More than 20 ancient pictographs have been discovered in a remote region of Siberia on the Largi River near the village of Gorbitsa, according to The Siberian Times.

Well, technically speaking, they have been discovered multiple times over the millennia, but most recently (as in, three years ago) scientists found the site and have been researching it carefully before making it known to the public.

“We now have a complete copy, with which we can work already to study the images, and analyse the plot (depicted in these pictures),” said one of the researchers, Dr. Sergei Alkin from Novosibirsk State University. “On the one hand, our task was to tell everyone about these amazing petroglyphs, brought to the study by other scientists. On the other hand, we wanted this rock art to remain undamaged with no marks and drawings left by tourists.”

What do the images mean?

The images are composed of red and orange ocher—a naturally-occurring pigment composed partially of ferric oxide (sometimes called rust). They seem to depict ancient humans, a bull, a tree, and some birds, although many of them are up for debate.

“Of course, we must understand that interpretation of these images is not easy,” said Alkin. “Central in the composition are the anthropomorphic images. It is difficult to say definitely who they represent: the hunters or spirits? In particular, there is a figurine, close to which is depicted a circle – a solar sign, the sign of the sun. It has a cross inside. The glyph may represent shaman drums in these cultures. So it is possible to assume that the figure with the solar sign depicts a shaman with a drum.”

Another puzzling image involves something that might resemble a modern comb, with several dots above it. The dots may simply be a method of bookkeeping—perhaps something like the artist’s number of cattle, according to a Novosibirsk State University release.

“As for the number of vertical lines above the horizontal line, it is quite possible that these show dugout canoes with people sitting in them,” said Alkin to the Times. “Anyway, this is how such images have been interpreted by colleagues in other regions. There is only one such image known in Trans-Baikal region so far.”

While it isn’t entirely certain who created the pictographs—perhaps people of Tungus or Mongolian origin—preliminary testing offers up better evidence of a date: 4,000 years old. And it’s pretty unique relative to finds in the area to boot.

“The rock art at Largi river is a rare site,” said Alkin. “It is large and contains many images, while generally…the rocks in this area show between one and three poorly preserved drawings. Secondly, we are pleased that it is perfectly preserved.”

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Image credit: Sergei Alkin

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