Tamga Petroglyphs from Akkainar (Almaty oblysy) in Kazakhstan

Abstract

The archaeological research led by the author documented more than 6100 rock engravings in the Akkainar Region located between the two important rock art sites of Tamgaly and Kulzhabasy. Among these petroglyphs, more than 800 could be attributed to the Old Turkic period. Some of them are tamgas, which are generic family signs placed on the ancestral property, including cattle. These tamgas are dated from the Early Turkic period to the beginning of the 20th century. If some tamgas from Akkainar were already published, there is until now no complete repertory of them for this region. The aim of this paper is to provide new material for researchers with a repertory of 20 tamgas or signs looking like tamgas found in Akkainar. Some signs presented here are perhaps not tamgas but are published for further discussion. Two questions arise about some signs looking like tamgas. Firstly, some of these signs were also found in Southern Kazakhstan, which questions the link between Akkainar and the southern Kazakh oases. Secondly, other signs are associated with zoomorphic depictions, raising the question of the reuse of former petroglyphs to create new tamgas.