Rock Art of Siberian Shamanism

In the introduction of Rock Art and the Material Culture of Siberian and Central Asian Shamanism, Ekaterina Devlet writes, "In Siberia and Central Asia - the 'homelands' of shamanism - there is no ancient tradition of written language, and consequently no direct descriptive data on the lifestyle and belief systems of the prehistoric population. Valuable insights can be however gained from the comparison of rock art images with ethnographic material, which indicate that a shamanic world-view was fundamental for the complex symbolism of the Siberians." A common feature in rock art is the portrayal of the shaman's drum. Even though there are different types, shapes, and images painted on the shamanic drum, it is clearly depicted in the rock art. The range of decoration used on the drums varied from simplistic to innately elaborate. The resemblance is remarkably illustrated, "In the Altai region, images depicted on historical shamanic drums demonstrate a striking similarity with what is shown on the rock engravings" (Devlet 47). Read More