Rock Art Research

The study of ancient sanctuaries in Transbaikalia began more than a century ago, yet the majority of these ritual structures were identified only by the presence of rock art. The topic of spatial organisation of sanctuaries has not previously been raised, thus the authors propose a typology of sanctuaries based on patterns apparent in their spatial organisation. This typology rests on the degree of anthropogenic impact on the natural landscape when employing it for ritual and other sacred purposes. In western Transbaikalia, we distinguish landscape and landscape-artificial types of sanctuaries. Based on the form of their spatial organisation, the landscape-artificial types of sanctuaries are further subdivided into circular, sectoral and linear. The study of material cultures and individual anthropogenic structures indicates that the initial construction of most landscape-artificial sanctuaries began in the late Bronze Age. Some landscape sanctuaries may be older, dating back to the Neolithic. Almost all sanctuaries continued functioning into the Iron Age and Medieval Period.