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KennethLymer
coveringtheexposedsandstonesurfacesofthesouthwesternslopes.Among
theseimages,whichincludethedepictionsofdeer,ibex,horse-riders,etc.,were
discoveredtwodancinghumanfigureswithelaborateheaddresses(Figs1&2).
TheyaresimilartootherrockartdepictionsofhumanfiguresfoundinCentral
AsiaandSouthSiberiaduringthe2ndmillenniumBCE(Samashev2002:36-37)
andprovidetantalizingcluesaboutthedeephistoryofshamanisticpracticesin
theregion.Moreover,fresherunderstandingsabouttheBayanJurekrockim-
agesarealsopossiblethroughacloserexaminationofthewaysinwhichthey
aresensuallyencounteredthroughpeople’sdynamicinteractionswiththeworld
aroundthem.
BronzeAgeReligioninKazakhstan
Theunderstanding,however,ofreligiousphenomenainKazakhstanandCentral
AsiaduringtheBronzeAge,circa2ndmillenniumBCE,isavexedissueamongst
scholars.Notably,Henri-PaulFrancfort(1998,2001)hasquestionedtheideaof
prehistoricshamanismandhasarguedtherearenotracesofitinthearchaeolog-
icalculturesofthisregion,suchastheAndronovo.Furthermore,hesuggeststhe
occurrenceofunusualanthropomorphicfiguresfoundatCentralAsianrockart
sitescouldhave,perhaps,representedarchaicrepresentationsofIndo-Iranian
solargods,suchasMithra(Francfort1998:307;cf.Kuz’mina1986,119-122).
Moreover,inhisarticleontheprehistoryofshamanisminInnerAsia(2001),
Francfortclearlyassertsatthetopofpage260thatancientIndo-Europeanand
Indo-Iranianreligionsareincompatiblewithshamanism.Withinthesamepara-
graphafewlineslater,hefurtherstatesthatnotraceofshamanismisfoundin
thesteppesofInnerAsiaduringthe2ndmillenniumBCE;however,thisposi-
tioniscontradictedinthenextsentenceashethenpointsoutthatthefamous
petroglyphsiteofTamgalyinsoutheastKazakhstan,locatedintheAndronovo
culturalzone,displaysiconographywhichcan“equallywellbeinterpretedas
Indo-Iranianorshamanic”(Francfort2001:260).Finally,inthefirstsentenceof
thenextsubsequentparagraph,Francforttellsusthatin“CentralAsiaitispos-
sibletosuspecttheexistenceofatrendofshamanictypeinKazakhstan”(ibid.)
aswellasintheagriculturalcivilizationsoftheChalcolithicandtheBronzeAge
untiltheendofthe3rdmillenniumBCEalongtheIranianplateauandUzbeki-
stan,whichwerestockedbyIndo-Iraniancultures.Overall,theseconflicting
statementsarehighlyproblematicastheyrelyonculture-historicalframeworks
fixedwithinamonolithicinterpretationofcultureandreligion.
Firstofall,theAndronovoperiodcoverstheentire2ndmillenniumBCEand
itisconsideredbymanyarchaeologiststobethequintessentialprogenitorof
Indo-IranianculturethatfillsaterritoryextendingfromtheSouthernUralsto
