Des divinités avestiques sur les peintures murales d’Akchakhan-Kala, Ouzbékistan

Archaeological and molecular evidence for ancient chickens in Central Asia

“…One of the earliest and most vivid examples of this imagery in Central Asia was recovered in 2014 by the Karakalpak-Australian Expedition in the form of a wall painting in the royal contexts of Akchakhan-kala, depicting a characteristic motif of two opposing human-headed roosters in the middle of performing a Zoroastrian ritual (first century BC to first century AD 100 ). The image has led some scholars to suggest stronger Central Asian roots in the origins of the rooster-worshiping cult 5 , 103 . The hybrid bird-priest motif represents an assistant of Sraosha and is said to be a rooster that can predict the coming of dawn, waking up the religious practitioners to fulfil their duties (Vidēvdād XVIII: 14–15, 22–23 7 ).…”

“…Historical sources attest to the prominence of chickens in southern Europe and southwest Asia by the last centuries BC 4 . Likewise, art historical depictions of chickens and anthropomorphic rooster-human chimeras are reoccurring motifs in Central Asian prehistoric and historic traditions 5 – 7 . However, when this ritually and economically significant bird spread along the trans-Eurasian exchange routes has remained a mystery.…”

A New Chorasmian Wall Painting From Akchakhan-Kala

“…The back half of the animal is not preserved beyond a line defining the curve of the haunches. By comparison with the paintings of the Avestan gods (Betts et al 2015;Betts et al 2017), the rendering of the animal is simple, a characteristic generally more comparable with that of the "portraits" (Yagodin et al 2009).…”

“…Some interpretations for the previously published paintings have been put forward. The "portraits", and possibly also the "procession" (Kidd 2012), may relate to dynastic succession, while the "colossal figures" have been identified as Avestan deities (Betts et al 2015;Betts et al 2017). The significance of this new painting, of very different subject matter but still within the semantic of symbolism and religion, is discussed below.…”

“…The remarkable wall paintings from Akchakhan-kala are now quite well known from a series of publications, firstly on the series of "portraits" (Kidd 2011;Kidd et al 2008;Yagodin et al 2009;Kidd & Betts 2010;Kidd et al 2012;Kidd & Baker-Brite 2015) and the "procession" (Kidd 2012), and most recently on the colossal figures of Avestan gods (Betts et al 2015;Betts et al 2017).…”