladakh from Kashmir.

Conclusion The study I have carried out enables a more accurate dating of Buddhist sculptures in Ladakh. This is the first precise, systematic and comparative study so far on early Buddhist rock sculptures of Ladakh.

These images present themselves as being made by highly skilled craftsmen who had an aesthetic command of their vision and material. There is a harmonious balance in the relative proportions of the limbs and appendages, garments and

Fig. 21 Rock carving detail Tirith, Nubra.

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Penetration of Buddhist Ideology in Ladakh: A study through early Rock Sculptures the comments of Laurianne Bruneau. In the initial fieldwork the assistance of Tashi Morup was invaluable. I also thank Tashi Ldawa for providing me with some important pictures from rock carvings and Dawa Dorjay for preparing the map. I am also indebted to my family members in Germany and in Ladakh for their constant encouragement and support. Bibliography Ahmed, M. and C. Harris (2005) Ladakh: culture at the Crossroads. Mumbai. Beckwith, Ch. I. (1987) The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Middle Ages. Princeton. Bell, M.S. (1890) ‘The Great Central Asian Trade Route from Peking to Kashgaria’, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly records of Geography 12 (2): 57-93. London. Bussagli, M. (1978) Central Asian Painting. Geneva. Cunningham, A. (1854) Ladak: Physical, Statistical & Historical. New Delhi. Reprint 1977. Deambi, B.K.K. (1996) ‘The Sharada Script: Origin and Development’, in P.N. Pushp and K. Warikoo (eds), Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh. Linguistic Predicament, 80100. New Delhi. Dorjay, P. (2005) Development of Buddhist Art in Ladakh from 800 AD to 1200 AD. Ph.D thesis submitted to the Post Graduate Department of History, University of Jammu. Jammu (unpublished). Fontein, J. (1979) ‘A Rock Sculpture of Maitreya in the Suru Valley, Ladakh’, Artibus Asiae 41 (1): 5-12. Francke, A.H. (1914) Antiquities of Indian Tibet, 1, Archeological Survey of India, New Imperial Series vol. XXXVIII. New Delhi. Reprint 1994. Goepper, R. (1996) Alchi-Ladakh’s Hidden Buddhist Sanctuary. The Sumtsek. London. Heller, A. (2007) ‘Rezeption und Adaption fremder aesthetiscer Elemente in der Tibetischen Skulptue-eine Spurensuche’ in B. Beitz and P. Vogt (eds) Tibet-Kloster offnen ihre Schatzkammern, 80-89. Essen Jha, D.N. (2000) Ancient India in Historical Outline. New Delhi. Mani, B.R. (1999) ‘Rock carvings and engravings in Ladakh: New Discoveries’, Pragdhara (Uttar Pradesh State Archaeology Department, Lucknow), 9: 65-74. Moorcroft, W. and Trebeck, G. (1841) ‘Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab’ in H.H. Wilson (ed) Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz and Bokhara. London. Olivieri, L.M. (2006)  ‘The IsIAO Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan. A Selected Bibliography’, East and West 56 (1-3): 301-18. Pal, P. (1980) Bronzes of Kashmir. New Delhi. Pal, P. (1986) Art of Kashmir. Mumbai. Pal, P. (2003-4) Himalayas. An Aesthetic Adventure. Chicago. Petech, L. (1977) The Kingdom of Ladakh, c. 950-1842 A.D. Serie Orientale Roma (SOR) LI. Rome. Thurman, R.A.F. and M. Rhie (1991) ‘Wisdom and

Fig. 22 Maitreya figure at Hunder, Nubra. ornaments. The pleasing details contrast with the extremely shallow carvings of the later period, which can be seen on rock slabs placed over mani walls. As it is commonly recognized that Alchi sculptures are of Kashmiri origin, it can be assumed that these rock cut figures were already a model for later artists in the 12th-13th centuries AD. On this ground an assumption can be made that the later sculptures in the early temples of Ladakh are the replicas of these carvings. The rock carvings of Ladakh provide a remarkable source for the study of the cultural history of Central and South Asia. However, these carvings are succumbing both to natural weathering and human activities. One example is the loss of the Kharoshthi inscription at Khalatse during the construction of the last two bridges. Conservation and protection are necessary before it is too late and all trace of them will be obliterated. Acknowledgements This paper is a shorter version of my Ph.D dissertation, submitted to University of Jammu (India). Further research, by myself, on the rock carvings of the region is continuing and more areas are under investigation. I should like to express my gratitude to Monisha Ahmed and Christian Luczanits for their comments on my dissertation writing. I am also grateful for

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet’, Arts of Asia, vol. 21 (5): 80-96. New York. Sheikh, A. G. (1995) ‘Ladakh’s Relations with Central Asia’, in T. Dodin and H. Räther (eds) Recent Research on Ladakh 7: 447-456. Ulm. Snellgrove, D. L. and T. Skorupski (1977) The Cultural Heritage of Ladakh,1. Warminster.

Tucci, G. (1933) Rin-c’en-bzang-po e la rinascenza del buddhismo nel Tibet intorno al mille. Indo-Tibetica, II. Reale Accademia d’Italia, Roma. (Reprint 1988 Rin-chenbzang-po and the Renaissance of Buddhism in Tibet, New Delhi). Warmington, E. H. (1947) The Commerce between the Roman Empire and India. Delhi.

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Rock Art in Afghanistan and Hidukush: an Overview Marco Ferrandi

This paper will provide a basic overview of rock art in Afghanistan or, more properly, in the Hindukush range, along with its main problems and challenges. We will present a geographical overview of the territory followed by a brief history of the studies that is needed to understand why this subject has been so overlooked in the past - and still is in the present.

living. As we will see, rock art iconography mainly reflects such type of society. Rock art research in the Hindukush In the rich archaeological heritage of Afghanistan, rock art always had little academic recognition, being relegated by scholars in the background of research projects that aimed at studying the major cultural traditions of that region: Hellenism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and the interactions between them.

The geographical context The name ‘Hindukush’ includes, in fact, an array of regions that are not always homogeneous, and that go beyond the homonym mountain range crossing Afghanistan from NE to SW.

Images were found on isolated big rocks or outcrops, or on the faces and walls along the main roads of the mountainous territories that constitute the Hindukush range. However, they were mostly overlooked; it seems that in many cases the rock images were considered more a very recent evidence rather than a proper archaeological subject worth investigating.

Starting from NE we have the Afghan Pamir, a narrow strip bordering with Pakistan, China and Tajikistan; it is an high mountain zone, with most of the ground over 3000 meters above sea level and many peaks over 7000 m. The lack of plain ground did allow the establishment only of very small settlements; however, the inhabitants and the travelers left many traces of their passage in the rock walls along the main routes, as we will see later.

The first sightings of rock art in the Hindukush date back to the 19th century travellers (Masson 1842); in 1929, then, Sir Aurel Stein wrote about some rock images he found in Waziristan (Stein 1929). Between the 40s and 60s of last century some articles centred on rock art examples appeared in scientific publications such as the Mémoires de la Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan or East and West (Foucher 1942; Castaldi 1963; Scerrato 1967). It is in the 70s, though, that we see an increasing number of publications on Hindukush rock art, mostly made by German and Austrian teams, in parallel with a general affirmation of a rock art archaeology discipline. For the most part, these latter works constitute the main body of bibliography that we rely upon today (some examples are Agresti 1970; Bivar 1971; Gratzl, Kostka & Patzelt 1978; Dor 1976; Huwyler & von Moos 1979). Luckily, some of the great archaeologists that made surveys in these areas have been attracted to the rock art they encountered, and thus took pictures and notes. For instance, thanks to Maurizio Taddei a relevant number of petroglyphs from Lagman were documented (partially published in Jung 2003).

Looking westward, the extreme altitudes of Pamir transform in the lower regions of Wakhan, Badakshan and Nuristan; these areas are lower and are generally much more favourable to human settlements, allowing for a wide range of small and medium villages. Actually, Nuristan is one of the areas in Afghanistan richer with vegetation. On the whole, the territory favours an economy based on sheep and goat herding, with limited contributions from small-scale agriculture and hunting. The range continues to WSW towards the arid plateaux of Central Afghanistan, where the highest peaks exceed 4000 meters a.s.l. while the largest part of the area lies under 3000 meters. Here the mountain ranges split in two ‘branches’: the first still goes WSW to the Harirud valley and the Herat plain, while the second one expands SW to the Helmand basin until it degrades in the Qandahar plain. Overall, rainfall and vegetation are both scarce, and the main environment is a semidesertic one.

However, compared to the number of publications and researches published about the neighbouring Karakoram range, this is a very small amount of material on which we can draw. Thus, there are few photographic evidences, many of them incomplete or otherwise not suited to scientific analysis; there are graphical reproductions, though not in every case, and very often they depict just a single subject or figure, without any indication of the wider iconic context of which it was a part; there are no measurements, rare in-depth descriptions, and even more rare attention to the relationship between the images and the landscape.

While the southern slope of the Hindukush has many fertile zones - especially along the river valleys (Kabul, Panjshir and Ghorband) – that allow an economy with a solid agricultural base, the northern slope is prevalently an arid steppe-like area, excepting the river valleys (as in the Qunduz area) but also limited to them. In this latter environment, again, herding with occasional hunting and gathering is the principal way of 59

Fig. 1 Distribution map of the petroglyphs recorded in the Hindukush in literature. (Drawing by the Author).

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Rock Art in Afghanistan and Hidukush: an Overview Map No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53

Figures No. 2, 3, 5

4, 6-9

Province Faryab Samangan Samangan Qunduz Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Badakhshan Baghlan Ghor Bamiyan Bamiyan Bamiyan Bamiyan Parwan Parwan Parwan Lagman

Area SW of Maimana Hazar Sum Haibak Qunduz Ali Su valley Wakhan Baharak Wakhan Gharan region Wakhan Wakhan Between Ishkashim and Qal’a-i Panja Langarkish Little Pamir Wakhan Little Pamir Little Pamir Other (not registered) Wakhan Between Baharak and Langar Wakhan Munjan valley Pul-i-Khumri Tang-i Tizau Bamiyan Surkhab valley Hajigak Pass Surkhab Shibar pass Ghorband valley north of Bazarak Tyria; Shaharghalai; Deh-e Mazan; Bacha Tarkida (Qala-ye Hajian) Other (not registered) Other (not registered) Hajigak Jaghatu Jaghuri Other (not registered) Other (not registered) Ghazni Other (not registered) Luman Jaghuri N of Khost Siah Ab Road between Tirin and Uruzgan Other (not registered) Safar Kandahar Badwan Gram Shal Ghizar Yasin

Lagman Lagman Wardak Ghazni Ghazni Ghazni Ghazni Ghazni Ghazni Ghazni Ghazni Paktiya Farah Uruzgan Helmand Helmand Kandahar Kandahar Chitral (NWFP, Pakistan) Chitral (NWFP, Pakistan) Chitral (NWFP, Pakistan)

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent Rock art distribution

Iconography and style

The map (Fig. 1) has been elaborated in collaboration with M. Jung whose bibliographical work was invaluable to complete the collection of all the published data.

As far as iconographical statistics are concerned, we calculated the relative percentages of each animal species we collected and put into a Filemaker database (Ferrandi 2007); here I will present just an overview of the main subjects and problems.

The map shows a reconstructed spatial distribution of the rock art sites, as they have been cited in the literature until ca. 2007. The main pattern is easily recognizable: it is evidently increasing as we move from S and W of the country to E and N. There are few sites in the S (provinces of Farah, Qandahar and Helmand), while the central area of the Hindukush range seems to be better populated, especially in the Ghazni and Bamiyan areas, with a site in Lagman to the E. However, the main body of rock art reports come from the extreme NE, i.e. the high mountains of Wakhan and Pamir (both in Badakhshan). On the northern slope of the Hinudukush there are some sites in Samangan and Kunduz provinces.

Quadrupeds are by far the most represented subject; it does not come to us as an unexpected result, since the same could be said for most of Central Asia, particularly in the steppes of Kazakhstan and in the other Central Asian republics but also in eastern Himalaya (see in this volume Vernier and Bruneau; Shvets; and Passarelli). These data are obviously related to the local fauna and the main economic model; the latter is mostly, as we mentioned, a pastoral one, with occasional hunting of wild animals that are, mainly, the wild correspondents of the domesticated ones. Thus we find that the genus Capra is the most represented one, both in the wild (Capra egagrus) and the domestic (Capra ibex sibirica) variants, constituting approximately two thirds of the total number of animal representations. The other third is made up by sheep – especially the great wild sheep such as argali, Marco Polo sheep and urial – that still today are renown as one of the most prestigious quarry for hunters, and which are depicted paying particular attention to the horns’ details; (domesticated) horses and dogs (the latter are almost always together with armed human figures and form the so-called ‘hunting scenes’); some examples of various species of gazelle and deer. Conversely, human figures are much fewer; they could be depicted on foot but occasionally they are riding. They can wield simple weapons such as spears and bows, and in many cases they seem to participate – along with ‘dogs’ – to wider ‘scenes’ representing hunting expeditions. All in all, though, human figures seem to be considered a less interesting subject, at least on the basis of the data we have collected so far.

The main problem we must confront with, when looking at the map, is that the map probably reflects the areas where researches and expeditions have been carried out, rather than a real distribution of rock art images. As we already mentioned, rock art has not been a real subject for research in these territories. Historically, archaeologists and scholars in a broader sense were mainly interested in the past evidences of the great empires and cultures that left a monumental trace in Central and South Asia: the spread and diffusion of Buddhism, the legacy of Alexander the Great, the Persian and Indian structures and influences, the impact of Islam, the Turks and their tribes. Thus, the archaeological missions were established mostly in regions with distinct urban and/or monumental remains: i.e. the Kabul – Begram – Kapishi area, Ghazni, Qandahar, Herat, Bamiyan and a few others. Wide areas were – and still are – left almost unknown, since these research criteria continued to affect the choice of locations for surveys and excavations. In this latter category we can mention the central plateau (Hazarajat), Nuristan, and some other areas around the main urban centres (i.e. south of Ghazni, east of Qandahar).

Abstract shapes include ‘grids’ (that is, closed shapes divided by internal lines) that, according to some scholars, could represent traps or fences (Castaldi 1963: 190); the enigmatic ‘dots’, that could stand for ploughed fields, or animals in a fence or a stable; and particular, unidentified figures to which we refer as ‘mascoids’ (Vidale, Olivieri 2002: 196-199 gives a detailed overview of the use of grids and dots in the rock art of South Asia, with plenty of references). They are made of circular and elliptical shapes with two curved appendages, that recall a sort of ears or horns ( Jettmar & Thewalt 1985: 12-13).

Of all the cultural waves we mentioned before, only Buddhism seems to have had a remarkable influence in the rock art iconography though, as we will see later, the only evidences do not come from the Hindukush but from the Karakoram range, where thousands of petroglyphs have been discovered and recorded by the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften.

By looking at the data it is easy to draw a picture in which a society of small groups of herders considers the goat as the centre of the symbolic life as it is in the economy; the symbolic value is particularly strong in the wild animals, that could be considered as the nobler of the quarries and, probably, creatures with some ties to the spirit and/or divine world.

It is thus clear that most of the areas richest in rock art have been the subject of extensive archaeological researches in the past. The Wakhan and Pamir territories are an exception to this, though they have been explored in quite depth by geologists and naturalists. Overall, the main picture seems enough precise to authorize us in concluding that, in order to provide a more realistic distribution map for the rock art of the Hindukush, we need much more data than we currently have, especially from areas that are far from the urban zones.

It is our opinion that, as far as Hindukush rock art is concerned, it is still too early to provide even a rough chronological sequence, since in many cases the data are of second or third hand. It is quite certain, however, that the petroglyphs cover a wide chronological span, and that the overall repertory did not vary much in the centuries.

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Rock Art in Afghanistan and Hidukush: an Overview

Fig. 2 Hazar Sum (Samangan). Wild goat with curved horns, tail and a cupule between the legs. (Neg. L. 1949/5a; ©IsIAO; all the photographs that illustrate this paper come from the photographic archive of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan and were taken by prof. Taddei himself).

Fig 3 Hazar Sum (Samangan). Petroglyph with caprids or canids with linear bodies. (Neg. R. 2421/3; ©IsIAO)

Fig 4 Lagman. Rock wall with simple human figures. (Neg. L. 2460/12; ©IsIAO)

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig 5 Hazar Sum (Samangan). Particular of a cave wall with caprids with linear bodies, cubs between the legs and a ‘spoken wheel’ in the upper right corner. (Dep. C.S. Neg. R. 4452/6 [S.P.]; ©IsIAO)

Fig 6 Tyria (Lagman). ‘Hunting scene’ with a big human figure wielding a sword and a shield, a smaller human figure, a dog (on the left) and a big wild goat (?). (Dep R. 4482/9 [Taddei 1965]; ©IsIAO) 64

Rock Art in Afghanistan and Hidukush: an Overview

Fig 7 Shaharghalai (Lagman). Feline with rectangular body and disproportionated legs. (Dep. R. 4485/8 [Taddei 1965]; ©IsIAO)

Fig 8 Deh-e Mazan (Lagman). Rock surface covered with petroglyphs of armed human figures and unidentified quadrupeds. There is an armed rider in the centre of the upper half of the surface. (Dep R. 4486/1 [Taddei 1965]; ©IsIAO) 65

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig 9 Bacha Tarkida (Qala-ye Hajian, Lagman). Boulder with camels or horses (?). (Dep. R. 4494/12 [Taddei 1965]; ©IsIAO) We must be careful even when making stylistic considerations. Overall, most of the figures are drawn in a rather simple and often crude way, with only a few lines and without lots of details. The bodies of animals are always represented from the side, while some elements are detailed in front view: that is the case, for example, of the horns (most important for us to recognize the particular animal). The animal bodies can be a single (thick) line, a double line, an outline, an elliptical or rectangular shape with or without stripes inside, or (very rarely) a ‘double triangle’ shape.

The real and deep difference between the rock art in these two regions lies in the richness of petroglyphs with Buddhist images that have been found in the Karakoram, while in the Hindukush we do not have any such evidences. This is not due to the lack of Buddhist influence in the latter, since so many archaeological data show that until the 1st millennium AD the Hindukush had a very strong Buddhist presence, a presence that did not wane at the changing of the rulers (at least until the coming of Islam). Suffice to say that some of the most important archaeological Buddhist sites of Asia are located in modern Afghanistan (Bamiyan and Kapishi/Begram in primis).

Human figures are generally simpler and with even less details; usually they are made in simple lines and – as the vast majority of the figures – are static and rigid. Overall, human figures seem to be considered a much less interesting subject than to the animals. There are rare examples of men with raised hands or weapons and running animals; however, they are a very small percentage in an otherwise homogeneous context.

That difference seems to indicate that, while in the Karakoram there was a significant patronage financing the big rock art panels of Buddhist subject, in the Hindukush there is no evidence of such a devotional activity; the causes, however, are still to be determined. We made the hypothesis that the presence of the great Buddhist sanctuaries in actual Afghanistan monopolized the patronage of Buddhist art; that is, pilgrims in the Hindukush could achieve bigger merits by financing sculptures and buildings in the great sanctuaries and monasteries such as Bamiyan.

Many of these subjects also appear in the petroglyphs to the E of the Hindukush, in the Karakoram range, though with a much wider variety in the animal subjects, including, for example, birds and big felines. However, this could be mainly due to the scarcity of data we must confront with in the Hindukush. Also, there are very few inscriptions that accompany the Hindukush petroglyphs, all in arabic script.

Whatever the cause, this aspect of Hindukush rock art iconography is worth studying in more depth, because it could 66

Rock Art in Afghanistan and Hidukush: an Overview Foucher A. (1942) La vieille route de l’Inde de Bactres à Taxila - Mémoires de la Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan. MDAFA 1, I-II. Paris. Gratzl K., Kostka R, Patzelt G. (1978) ‘Petroglyphen in Wardak und in Grossen Pamir’,in R. Senarclens de Grancy and R. Kostka (eds), Grosser Pamir. Österreichisches Forschungs-Unternehmen 1975 in den Wakhan-Pamir/ Afghanistan, 311-41. Graz. Huwyler E. and I. von Moos (1979) ‘Über den Steinbock in der Vorstellungwelt der Bewohrer des Munjan-Tales’, Afghanistan Journal, 6(4): 131-43. Jettmar, K. & V. Thewalt (1985) Zwischen Gandhara Und Den Seidenstrassen, Felsbilder am Karakorum Highway, Entdechungen Deutsch-Pakistanischer Expeditionen 19791984. Mainz am Rhein. Jung M. (2003) ‘Breve disamina delle ricerche sull’arte rupestre in Afghanistan con una nota sui graffiti della Valle di Lagman’, in M.V. Fontana and B. Genito (eds), Studi in onore di Umberto Scerrato per il suo settantacinquesimo compleanno, II, .485-502, tavv. LXXIX-LXXXII. NapoliRoma. Masson Ch. (1842) Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and the Panjab: Including a Residence in those Countries from 1826 to 1838, London. Scerrato U. (1967) ‘A Note on Some Pre-Muslim Antiquities of Gagatu’, East and West 17 (1-2): 11-24. Stein, A. (1929), An Archaeological Tour in Wazīristān and Northern Balūchistān, Calcutta. Vidale M. and L.M. Olivieri (2002), ‘Painted Rock Shelters of the Swat Valley. Further Discoveries and New Hypotheses’, East and West 52 (1-4): 173-223.

help to shed some light on Afghanistan’s social composition and group interactions, up to (and even after) the coming of Islam. The lack of physical and chemical analyses, coating recording and evaluation of picture overlappings, the low number of petroglyphs, the absence of Buddhist subjects and the lack of inscriptions make any attempt at producing a chronology a useless exercise in speculation. Such an exercise has been, however, a very popular one since the first discoverings were made by travelers and scholars; overall, though, there are very few points – if any - on which archaeologists and rock art scholars agree, resulting in wildly different proposals of chronological frames, mainly based on stylistic considerations. And we all know how much difficult is to draw any safe conclusions judging only on a stylistic base. Bibliography Agresti H. (1970) Rock Drawings in Afghanistan. Field Research Projects. Occasional Paper 14. Miami. Bivar A. D. H. (1971) ‘Petroglyphs and Buddhist Remains of Jaghuri District, Afghanistan’, in C.E. Bosworth (ed), Iran and Islam – In Memory of the Late Vladimir Minorsky, 7989. Edinburgh. Castaldi E. (1963) ‘Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan. Preliminary Report on the Researches at Hazar Sum (Samangan)’, East and West, 14 (3-4): 183-205. Dor R. (1976) ‘Litoglyphes du Wakan et du Pamir’, Afghanistan Journal 3 (4): 122-29. Ferrandi M. (2007) Le raffigurazioni animali dell’Hindukush nell’arte rupestre e nella ceramica a stampo, PhD thesis, Università di Napoli ‘L’Orientale’.

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68

Rock Carvings in the Yaghnob River Valley (Tajikistan) A Preliminary Study Marta Passarelli

Fig. 1 Sketch map of the Tang-i Dahana passage. (All the photographs and drawings are by the Author). The Yaghnob river valley (N Tajikistan, Sughd province, Ayni district) is well known to scholars in relation to one of the languages spoken there: the Yaghnobi language, generally associated with the ancient Sogdian of the Silk Road. Yaghnobi is spoken in some secluded mountain villages located along the upper Yaghnob, between 56 and 74 kilometres from the confluence with the Fan river.

valley’s entrance. The road stops at a footbridge on the river, near the twin villages of Bidev and Marghtimayn. Further to the East and following the trail on the S side of the valley, at 3.7 kilometres from the footbridge, there is the Nometkon village. After that, the trail comes quickly down towards the river and crosses it, shifting to the N slope and joining with the track coming from the Pullarovut and Kashe villages. From there, the path rises for about twenty meters because of the friable river’s side, then coming down in a plain area just before the Tang-i Dahana’s (a Tajik toponym) bottleneck. A distance about 3.7 kilometres divides Nometkon from the gorge exit. The Tang-i Dahana (Fig. 1) is a forced passage that separates the valley in two distinct areas. The bottom of the trail is quite rocky and disconnected, the air is moist due the river’s closeness, in addition to the southern wall that keeps the gorge in the shadow for the most of the day. Leaving the gorge, after a double bend of the river’s stream, the trail crosses the Yaghnob on a wood footbridge, then rises a little towards the confluence with the Kul river. On 19th August 2007 rock carvings were found in this gorge along the Yaghnob river, at 2460 metres above sea level. The petroglyphs, following a progressive sequence, were found on the N slope, going from one rock panel (TD, i.e. Tang-i Dahana, 1), then two isolated carvings (TD 2 and TD 3), then a whole panel-palimpsest (TD 4).

In August 2007, in the frame of the ethno-linguistic mission in the Yaghnob valley directed by A.C.D. Panaino, a project aimed at the preservation of Yaghnobi’s ethno-cultural heritage (Panaino 2008), some rock carvings were discovered and documented. Geographic location of the rock carvings The Yaghnob river flows approximately for 120 kilometres from E to W, before joining the Fan river, which is also a southern tributary of the Zerafshon (Zerafshan) river which flows from East to West as the Yaghnob does. Roughly 87 kilometres from its source, the Yaghnob receives the water from stream that flows down northwards, coming from the Anzob pass (3382 m asl). From this point (100 kilometres from Dushanbe) a road winds to the E for 26 kilometres, climbing the river stream after crossing the gorge usually indicated as the 69

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 2 Graphic restitution of the TD1 rock drawings.

Fig. 3 The TD1 rock drawings

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Rock Carvings in the Yaghnob River Valley (Tajikistan)

Fig. 4 The TD 2 rock drawings.

Fig. 5 The TD 3 rock drawings.

General and stylistic features of the subjects

After crossing the bridge to the northern bank of the river, two carvings were found about 75 metres to the NW (TD 2 and TD 3; Figs. 4, 5); each depicts an animal, probably a goat. The horns of the animal in TD 2 show a lighter hammering.

The TD 1 rock carving is located in the upper section of a big boulder in the river’s bed, coming out roughly 3.5 meters from the water level and accessible from the southern bank. The identifiable subjects are an ibex (or caprinae) and two hunters with long spears. Also another animal, probably a dog, can be identified between the two hunters. The ibex is oversized compared to the human figures and its genitalia are clearly depicted (Figs. 2, 3).

Following along the same path, some more 30 metres westward, there is the panel-palimpsest TD 4, which has a surface of roughly 6.5 m2 (Figs. 6, 7) covered with at least 45 identifiable subjects: ibexes and goats, canids, human figures and symbols. At a first analysis the main theme consists in a hunting scene:

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 6 The TD 4 rock drawings. on the lower half we can find a human figure armed with a bow pointed towards a big ibex; near the half of the panel, we can recognize a herd of ibexes and goats with long curved horns, heading to the right as if they were running away from hunters. On the upper half, we can identify cross-shaped and club-shaped overlapping symbols, in some cases drawn over miniature inscriptions. In addition To these, we can find two more scenes, barely recognizable in the photographic records: glimpses of other representations of ibexes under the symbols on the upper section of the panel and under some inscriptions in cyrillic script on the left hand side up to the lighter area in Fig. 6. The dark patina seems to point to a rather ancient age for these animal subjects, compared to the others in the same panel.

Thirty-one animal figures (goats, ibexes and canids) have been identified. Each one of them is represented in side view and facing right, except two figures: the rampant ibex located in the upper half (no. 10) and another, probably a two-headed ibex (no. 18), near the centre of the panel. There are three human figures: one is armed with a bow, the other two with spears and they are all facing a goat. There are nine symbols on the rock panel: six in the upper half (nos. 1-6), one on the far left near the shadowed area in Fig. 4 (no. 7) and two on the lower half. The two latter probably represent human figures, one of which is lying with his arms bended as if representing a dead body (nos. 8-9). We can note the presence of red paint traces on the herd’s

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Rock Carvings in the Yaghnob River Valley (Tajikistan)

Fig. 7 Graphic restitution of the TD 4 rock drawings.

right on the far right area of the panel and this paint seems to be earlier than the animal representations. However, the photographic records are not resolutive here, because of the many later superimpositions, including some hard to read inscriptions.

Type C: a style characterized by a continuous line that delimits the internal space of the animal body but remains open for the insertion of the incised hooves (nos. 10, 26, 35, 37). Type D: a style characterized by a continuous mark outlining the body’s silhouette, including the hooves, the tail (sometimes represented as an upward curved line in the other styles) and the head (nos. 12, 14, 16, 29, 30). Judging from the patina, this could be the earlier style.

The animal representations in TD 4 palimpsest show six different styles that can be described like this: Type A: a style characterized by a single mark that schematically outlines the various body parts, leaving an empty area corresponding to the main body of the animal (nos. 20-24, 28, 31, 32).

Type E: a style characterized by the filling of the internal area of the body with a finer hammering (see below). This style is recognizable only in the two canids in TD 4 (nos. 15, 25, 36, 38-41). We can add a last style (Type F) that includes the goats in TD 2 and TD 3; they are represented with an incised line for the body and four vertical marks for the hooves. The head is sketched, while the horns and the tail are clearly visible.

Type B: a style characterized by lines that delimit the internal space of the body and emphasize the muscle mass, leaving the hooves as simple incised marks but detailing the animal’s head (nos. 27, 33, 34). 73

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent Drawing technique The TD 1, TD 2 and TD 3 carvings have been drawn with a medium hammering (or martelage moyen: according to the terminology in Sher 1994 and Sher & Francfort 1995, which corresponds to a pecking with impact spots of 2-4 millimetres in diameter) of the rock surface, a process which results in dots on the surface; it has been probably executed with a harder pointed stone, with or without the help of a hammer stone. The whole TD 4 panel shows a finer hammering (martelage fin, corresponding to a pecking with impact spots of 1-2 millimetres) in the figures, while on the whole it displays a mixed technique, with visible traces of red paint (see above) and black-painted inscriptions. Identification of the subjects The inhabitants of the valley often say that, from the top of the mountains, they are able to see small herds of wild animal, snow leopards (Panthera uncia), wolves, bears and eagles. There is a strong marmots population, as can be seen from the holes all along the footpaths. On the whole, the fauna of the Yaghnob valley is very similar to that of the Pamir (see Toeplitz Mrozowka 1930: 15-21). Ranov, in his description of the geographic characteristics of Pamir area, declares that the most common animals in the plateau are the argali of Central Asia (Ovis ammon L., a type of wild sheep), alpine ibexes (Capra sibirica Meyer), bears, red wolves, snow leopards, hares and marmots; in Badakhshan (western Pamir) the fauna includes ibexes, Tien Shan bears, snow leopards, deer and porcupines (Ranov 2001: 122-123.).

Fig. 8 Tamga TD 4.2.

however, the arms are drawn in the same position. Other tamga have been identified in the Shatial boulder no. 27. Two of them (27.9, 27.10) seem to be related to the 27.8 tamga, with which they share the inclination, thus they are attributed to the same historic period. The three symbols are encircled by Sogdian inscriptions, a Bactrian inscription and some images of Buddhist theme and origin. The 27.10 tamga shows a central eyelet from which three hooks branch off: two on the upper half and one on the lower half. This kind of symbol is a wellknown one in Sogdian numismatics (5th-7th centuries A.D.); (Smirnova 1981: tab. XC; see also Göbl 1967, 4: tab. 14, 2).

Symbols and tamga(s) Besides the figurative subjects (mainly ibexes and other goats), the TD 4 panel-palimpsest displays at least six signs on its upper half, clearly identifiable by their geometric and abstract appearance. In the field of Central Asian rock art studies such symbols are called tamga(s) and are used by the nomadic people to mark the livestock and as emblems of membership (Jettmar 1989: XLVIII; Jettmar 1991: 9; Bandini-König & al. 1997: 38; Ranov 2001: 127 e 142.).

Scholars suppose a common Sogdian background for all the three tamga. Jettmar, in particular, considers these tamga as relational symbols used by Sogdians and Huns ( Jettmar 1985: 51; Jettmar & Thewalt 1985: 23, fig. 35; Ranov 1989: 44; Bandini-König & al. 1997: 58-59).

According to Jettmar, these special and exclusive symbols preserved and signified specific beliefs and customs. In a multiethnic context such as the Indus valley, studied by Jettmar, the tamga are witnesses of a polygraphic or polyiconic society (Jettmar 1997: 58).

The tamga and the inscriptions therefore are witnesses to the presence of Sogdian merchants in the upper Indus valley between the 4th and the 6th centuries A.D. Here they probably had commercial relationships with Indian merchants. Therefore, Shatial could have been a rest or exchange station for Sogdian merchants heading to China (Sims-Williams 1996: 45-67). Many Sogdian inscriptions (Sims-Williams 1989: 131-7), have been found in other upper Indus sites such as Chilas, for the most part anthroponyms of travellers and merchants ( Jettmar & Thewalt 1985: 22). Inscription in Brahmi script have been found in Shatial, dated from the 5th century A.D. (ibid.).

The TD 4.2 symbol (Fig. 8) can be compared to the 27.8 tamga (Fig. 9) discovered in Shatial (upper Indus valley, Pakistan; Jettmar 1991: 9, figs. 10-11; Bandini-König & al. 1997: 58-59, n. 4; Fussmann & König 1997: 49-52, taf. 34, n. 27-28). There is a little difference in the treatment of the two eyelets: in the Shatial example, the lower eyelet is square-shaped, while the upper one is circular-shaped; in TD 4.2 the eyelets are both triangular-shaped, facing each other at a vertex. In both tamga,

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Rock Carvings in the Yaghnob River Valley (Tajikistan) 11) and TD 4.6 with no. 6 ( Jacenko 2001: 182, fig. 32, n. 6; see also Boardman 1998: 1-13). Such comparisons, however, do not necessarily imply that the tamga of Yaghnob have an age related in a direct way with the Achaemenid ones. On the other hand, it is likely that their symbology never changed with time, as a distinctive emblem of a particular Iranian ethnic group (ibid.). The TD 4.3 tamga could be compared to some swastikas that have been found at Dadam Das (particularly no. 26.3; Bemmann 2005: 41-42, taf. 28, n. 26:3), in the upper Indus valley. Further studies should be carried out in this field. At the moment, we can only underline the importance of the tamga found in the TD 4 rock panel. Inscriptions Some modern inscriptions in cyrillic script cover the carvings, mainly in the central area of the panel. In the upper half there are many short inscriptions, some of which in arabic-persian script, while others are in different alphabets and were traced with black paint (made by coal powder with an organic fixer, probably albumin). The inscriptions are currently being studied by specialists. Conclusions The rock carvings found in the Yaghnob valley belong to various chronological and stylistic phases. As is frequently the case, the same panel-palimpsest (TD 4) or the same area (Tang-i Dahana) were chosen to draw the petroglyphs. This reuse of the same lithic support for carvings, paintings or hammered images could have religious reasons or more secular ones (i.e. signalling, marking borders, etc.). The patina varies from a very dark (difficult to distinguish from the natural rock) to a very light, nearly white colour. Most of the recorded carvings have a very light patina (TD 2 and TD 3), showing a quite recent production, while in TD 1 the patina is also light but there is moss and lichen on its left side. The TD 4 patina is relatively darker and closer to the natural rock colour than the previous two examples. In fact, it can not be seen in the sunlight. The Tang-i Dahana rock carvings are mainly figurative if we exclude the inscriptions, which by the way are not always clearly related to them; the only non-figurative carvings are the six club-shaped images that we identified as tamga. Therefore ibexes and goats both found in TD 1-3 and TD 4, do not imply a ‘semantic’ difference, but rather a stylistic transformation which, in a linear drawing style made on a rock panel, could even be accidental. The human figures (found exclusively in TD 1 and TD 4) are five and all of them are depicted in a hunting pose. There are only two kind of weapons: bows and spears. The bow in TD 4 is of the oriental composite type, used in the early Middle Age by the Avars and the Huns; the same stands for the pointed hat (for Kazakhstan, see Samashev 1993: 53-60; Sher & Francfort 1998: fig. 57; Samashev 2001: 185-200). The latter is found in the two human figures in

Fig. 9 Tamga 27.8 from Shatial (after Fussmann & König 1997: 49-52, Taf. 34, n. 27-28). The TD 4.5 symbol is comparable – although its corners are less rounded – to the rubob-shaped figures found at Lyangar, in the Tajik Pamir, dated to the Middle Age (Ranov 2001: 142, fig. 16, right side. For additional discussions and bibliography about tamga, see Jacenko 2001). The catalogue in which Jacenko grouped the tamga made by Iranian people in the ancient era and the first Middle Age shows some Achaemenid symbols from Iran, which are very similar to our specimens. For instance, TD 4.1 can be compared with Jacenko catalogue no. 11 (Jacenko 2001: 182, fig. 32, n.

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Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent TD 1, while in TD 4 they are both present.

Cultures of Central Asia, Information Bullettin, 9: 47-58. Jettmar, K. (1988) ‘Iranian Motives and Symbols as Petroglyphs in the Indus Valley’, Rivista degli Studi Orientali, LX: 149163. Jettmar, K. (1989) ‘Introduction’, Antiquities of Northern Pakistan 1: XI-LVII. Jettmar, K. (1991) ‘The Art of Northern Nomads in the Upper Indus Valley’, South Asian Studies 7: 1-20. Jettmar, K. (1997) ‘Symbolic Systems in Collision: Rock Art in the Upper1 Indus’, in Allchin, R., Allchin B., Kreitman, N., Errington, E. (eds), Gandharan Art in Context. EastWest Exchanges at the Crossroads of Asia, 55-69. New Delhi. Jettmar, K. & V. Thewalt (1985) Zwischen Gandhara Und Den Seidenstrassen, Felsbilder am Karakorum Highway, Entdechungen Deutsch-Pakistanischer Expeditionen 19791984. Mainz am Rhein. Panaino, A. C. D. (2008), ‘Attraversando la Valle dello Yaγnob: passato, presente e (possibile) futuro di una minoranza etno-linguistica’, in G.P. Basello, G. P., D. Guizzo and P. Ognibene (eds), Sulla punta di uno spillo. Rapporto scientifico preliminare sulla prima missione etnolinguistica nella Valle dello Yaghnob (Repubblica del Tagikistan) 31 luglio 2007 – 23 agosto 2007, 3-77. Ravenna-Milano. Ranov, V. A. (1989) ‘New Materials on the History and the Culture of Gilgit-2, Petroglyphs’, in International Association for the Study of the Cultures of Central Asia, Information Bullettin: 37-51. Ranov, V. (2001) ‘Petroglyphs of Tadjikistan’, in K. Tashbayeva, M. Khujanazarov, M. Ranov, and Z. Samashev, Z. (1993) Petroglyphs of the East Kazakhstan as a Historical Sources. Almaty. Samashev, Z. (2001) ‘Petroglyphs of Kazakhstan’, in K. Tashbayeva, M. Khujanazarov, M. Ranov, and Sher, J.A. (1994) Répertoire des pétroglyphes d’Asie centrale. Mémoires de la Mission Archéologique Française en Asie centrale, 5 (1). Paris. Sher, J.A. and H.-P. Francfort, H. P. (1995) Répertoire des pétroglyphes d’Asie centrale. Mémoires de la Mission Archéologique Française en Asie centrale, 5 (2). Paris. Sher, J.A. and H.-P. Francfort, H. P. (1998) Répertoire des pétroglyphes d’Asie centrale. Mémoires de la Mission Archéologique Française en Asie centrale, 5 (5). Paris. Sims-Williams, N. (1996) ‘The Sogdian Merchants in China and India’, in A. Cadonna and L. Lanciotti (eds), Cina e Iran. Da Alessandro alla dinastia Tang, 45-67. Firenze. Smirnova, O. I. (1981) Svodnyj katalog sogdijskich monet, Moskva. Toeplitz Mrozowska, E. (1930) La prima spedizione italiana attraverso i Pamiri (1929), Reale Società Geografica Italiana. Roma.

The petroglyphs of the Yaghnob valley, on the whole, are easily placed in the wider scenario of Central Asian rock art, on the basis of their common iconographic repertory. The animal representations are predominant over the human ones; this reflects a hunter’s world in which the pastoral element seems to be of lesser importance, judging from our examples. Acknowledgements The discovering of the rock carvings would not have been possible without the initiative and enthusiasm of Professor Antonio C. D. Panaino, the Director of the Yaghnob Valley Mission, and without the help by the Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO) and the Fondazione del Monte. I would like to thank also the Tajik partners of the Mission: Prof. Dr. Rahim Masov (Tajikistan’s Republic Science Academy Director) and Dr. Rauf Razakov (director of the archaeological site of Sarazm, Penjikent). Many thanks to Professor Bruno Genito (Università di Napoli “L’Orientale”) and Professor Maurizio Tosi (Università di Bologna) for their interest and scientific help in my research work. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Marco Ferrandi for his editorial care in order to publish this article and Dr. Luca M. Olivieri and Dr. Angelo Fossati (Cooperativa Archeologica “Le Orme dell’Uomo”) for their contribute to my training in this research field. Bibliography Bandini-König, D., M. Bemmann and H. Hauptmann (1997) ‘Rock Art in the Upper Indus Valley’, in H. Hauptmann (ed), The Indus. Cradle and Crossroads of Civilizations. Pakistano-German Archaeological Research, 29-70, Islamabad. Bemmann, M. (2005) Die Felsbildstation Dadam Das. Materialen zur Archäologie der Nordgebiete Pakistans 5. Mainz. Boardmann, J. (1998) ‘Seals and Signs. Anatolian Stamp Seals of the Persian Period Revisited’, Iran, XXXVI: 1-13. Fussman, G., König, D. (1997) Die Felsbildstation Shatial. Materialen zur Archäologie der Nordgebiete Pakistans 2. Mainz. Göbl, R. (1967) Dokumente zur Geschichte der iranischen Hunnen in Baktrien und Indien 1-4. Wiesbaden. Jacenko, S. A. (2001) Znaki-Tamgi. Iranojazyčnyx narodov drevnosti i rannego srednevekov’ja. Moskva. Jettmar, K. (1985) ‘Cross Roads and Sanctuaries in Western Central Asia’, International Association for the Study of the

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Kazakh petroglyphs in the light of recently discovered stations and their dating Irina Shvets

The State-of-the-Art

have also been partially restored - modern inscriptions were removed, and chipped off fragments with petroglyphs were fixed to their original position (Charlina et al. 2004: 128-33).

In Kazakhstan as well as all over Central Asia the petroglyphs are an important feature of the cultural landscape. The last five years brought new discoveries, which clearly widened the hitherto known distribution area and extended the chronological limits of the occurrence of the carvings in Kazakhstan. New concentrations of petroglyphs were found in western, north-western, north, south and south-eastern Kazakhstan. In these areas not only single sites with up 50 images exist but also entire stations with more than 4000 carvings. These new findings support the assumption that in future years the number of petroglyph stations discovered so far will increase. The new findings brought about not only new regions with petroglyphs but also new subjects hitherto unknown in the Kazakh rock art.

Despite many progresses in this area of research, a complete publication of the rock art sites is still lacking. Although the published material concerning the rock art of Kazakhstan is generally growing, only the rock art site of Bajkonur in central Kazakhstan has been published with complete documentation, description and illustration. On the basis of the works of Aleksey P. Okladnikov, J. Sher, M. A. Devlet, M. K. Kadyrbaev, Z. Samashev, A. N. Mar’jashev, Henri-Paul Francfort and D. V. Cheremisin, fundamental principles of methodology were developed for the ‘art monuments’ of Central Asia, allowing a chronological as well as cultural and stylistic classification. These basic principles include subject, style and technique analysis, supra-regional comparisons, stratigraphy, historical classification. These methods are used in combination, as far as possible, to provide a reliable dating.

Despite the large number and the historical value of the petroglyph stations in Kazakhstan, these archaeological monuments are still not very well known and not adequately appreciated as historical heritage. In Kazakhstan this ignorance leads to vandalism, deficient protective measures and ultimately, in many cases, to the destruction of the engravings. Many petroglyphs have been damaged and destroyed by vandalism. Such damages cannot be restored, as in case of the unique depiction of the fantastic ‘tiger-griffin’ creature in the station Chantau (central Kazakhstan), which was covered with thick layers of paint (Vidal 2001: fig. 23-5).

Themes, attributes and iconographic repertory of the carvings The representation of chariots is probably not earlier than the 20th-17th century BC. It is hard to say whether war chariots, hunting chariots or wagons are displayed. Among the petroglyphs of Kazakhstan there are about 100 wagons. Draft horses are shown several times as well as wagoners standing on the pallet; however, most of the depicted wagons have wheels which clearly show spokes. Chariots with spoked wheels occur mostly in the 17th-16th century BC; they are still to be occasionally found in the midst of the 1st millennium BC. A close iconographic investigation supports the hypothesis that the scenes and some of the wagons’ depictions may be reasonably ascribed to a period reaching from the Bronze Age to the early nomads (2nd-1st millennium BC). This hypothesis is backed up by Early Bronze Age burials in northern Kazakhstan, in which archaeological evidence of such chariots has been found.

The representation of four Buddhas at the right bank of the river Ili, near the old capital of Kazakhstan (Almaty), are not only covered with thick layers of paint in some spots but also show stains made by hammering and shooting. These carving share the same fate with some petroglyph stations in Siberia, Tuva and Altai. The more recent researches of the rock-carvings of Kazakhstan were carried out with GPS instruments. In these cases not only the stations themselves but also individual groups within each station as well - as individual rock surfaces - were located on the maps according to the GPS data. This work was started by the State Institute for Restoration and the Laboratory of Geoarchaeology in Almaty with the support of UNESCO, the Soros Foundation and the European Commission, in the framework of the INTAS program. The first published results are characterized by a completely new level of information management, providing reliable localization documentation of the petroglyph stations. In the future, the new methods should enlighten the situation concerning the quantity and the state of preservation of the Kazakh petroglyphs. This development will contribute to the assurance of their protection and preservation. Some of the panels of the rock art site of Tamgaly

In the 1st millennium B.C. the technology of the simple Bronze Age bow was changed; Scythian type bows are now common, like the the so-called ‘reflexbow’ with short ends strongly bended towards the front. The shapes of the bow and the arrows on the petroglyphs in Kazakhstan may not always serve as a chronological hint, due to their schematic representations. However, depictions of the so called ‘simple bows’ are also found in the rock carvings of the 19th century BC. 77

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Fig. 1 The grave ‘Tamgaly II’. (After Rogozhinskij 2001: fig. 2). Stratigraphical overlaps

southern, central and south-eastern Kazakhstan, as well as in Central Asia, and is often related with ‘sun-headed’ figures (see below); it could be argued that it belongs to the main repertory of Bronze Age iconography.

Stratigraphical methods of dating were seldom used in relation to the rock art or cave paintings, because the rock panels with painted or engraved images are rarely covered by datable layers of earth. Most of such overlaps were discovered and poorly investigated in the early 20th century AD.

Superimposition of images

An interesting case is given when engravings are covered by a layer containing archaeological finds that can be dated, or material that can be used for radiocarbon-dating.

The study of overlapping scenes, which could be regarded as a proper archaeological stratigraphy, can give us valuable information about rock art chronology.

In the Toleubulak grotto - north-western Kazakhstan - a new rock art site was found in 2005. Among the repertory of the depictions there are hoofs of horses and phallic symbols. As the rock panel displaying the petroglyphs is covered with neolithic layers, Samashev believes that the engravings of Toleubulak can be dated to the palaeolithic or mesolithic era (Samashev 2006: 21).

To date the Tamgaly petroglyphs in south-eastern Kazakhstan, the researchers considered also the superimposition of images (palimpsest). Novozenov has already studied numerous cases of overlapping in the petroglyphs at Bajkonur, which illustrate the history of the rock panels (Novozhenov 2002). This so-called ‘palimpsest method’ rises some typical questions: what was the time interval between the creation of two given scenes? Were there hundreds or even thousands of years in between? Unfortunately, rock patina is a limited and often unreliable mean to help answer such questions.

In the Tamgaly II grave in south-eastern Kazakhstan, human figures are depicted on the grave slabs. One of the slabs shows two standing men with raised arms; they are the so-called adorers or, according to another interpretation, masked human beings - as they often bear zoomorphic features – performing a ritual dance (Fig. 1). The grave offerings, the building technique and the C14-data all show that the Tamgaly II grave should be dated to the 13th-11th centuries BC (Rogozhinskij 2001: fig. 2). As the cist was buried in the ground for some centuries, we can argue that the actual scenes in any case date no later than the Bronze Age. This theme is widespread in the

Researches in the surroundings of the rock art stations Lately, the surroundings of rock art stations are taken into consideration as well for dating purposes. The newly discovered rock art station of Koskuduk is situated in the Caspian Sea coast (western Kazakhstan). The location of the pictures (near the late Paleolithic sites of Koskuduk I and Koskuduk II), as

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Kazakh petroglyphs in the light of recently discovered stations and their dating

Fig. 2 The ‘Sejmo-Turbino Style’. (Drawings by the Author). well as their compositional and stylistic similarities, suggest a Palaeolithic dating. This is further supported by the fact that the decorated rocks were partly associated to late Palaeolithic dwellings. Several pairs of snakes parallel to each other are depicted; the snakes vary in size, and feature carefully drawn heads (Charlina 2006: 20; Rogozhinskij 2001: 16-17).

archaeological monuments, dating from the 14th century BC to the 19th century AD, whereas the majority of them date in the Bronze and Iron Age. The Bronze Age graves were studied by Rogozinskij, who dated them by means of C14 analysis. The oldest Bronze Age graves in the Gorge of Tamgaly are the Tamgaly I and Tamgaly IV graves, dating back to the 14th and 13th centuries BC; findings from both graves reveal cultural influences from

In the surroundings of the Tamgaly petroglyph station (south-eastern Kazakhstan) there are several hundreds of 79

Rock Art Research between Central Asia and the Subcontinent

Fig. 3 The ‘Animal Style’. (After Mar’jashev & Gorjachev 2002: tab. X). central Kazakhstan. Another group of Bronze Age graves is ascribed to the 13th and 12th centuries BC. Inside the graves of Karkuduk II and Tamgaly IIa in the Tamgaly Gorge, petroglyphs are found on the slabs of the enclosed cists. These petroglyphs are similar to some rock art scenes of the Tamgaly station. Based on this fact and on the dating of the Bronze Age graves, Rogozinskij suggested that the Tamgaly images (which

belong to the so-called ‘Tamgaly style’ and often include sunheaded and zoo-anthropomorphic figures, and erotic scenes) date back to the 14th-12th centuries BC. (Rogozhinskij 2001: 16-17). This hypothesis rises some doubts as well; in fact the figures, which were found on the cists’ slabs, can only be used as terminus post quem for the construction of those graves. 80

Kazakh petroglyphs in the light of recently discovered stations and their dating Dating by stylistic comparison

It is a known fact that many engravings of riders in Kazakhstan are mostly associated with the era of the Turkish rule, because of the characteristic depiction and the technique they are executed with. We can compare them to the Tashtyk-Kultur (1st-6th centuries AD) style in southern Siberia, and to the Kazakh graffiti of the 17th-19th centuries AD.

Analogies with mobile findings from archaeological complexes can be useful for dating some petroglyphs. Many representations of horses in rock art show a distinguishing, very detailed and lifelike mane, possibly plaited. Those horses often occur in pairs, behind or in front of each other. A similar stylistic element can be found on the horse representations in the bronze knives and daggers of the Sejma-Turbino complex (Fig. 2). Recent excavations in the Samus IV settlement prove that many Sejma-Turbino bronzes are in association with ceramic of the Samus culture. New C14 dates for the Samus culture, which is contemporary to the Krotovo and Okunev cultures, ascribe it to the horizon of the Early Bronze Age, on the shift between the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC.

Conclusions The dating of rock art is an interdisciplinary task. Stylistic chronology, which has evolved since the days of André Leroi-Gourhan, must be considered with caution, but still remains the most common method for dating rock art; other methodologies give us too wide boundaries for the periodization of specific scenes or motives, or have never been used at all. Concerning the possible application of the dating methods provided by natural sciences, we must say that there have been many theoretical discussions on the opportunity of their application, but they quite never came to practical execution on Kazakhstan’s rock art. The carvings’ repatination analysis is useful only in some cases.

The so-called ‘Animal Style’ first appeared with nomads in the 9th-8th centuries. Extraordinary examples of Saka and Scythian art have been found on various rock panels in Kazakhstan. Analogies to the images depicted there can be traced from gold and bronze ornaments of Saka and Scythian burial mounds. The petroglyph representing an eagle with his head turned backwards has its best parallel within Saka art: objects decorated with such motif have been found in the kurgan of Cilikta, in eastern Kazakhstan, along with other significant stylistic elements like stags with the legs folded beneath their body, panthers rolled up in a circular shape, wild boars and other subjects. This rich burial complex is dated to the 7th-6th centuries BC (Fig. 3).

Thus, at the moment it is still difficult to judge the connections between rock art and known archaeological cultures or specific peoples in the region we now call Kazakhstan, but also in the whole area of Central Asia. Bibliography

Many images of ‘sun-headed’ anthropomorphic figures have been found in Kazakhstan. Those figures are varied in the details, but they also show similar iconographic elements like coronal streams or rounded mouldings around the head. Similar depictions are found amongst the petroglyphs of Sajmoly-Tash in Kirgisia, that can be dated to the Aeneolithic/ Chalcolithic period and Early Bronze Age. Such motives are also known from gravestones of the Altai region (the funeral paintings of Karakol). The paintings of Karakol, where stones adorned with sun-headed figures decorate the grave chambers, are dated to the Early Bronze Age. Stone stelae belonging to the Okunev culture in southern Siberia also bear such images. It can be therefore assumed that this iconographic motif was spread over Kazakhstan and wider areas of Central Asia, from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC until the end of the 2nd millennium AD.

Charlina, L.Ph., E. L. Jazenko, A.E. Rogozhinskij and K. T. Iskakov (2004), Konservazija petrogliphov v Kazachstane. Pamjatniki naskal’nogo iskusstva Zentral’noj Azii: Obshchestvennoe uchastie.Menedzhment. Dokumentazija. Konservazija, 128-133. Almaty. Mar’jashev, A.N., A.A. Gorjachev (2002) Naskal’nye izobrazhenija Semirech’ja. Almaty. Novozhenov, В.А. (2002) Petroglyphy Sary-Arki. Almaty. Rogozhinskij, А.Е. (2001) ‘Izobrasitel’nyj rjad petrogliphov epochi bronzy svjatilishcha Tamgaly’, Istorija i archeologija Semirech’ja, 2: 7-45. Samashev Z.S. (2006) Petrogliphy Kazachstana. Almaty. Vidal, P. (2001) L’Art rupestre en péril. Périgueux.

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