This statue of Devonian sandstone stood near Lake Chernoye in the Shirinsky region of Khakassia. It was found on arable land next to the fallen menhir — the simplest form of megalith — two kilometers southwest of the spurs of Mount Khizil-khas. The stela was handed over to the Khakass Regional Museum of Local History by archaeologist Albert Lipsky.
Experts have determined that this statue belongs to the Okunev archaeological culture and dates from the late 3rd — early 2nd millennium BC. Okunev people lived in the territory of modern Khakassia and in the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory in the Bronze Age.
On a stela about two meters high, a relief mask has been preserved — the image of an unknown deity — with horns and ears. The image is embossed in the center of the narrow edge of the sculpture on a rounded ovoid ledge.
The face is divided into three parts. They are framed by horizontal lines. A double wavy vertical stripe descends from the forehead to the upper line. The left side of the mask has not survived: it is covered with many round holes. On the right side there is an eye with a circular notch in the center.
Below there is a double horizontal line, on the right side of which a nostril is visible in the form of a circle with a dot. A wide mouth in the form of an oval groove is located under the stripe in the center of the mask. The chin is formed by two arched lines.
A barely noticeable image of a stylized snake with an open mouth has survived above the mask. Another snake wraps around her. In the myths of various peoples, the image of a snake is often associated with the so-called lower world, but this animal can also symbolize lightning and rain pouring down from heaven.
On the lateral planes of the sculpture, drawings of a later origin are engraved. On the right side, one above the other, are four figures of narrow hornless cows with thin legs and long tails with tassels. They are carved in notched silhouette technique.
In the upper part of the left plane there is an image of a horned bull. And below, closer to the face itself, is another silhouette of a cow. Between the animals, there is a four-horned solar sign applied using the technique of pecking.
Experts have determined that this statue belongs to the Okunev archaeological culture and dates from the late 3rd — early 2nd millennium BC. Okunev people lived in the territory of modern Khakassia and in the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory in the Bronze Age.
On a stela about two meters high, a relief mask has been preserved — the image of an unknown deity — with horns and ears. The image is embossed in the center of the narrow edge of the sculpture on a rounded ovoid ledge.
The face is divided into three parts. They are framed by horizontal lines. A double wavy vertical stripe descends from the forehead to the upper line. The left side of the mask has not survived: it is covered with many round holes. On the right side there is an eye with a circular notch in the center.
Below there is a double horizontal line, on the right side of which a nostril is visible in the form of a circle with a dot. A wide mouth in the form of an oval groove is located under the stripe in the center of the mask. The chin is formed by two arched lines.
A barely noticeable image of a stylized snake with an open mouth has survived above the mask. Another snake wraps around her. In the myths of various peoples, the image of a snake is often associated with the so-called lower world, but this animal can also symbolize lightning and rain pouring down from heaven.
On the lateral planes of the sculpture, drawings of a later origin are engraved. On the right side, one above the other, are four figures of narrow hornless cows with thin legs and long tails with tassels. They are carved in notched silhouette technique.
In the upper part of the left plane there is an image of a horned bull. And below, closer to the face itself, is another silhouette of a cow. Between the animals, there is a four-horned solar sign applied using the technique of pecking.
