Rock Art Research

Vol. 40 No. 1 (2023)
Published : May 8, 2023

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AT THE HONGSHANKOU PETROGLYPH SITE COMPLEX IN THE EASTERN TIANSHAN RANGE, NORTHWEST CHINA

Jin Anni (1), Robert G. Bednarik (2), Ren Meng (3), Wang Jianxin (4), Chao Ge (5)

(1) School of History, Nanjing University, China
(2) International Federation of Rock Art Organisations, Australia
(3) School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, China
(4) Collaborative Research Centre for Archaeology of the Silk Roads, Northwest University, China
(5) School of Humanities, Minjiang University, China
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Abstract

As the first phase of the ‘Eastern Tianshan Range Project’, a series of surveys conducted in 2020 and 2021 at the Hongshankou rock art site complex, Xinjiang, China, has systematically recorded and studied 135 rock art panels with 436 petroglyphs. Forty-two microerosion age estimates ranging from the 12th century BCE to the 7th century CE have been secured by profitably utilising the universal calibration coefficient curve for quartz. Furthermore, a replication experiment of rock art production has also been completed at the site complex.