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0UKHUMSOY NEW ROCK PAINTINGS SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH
1Ruziboyev Timur Zokir ogli, 2Imomov Aziz Azam ogli
12nd year basic doctoral student, Samarkand Archaeological Institute 23nd year basic doctoral student, Samarkand Archaeological Institute https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11094208
Abstract. This article describes the geographical location, nature, climate and animal world of Ukhumsoy. In addition, the drawing styles and processing techniques of Ukhumsoy's new rock paintings were also discussed. The degrees of sunburn of this new rock painting monument due to various natural phenomena, i.e. snow, rain and sun exposure have also been determined. The most important thing is that these petroglyphs are typified, and we can see that there are rock paintings belonging to the Bronze Age, the Early Iron (Sak-Scythian) Age, as well as the early and middle ages.
Keywords: man, deer, arhar, wolf, dog, kulon, ox, shadow style, schematic styles.
Ukhumsoy is one of the large stream gorges flowing from the northern slope of the Northern Nurota mountain range, and it starts from the peak of Parondoz. There are also a number of small streams joining Ukhumsoy from both sides, and its total length is about 14-15 km. There are several large and small springs in this stream, whose waters are used by local residents for drinking water and watering their farms. In Ukhumsoy, there is a lot of water in the rainy season and in spring. Its flora and fauna are also unique, such as walnuts, apples, apricots, cherries, mulberries grow. Domestic animals: horse, donkey, cow, sheep, goat; from wild animals: deer, wolf, fox, gazelle, rabbit; rodents: mice, voles, rats; from reptiles: snake (mainly lizard), scorpion, goat, lizard, turtle; from aquatic animals: many animals such as fish, frogs, and otters; from birds: partridge, eagle live. The river gorge with such unique natural conditions has been attracting people and peoples engaged in hunting and cattle breeding since ancient times. The proof of this is the presence of rock paintings belonging to different historical periods of the historical development of humanity, inherited from our ancient ancestors who lived in these regions.
Rock paintings are one of the primary sources of information about the daily lifestyle, socio-economic life, imagination, and religious beliefs of our ancient ancestors.
Rock paintings in this stream were found and studied in the south and southeast part of Ukhum village at 40°31.025' north latitude, 66°47.953' east longitude, at an altitude of 1024-1200 meters above sea level.
Ukhumsoy rock paintings were drawn by ancient artists on the flat surfaces of shale rocks on both sides of the stream based on the techniques of hammering, carving, scratching. More than 100 rock paintings from Ukhumsoy and Sayyodonsoy, which joins it, have been identified and registered. During the study of Ukhumsoy rock paintings, GPS points of each stone were obtained using modern methods and a cartographic map was made (picture 1).
As a result, Ukhumsoy rock paintings are located at an altitude of 1000-1200 meters above sea level, and there are human, wolf, dog, kulon, ox, camel, mountain goat, arhar, deer, hunting process, various geometrical symbols, krill inscriptions, we can see Roman numerals, half-baked or distorted images, vaguely blurred images that have been scribbled. Ukhumsoy rock paintings differ from each other in terms of content, technique, style, size, and degree of sunburn.
From our research in this stream gorge, we can see that the images were drawn by ancient artists in different sizes from 9 cm to 32 cm.
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Pictue-1. View of Ukhumsoy from the top.
The state of preservation of Ukhumsoy rock paintings is different. That is, most of the paintings were badly burned by sunlight, rock paintings were damaged by various natural phenomena: snow, rain, earthquakes, some stones were broken and cracked, and some stones were covered with moss. and we can see that the lichens are covered. In addition, today's "artists" have also damaged the Ukhumsoy rock paintings, that is, they have painted over the old paintings and written their names. no harm done by hand. Such inconveniences may have a slight negative impact on our research.
Plot and typological periodization of Ukhumsoy rock paintings.
The rock paintings found in this area were created by ancient people using stone, metal objects, animal horns and other tools, and were expressed in shadow and schematic styles.
The type of these rock paintings is also diverse and depicted by ancient people individually or in a composite manner. In the compositional scenes, we can see images of people hunting arhars and kulons with the help of dogs, mountain goats walking in a herd, and a wild animal attacking mountain goats.
Based on our research, we can scientifically assign the Ukhumsoy rock paintings to the bronze, early iron (Sak-Scythian), middle ages, and later periods.
Among the Ukhumsoy rock paintings, there are human images in the composite landscapes of the Bronze Age. One of the composite scenes on this monument shows two people hunting kulon with the help of dogs. In it, a man is depicted in a realistic (shadow) style with a strong body, an oval head, thick legs, and exaggerated signs of masculinity. One of Man's hands was not visible due to moss. In the image of the second man, he is smaller than the first man, his head and some
parts of his body are not visible due to the growth of moss and lichens. In this composition, dogs are drawn attacking from behind and from the side of the kulon. The dogs depicted on the rocks resemble wolves. The only difference is that the tail of the dog is drawn from behind. During our research, we can distinguish dogs from wolves only by this aspect (picture 2).
Picture-2. Composite landscape.
They are described as having one ear, a long body, two and four legs, and a curled tail. M. Khojanazarov, one of the specialists dealing with rock paintings, said that among the images belonging to the Bronze Age, scenes of hunting with the help of dogs can be found in most of the monuments of Central Asian rock paintings [1]. In particular, the meeting of such hunting scenes among the rock paintings of Ukhumsoy once again confirms the opinion that it is considered important.
Rock paintings are divided into periods, taking into account many features, such as content, processing techniques, degree of sunburn, drawing style, analogy. When dating rock paintings, we first take into account the degree of sunburn of existing rock paintings. Azbiddin Kholmatov, one of the experts in the field, determined the degree of sunburn of rock paintings from OK-1 to OK-5 (degree of sunburn). The images of the rock paintings, which are burnt under the influence of sunlight and become the same color as the stone, are considered to be included in the first group of sunburn level (OK-1). The rock paintings above also belong to the first group of sunburns. Because these rock paintings were burned in the sunlight, became congealed, and became the same color as the stone. In addition, the style of drawing these images is one of the main necessary tools for determining the age of rock paintings. That is, in the Bronze Age, petroglyphs were carved mainly in shadow, contour, bitregual, patterned styles, as mentioned by many archaeologists working with petroglyphs, and we are also witnessing this during our own research.
Among Ukhumsoy petroglyphs, we can also see images of 3 camels with two humps. When the first of these camels was painted, the front leg was not depicted. Moss and lichens have grown over this painting. In the second image of the camel, due to the cracking of the stone and the growth of lichens, the camel's head and front leg are not visible, and the degree of sunburn is also very high, that is, it is the same as the level of the stone. Similar rock paintings can be found in the monuments of Sarmishsoy [2] and Ququqchasoy [3] and are dated to the Bronze Age.
Rock paintings of mountain goats in the shadow style are also found in the rock paintings of this stream (picture-3). These images are depicted on the same stone surface with the image of a bull (species) based on the same processing technique, and since the degrees of sunburn are also included in Ok-1, and the occurrence of such images in the monuments of Suzmoyilota [4] and Kuduqchasoy [5], we can associate these mountain goat rock paintings with the Bronze Age.
Picture-3. Mountain goat.
Among the rock paintings in this area, there is also an image of a deer that is skillfully drawn in a realistic (shadow) style. In this image, the deer's antlers are especially cleverly depicted in a branched state. The head is small, the body is strong, the legs are long, and the tail is short. Some parts of the stone on which this rock painting is drawn are broken, cracked and covered with lichens, so the deer's body and part of its antlers are not visible (picture-4). Rock paintings similar to this can be found in the Noqisay [6] monuments in the Nurota mountain range.
Picture-4. Deer.
Rock paintings belonging to the Early Iron (Sac-Scythian) period:
Among the rock paintings of Ukhumsoy there are images of people belonging to the Sak-Scythian period. These paintings are mostly found in compositional landscapes. One of these compositions depicts the process of hunting arhars with the help of dogs with a gun in the left hand. The right hand of the man was not visible or was not d rawn due to the cracking of the stone(picture-5).
Just as each rock painting monument has its own characteristics, the rock painting monuments found in the Jizzakh oasis also have their own characteristics. The unique feature of Ukhumsoy rock paintings is that among the rock images here, there are many occurrences of realistic (shadow) rock paintings of archers in composite or individual rock paintings. They are described as having a handsome figure and twisted horns. It is much more difficult to distinguish the arhars from the mountain goat, because the images of both are very similar to each other, but the only difference is that the horns of the arhars are drawn in a spiral way, turning more towards the back, that is, on both sides. Images of this type of arhar can be found in the monuments of
Sarmishsay [7], Ilonbuloksoy [8], Goldirotasoy [9], rock paintings in Uzbekistan and Eshkiolmes [10] monument in Kazakhstan.
Picture-5. Composite landscape.
In addition, mountain goats, depicted in the style of animals (zwerenni), are skillfully drawn. They are described as having a tense and upright body, single or double horns, long and strong legs, two or four legs, and a short tail. Mountain goats are depicted standing alone or in groups, lying down, walking in a line, running away from a predator. One of the experts in the field, M. Khojanazarov, said that in some scenes, their legs are stretched forward, and in rare cases, both legs are folded under their bodies, which is considered one of the main styles of the Sak-Scythian era. Similar petroglyphs can be found in the Aqsakalatasoy, Tashbulaksoy [11] monuments in Uzbekistan, Eshkiolmes [12], Arharli [13], Saymaly-Tash [14] monuments in Kyrgyzstan, and Tuva and Mongolian petroglyphs [15], and the era of these petroglyphs is determined by the Sak-Scythian period. Therefore, we can assign these rock paintings to the Early Iron (Sac-Scythian) period.
Among the rock paintings of the Middle Ages, mountain goats depicted in realistic (shadow) and schematic styles are skillfully drawn. They are described as having a tense and upright body, single or double horns, long and strong legs, two or four legs, and a short tail (picture-6). One of the specialists in the field, A. Kholmatov, also noted that the pictures of mountain goats can be found not only in the monuments of rock paintings of the Nurota mountain range, but also in all the monuments of rock paintings in the territory of our republic [16]. The meeting of petroglyphs of mountain goats among the rock paintings found in this monument is once again proof of the above idea. We can mention mountain goats, krill inscriptions, and incomplete images among the petroglyphs of the later period.
Picture-6. Walking mountain goats.
We can conclude from our scientific research on rock paintings found in Ukhumsoy region
that people lived in this stream not only in the Bronze Age, but also in later periods, engaged in
hunting and animal husbandry.
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