Rock Art Research

Xinjiang’s Altay Prefecture sits at a key position in central Asia, encompassing the southern Altai mountains, which also straddle Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia. For various reasons, such as publication bias and language barriers, this region’s rock art is poorly understood outside of China. This article presents an overview of the history of rock art research in Altay Prefecture, as well as a list of sites with coordinates and a critique of current dating theories. In doing so, it contextualises the Bronze and Iron Age rock art in relation to international scholarly debates and introduces the reader to key themes in Chinese rock art studies.