Rock Art of the Altai Mountains

Rock Art of the Altai Mountains

The Rock Art of the Altai Mountains is located within Mongolia, where a wealth of stone carvings and funerary monuments discovered at three sites showcase the development of human culture in Mongolia over more than 12,000 years.

The earliest petroglyphs suggest that at one time (11,000–6,000 years ago), the area was still partly forested, with valleys in the region providing hunters with opportunities for large-scale hunting. Later, it is inferred that the Altai landscape transitioned to the mountain steppe seen today, and rock art from this period indicates that herding gradually became the dominant way of life. The most recent petroglyphs, created in the early 1st millennium BCE as well as during the Scythian and post-Turkic Khaganate periods (7th–8th centuries CE), illustrate the shift toward a mounted nomadic lifestyle. The Rock Art of the Altai Mountains provides valuable historical insight into prehistoric societies in North Asia.

Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai

Reason to visit: Mongolia’s newest UNESCO World Heritage Site

Continent: Asia【Asia】

Country/Region: Mongolia [Mongolia]

Province/State: Govi-Altai Province [Govi-Altai Province]