The slab stela of red sandstone presented in the exhibition was discovered during archaeological excavations of the Okunev burial ground of Verkh-Askiz-I. It was in the 36th grave of the first mound. The slab was created at the end of the 3rd — the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC.
The Okunev culture is a South Siberian archaeological culture of Bronze Age stockbreeders. Okunevites inhabited the territory of modern Khakassia and the southern part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Initially, scientists considered the Okunev culture to be part of the Afanasyev culture, but in the 1960s, studies by Gleb Maksimenkov made it possible to distinguish it as an independent one.
On the wide panel of the slab, there is a well-preserved image of a fantastic mask, created using the point technique with subsequent grinding. The face of the ancient deity is made in the form of a rounded oval and combines zoomorphic and anthropomorphic features.
The inner space of the mask is filled with additional pecking. In the upper part, three eyes of the deity are depicted in the form of circles with dots inside. Two vertical lines descend from the central eye, the ends of which are decorated with small ovals. Researchers suggest that they mark the nose of the mask.
Five wavy horizontal lines are carved on each side of the nose. They go beyond the outline of the mask and split. Experts believe that this is how the ancient Okunev people depicted snakes.
In the lower part of the face, a mouth is visible in the form of a narrow and long, slightly curved oval.
Seven branches extend upward from the deity. Most likely, they represent the hair of the creature. They also show snakes with protruding tongues — they are represented by two curved short lines.
The so-called solar sign has been preserved under the mask. It consists of two circles: the smaller one, 11 centimeters in diameter, is inscribed in the larger one, 22 centimeters. Four corners are symmetrically located along the perimeter of the outer circle. The sign is connected to the deity by a short vertical line. Scientists note that such images of the solar symbol are characteristic of Early Bronze Age sites.
Experts suggest that in ancient times, the mask was fully colored.
The Okunev culture is a South Siberian archaeological culture of Bronze Age stockbreeders. Okunevites inhabited the territory of modern Khakassia and the southern part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Initially, scientists considered the Okunev culture to be part of the Afanasyev culture, but in the 1960s, studies by Gleb Maksimenkov made it possible to distinguish it as an independent one.
On the wide panel of the slab, there is a well-preserved image of a fantastic mask, created using the point technique with subsequent grinding. The face of the ancient deity is made in the form of a rounded oval and combines zoomorphic and anthropomorphic features.
The inner space of the mask is filled with additional pecking. In the upper part, three eyes of the deity are depicted in the form of circles with dots inside. Two vertical lines descend from the central eye, the ends of which are decorated with small ovals. Researchers suggest that they mark the nose of the mask.
Five wavy horizontal lines are carved on each side of the nose. They go beyond the outline of the mask and split. Experts believe that this is how the ancient Okunev people depicted snakes.
In the lower part of the face, a mouth is visible in the form of a narrow and long, slightly curved oval.
Seven branches extend upward from the deity. Most likely, they represent the hair of the creature. They also show snakes with protruding tongues — they are represented by two curved short lines.
The so-called solar sign has been preserved under the mask. It consists of two circles: the smaller one, 11 centimeters in diameter, is inscribed in the larger one, 22 centimeters. Four corners are symmetrically located along the perimeter of the outer circle. The sign is connected to the deity by a short vertical line. Scientists note that such images of the solar symbol are characteristic of Early Bronze Age sites.
Experts suggest that in ancient times, the mask was fully colored.
