The studies of the Ust-Tuba petroglyphs in 2021-2022

While the studies of rock art sites in the Minusinsk Depression have a long history, some of such sites have not yet been fully examined. Tepsei is one of these sites; it is one of the largest in the Middle Yenisei region. In recent years the specialists of the Archaeology Department at Kemerovo State University have been examining and documenting its rock art images. In 2021-2022 during the spring-summer period, when the level in the Krasnoyarsk storage reservoir was record low because of water discharge, the authors succeeded in conducting a survey of the Tepsei rocks on the Tuba river banks (Fig. 1). The reconnaissance identified several areas with earlier unknown rock images, namely, figures of the bulls from the earlier layer; an engraved figure of an animal made in a Scythian style; engraved drawings of horses; runic signs and symbols, and tamgas, etc. Most found drawings refer to the so called ‘folk’ art dating to the Modern Period (17th - early 20th centuries). This group of drawings includes images of horses, horse riders, camels, deer, dogs, a steamboat, etc. The discoveries of the ‘later’ layer of images have greatly added to our understanding of some aspects of life of people who inhabited these areas as well as their neighbors, the animal world, mythological and epical ideas of ancient artists as well as understanding of specific chapters of history related to this region.