Petroglyphs – a “colossal prehistoric temple of the sun, where the dome was heaven itself, granite rocks with petroglyphs was iconostasis, and the altar – the horizon with a living solar god” (c).
Petroglyphs are images carved into the rocks made by ancient people in the Neolithic. Subjects and complexity of petroglyphs could be very different.
The term Petroglyphs came from greek words «pétros» – «rock» and «glyphé» – «carving, cutting». It has been estimated that there are over 20 million petroglyphs found in more than 20 thousand sites in 78 countries. Problem of dating of petroglyphs is not yet fully resolved, but according to various sources most are dated to about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
Petroglyphs actually transmit religious images of those times – the God and Goddess. Plainness of figures shows simplicity and naivety of the authors and stories breathe with peace and harmony. Similar images could be drawn by children in kindergarten and elementary school.
Leading motif of petroglyphs – waterfowl. It symbolize seasonality and cyclical nature of time. Swans are also associated with animistic idea that the human soul after death flies in the form of a bird.
Usually petroglyphs depict animals – deer, bison, wild boars, wild horses; including extinct ones – woolly mammoths or saber-toothed tigers. Less often outlines of human figures and heads or, rather, ritual masks are found.
Neolithic people began to depict scenes from the life of primitive tribes – hunting, fighting, dancing and some obscure rites. Such compositions are dated approximately to VI-IV millennium BC. The earliest images, dominated by portraits of animals, belongs to the Upper Paleolithic, they were created forty – twenty thousand years ago.
Petroglyphs are mysterious and original. It’s quite surprising that they have survived through the millennia to our time.
Our new Neolithic collection is filled with rock scenes, we tried to preserve the texture and style of the artists of those times, give meaning to the information transmitted.
Outlines of decoration sets repeat structure of roughly processed stone and simple graphic symbols. Combined with pin-point accuracy of manufacturing our decorations have become modern and interesting.
Another feature of our collection is a departure from the solidity – our attempt to inscribe modern elegance into dynamics of primitive world. The simplicity and directness of petroglyphs on our decorations attracts the eye and awakens the desire to understand what our ancestors wanted to convey to us.
The basis for the new collection of TM Scythian ethnics was the sketches of talented artist and jewelry designer Elena Bogacheva.
We are confident that quite primitive ancient drawings excite and fascinate not only archaeologists and historians, but also us, ordinary citizens seeking to know ourselves through historical milestones. Hopefully, with our updated Neolithic collection of Neolithic we were able to convey the character and uniqueness of petroglyphs. After all , for each figure lies a deeper meaning and, at the same time, the naivety and sincerity of the time and people of that era.
You can buy jewelry in our store: www.skifska-etnika.com
