Mongolian Deer Stones

Mongolian Deer Stones www.paleolithic-neolithic.com were even found in Ukraine and Bulgaria. But these were not so richly decorated. These stelae were erected by horse breed- ing and herding steppe nomads and they took their tradition with them when they moved further west. Some experts suggest that deer stones could be created by a predecessor nomad culture which might have started the famous Scythian Culture. They admit that the Scythian deer image is different but this would not declassify the connection. Introduction In the past the Mongolian Deer Stones or Deer Stones & Burials stelae had little acknowledgment in the in- Deer stelae are definitely connected with ternational archeological community look- burial rituals and were therefore erected ing at neolithic and bronze age cultures. at typical Mongolian funeral places called But recently things changed and inter- khirigsuur. But there are less deer stelae national experts published new research at these places and about hundred times and pictures. Even a book with pictures more khirigsuur monuments. of 1,240 stelae across Mongolia was published but unfortunately only with russian So the stelae were possibly reserved for text. Please see references at the end. special rituals or persons. It was estab- lished that deer stones The so-called deer stones symbolize specific indi- are predominantly found viduals therefore each in Mongolia, Sibiria and stone is so different from China. This specific tra- the rest. They represent dition to create and erect important leaders and deer stones started 3500 great warriors of a tribe. to 3300 years ago during the Bronze Age in Mongo- But these stelae were not lia and lasted only for 800 erected on top of graves. years until the tradition They served more as stopped around 700 BC. memorial columns. Clan chiefs and important There are no reasons warriors were buried in known why it stopped but mounds close by and de- it might be a change of tra- ceased often have deer dition or the great move and bird tattoos. of steppe nomads further west. And it is not certain that deer stones were erected In total experts recorded at the time of burial. Nor- about 2,000 deer stones mally tribal chiefs and in Mongolia, plus 30 in famous warriors died in the Tuva region, about 50 battle and it took time to in the Russian Altai area shape and engrave a ste- and 50 in Kazakhstan. Few lae. And let us assume 2 that not every tribe had steppe nomads did not a skilled stone mason in keep any recordings. their community. So the deer stones had to be Importance of Deer Im- ordered after death and ages possibly transported Next to the most im- some way. portant transport animal horse the deer was Certainly chiefs did not possibly one of the key order their deer stone hunting targets. when they took over from their fathers. Like Research shows that it pharaohs started to was a crucial shaman or erect their pyramid as totem animal and linked soon as they came into to death and afterlife. power. So it can be as- We can assume the deer sumed that these stelae was the crucial connec- were erected with a me- tion to their gods there- morial feast some time fore the flying deer im- later. age with birdlike snout was created. The horse riding steppe nomads practiced a The combination of deer mortuary tradition with and sun disc symbols subsidiary horse buri- support the sky/god al mounds next to the connection of deer in chief‘s mound. Common the nomad cultures in were horse head buri- this region. It was also als possibly linked to a an important spiritual ritual feast with horse animal in other cultures sacrifices. But it is not and wide spread in Asia. certain that they ate the The images show the horse meat. local red deer or Asian maral. Interestingly in western Mongolia no horse sac- Details of Deer Stelae rifices and burials were For the stelae mostly practiced. Were horses granite and greenstone here too important or monolith were used. The rare to be slaughtered? average heights ranged Were horses consumed from one to four meters in other areas at feasts with a width of 20 to 80 but not here? Could centimeters. Seldomly these tribes not afford to they had a square shape sacrifice horses or did mostly they were hewn the tradition change? to rectangular slabs of slim stelae. Still lots of answers to be investigated. But The tops were either unfortunately there are flat hewn or left natural. few written sources as But why are the top sec- 3 West Asian European Style We also can call it the Eur- asian style. These stelae differ much as they were carved in three sections separated by two belt lines either formed as solid line or as dotted line. These sections indicate from top to bottom, first the face section with sun, moon or earring symbols possibly representing ears, secondly the torso section with deer, horse or ibex images and finally the lower body with different weapon engrav- tions often missing? Were symbol was added. Interest- ings. they perhaps deliberately ing is a detail showing faces destroyed by other clans in with open mouth. This sing- The three sections also are feuds? ing pose possibly is also re- interpreted to indicate heav- lated to burial rituals. en, earth and underworld. The engravings were pecked And it is assumed that sec- in negative relief often with Let us look now at the three tions intentionally have mul- deep groove cuts. Artisan different main deer stelae tiple meanings. stone masons used mostly styles which are not sur- metal chisel tools and stone prising all different regional Sayan Altai Style tools for fine surface finish- styles. In this region we see free ing. floating straight legged ani- Classic Mongolian Style mals and next to deer oth- Deer stones were predomi- It is the dominant style in er animals were engraved nantly erected with their Mongolia and Siberia. Most such as: tiger, pig, cow, most decorated front face possibly it is the original looking east towards the form from which all other rising sun. styles originated. Development of Styles The engraved motifs are Early stelae have very sim- very detailed and result in ple deer images. The fa- elegant looking images. mous flying deer motive They include belted warriors with long neck and with and the most famous image long out stretched legs fore of flying deer which gave and aft giving the impres- these stones their name. sion of more flying than run- ning. This was introduced at Weapons depicted are nu- a much later stage. merous such as: knives, swords, axes, quivers, Also the deer antlers be- bows, spears, shields, whet- came more ornate showing stones, fire strikers and spiral forms and a sun disc chariot rein hooks. 4 horse, frog and bird. In the Khoid Tamir Valley burials and plenty of petro- lower part weapons appear The valley is with 4,500 glyphs. Here you can see such as: daggers, bows, hectares the largest site also rare depictions of chevrons and tools. of all with over 100 stelae. fighting warriors with sling This valley is the main area stone weapons. But experts also recognized of the deer stone culture two sub styles: the Gorno created by steppe nomads. Jargalantyn Am Altai style with simple war- There are also numeous This site is only one kilome- rior motifs and the Sayan- ter away from Khanui River. Tuva style which is similar On 18 hectares you will find to the Gorno Altai style but about 30 stelae plus vari- with fewer animals, no deer ous slab burials. All stelae and only belts and earrings. were erected close to each other different to the other Mongolian Sites sites. The following sites are all on the UNESCO world heri- Reference tage list for future recogni- For further information on tion and listing. earlier Mongolian rock art with important deer images Uushgiin Uvur please see the article “Chul- uut River” on www.paleolith- Uushgiin Uvur is situated ic-neolithic.com near the town of Muron. It is a 400 hectare large site with Archeological relics of Mon- 30 deer stelae and slab buri- golia, Deer stone culture of als. Mongolia and neighboring re- gions ISBN 978-99978-773-0-7 The complex site offers many skillful engravings Picture Credits and stelae with the best face We thank the National Univer- motifs. sity of Mongolia Ulaanbaatar for using their pictures 5 6.

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