Sikhachi-Alyan Petroglyphs - uVisitRussia
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Sikhachi-Alyan Petroglyphs

Among the archaeological monuments which have struck imagination of first researchers of the Far East, there were ancient petroglyphs (rock drawings) near the national nanaian settlement Sikhachi-Alyan, that is located 75 km from Khabarovsk down the Amur River stream.

First information about the Sikhachi-Alyan rock drawings has appeared in 70-th years of the XIX century. B.Lowefer - the American orientalist of the XIX century, investigated them. In 1919 the noted Japanese historian, ethnographer and archeologist Toriy Ryudzo have examined the rock drawings during his trip in Siberia. The noted researchers L.Sternberg and V.Arsenyev have studied the petroglyphs. But only researches of А.Okhladnikov in 1935 have brought fame to the Sikhachi-Alyan petrogliphs. Huge basalt boulders, towering along the rocky Amur riverside, attract travellers here. These boulders are witnesses of the childhood of our planet. They are marked by seal of the creative intention, open the strange and at the same time fascinating, fantastic world of ancient art. Thousand years have smoothed sharp sides of the basalt boulders, have polished their surface, but could not erase deep strips, maid by hand of unknown master of ancient times. The ancient images on boulders and rocks of Sikhachi-Alyan represent the long and difficult history of the region. Countless generations speak to us through millenniums by original and expressive language. The drawings representing masks, animals, anthropomorphic images, birds (about 300 in all) are executed with stone tools on basalt boulders. Most ancient images are dated by the late Stone Age (7-6 millenniums B.C.).