On the Methodology of Studying Palimpsests in Rock Art: The Case of the Shalabolino Rock Art Site, Krasnoyarsk Territory

• Published in: Archaeology, ethnology & anthropology of Eurasia Vol. 47; no. 2; pp. 93 - 102
• Main Author: Zotkina, L. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 26.06.2019
• ISSN: 1563-0110
• DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2019.47.2.093-102

This paper addresses the main problems in assessing the stratigraphy of superimpositions in rock art. When a petroglyph is overlain by one or several others, this may provide important information not only about single images but also about entire stylistic traditions. Existing methods used for evaluating the relative chronology of the parts of petroglyphic palimpsests are discussed, and a new approach is proposed, combining high-resolution three-dimensional visualization at the macro-level with traceological analysis. We focus on the characteristics of the pecked surface in the area outside the palimpsest and that in the overlap zone. The comparison of these parts makes it possible to reveal the traceologically informative features in the palimpsest areas, indicating the sequence of superimposed petroglyphs. This approach is instantiated by the analysis of one of the palimpsests in the Shalabolino rock gallery, the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Images representing various stylistic traditions are found in complicated stratigraphic relations. The sequence of three main fi gures (bear, bull, and elk) in this multilayered composition has been reconstructed. The results of the analysis cannot be used as an argument for attributing these petroglyphs to vastly different chronological periods. Rather, they provide new information relevant to the debate around the age of the Angara and Minusinsk petroglyphic styles in the Minusinsk Basin.