The Aksai-1 complex (to the studying of ancient anthropomorphic statues and deer stones of Central Kazakhstan)

Abstract

The article introduces the Aksai-1 complex of three “cult stones” (Aksai valley, Karaganda region, Kazakhstan), which includes an ancient anthropomorphic statue featuring a human face image at the top of a monolith, and a deer stone of the common Eurasian type. An analysis of the positioning relative to each other of these objects suggests that they were mounted together only randomly. The statue of the Aksai-1 complex is analogous to one of the two other large anthropomorphic statues found in the Aksai valley. That other statue is located at the Aksai burial ground near the barrow with stone ridges). The authors question the direct connection between this statue and the barrow with the stone ridges. The third Aksai anthropomorphic statue referred to as “Akbikesh” stands out not only for its huge size and a peculiar stylization of the face image, but also for the presence of additional details — rings pecked on the sides of the head. The question of the cultural and chronological attribution of the Aksai anthropomorphic statues remains unresolved. Their belonging to the same artistic tradition is also unclear. It can be assumed that the “menhir-like” shape bring these statues closer to the “cult stones” of the Late Bronze Age. The latter tradition, according to A. Z. Baysenov, continued in the Early Iron Age. The likelihood of their coexistence with deer stones cannot be excluded, anyway, this is possible for the case of “Akbikesh”, whose composition combine a face image and rings similar to the common attribute of deer stones.