Documenting the earliest layer of images at the rock art site of Ust-Tuba II in 2023

This article presents some results of field research done at the well-known rock art site of Ust-Tuba II in the Minusinsk Basin in 2023. Unlike the Ust-Tuba I and III sites, which were partially destroyed by the Krasnoyarsk Reservoir, this site has not been flooded. It has been fully preserved since its exploration by the Kamensky Unit under the leadership of Y.A. Sher in 1967-1968 and is available for new research. As a part of the project for studying the images in the Minusinsk style, which is the earliest layer of rock art in the Minusinsk Basin, the relevant representations at this site were documented following modern requirements and methods. In addition to this main task, a new survey of the entire site revealed 18 new panels with images. Some of them belonged to the earliest layer. This article provides photographs and brief descriptions of these images. A surface known from publications, which depicted two intersecting female and male figures of deer, is described in more detail. Partial removal of the calcite film made it possible to clarify the contours of these figures. They differed in style and after applying the methods of image construction, it was established that only the "lower” deer representation without antlers was made in the classical Minusinsk style. Two more images of deer heads in typical Minusinsk style, and spots of red paint have been discovered. Modern photo documentation of the surfaces, cleared of calcite and lichen, at the site will provided more accurate and detailed tracing, revealing compositional ratio of figures, substrate condition, sequence of overlapping, specific features of technique, details significant for attribution, etc.