A Study of Cattle Motifs on the Petroglyphs of Teymareh Golpayegan

Abstract
Golpayegan is the name of a land in the northwest of Isfahan province, which is located almost in the center of Iran. Golpayegan river is considered as an important factor in the formation of ancient cultures in this region. Archaeological sites (Choqa -Hassan and Lohramesh) show that at least from the fifth millennium BC this area has been the habitat of human groups and also the existence of a large number of petroglyphs that during various periods, on the rock Art made of schist stone; Throughout this area, there is a sign of ancient civilization in this region. Thematically, the designs of these rocks include animal, human, plant, symbolic, tools, lines, etc. Among these, animal motifs have the highest frequency and among animal motifs, the motif of Ibex has been repeated the most. One of the rare animal motifs in this is the image of a Cattle, which is depicted in two different poses, which seem to be a sign of being domesticated and wild. Signs of using the power of this animal in the domestic state and in agriculture with plow motifs can also be examined. In this article, based on the works identified in this geographical area and the historical study of the biological signs of this animal on the plateau of Iran and the comparison of this motif on petroglyphs of other regions in Iran and other prehistoric decorative arts, this motif has been studied. Finally, based on the type of domestic and wild Cattle motifs, a relative chronology of such motifs can be obtained; So that for the motif of wild Cattles, the minimum chronology that can be imagined is the beginning of the Chalcolithic period, and for the motif of domestic Cattles, the maximum age is probably the beginning of the Chalcolithic period.
Keywords: Carving, Petroglyph, Golpayegan, Teymareh, Cattle, Plow.
Introduction
Golpayegan is located in the northwest of Isfahan province, which is almost in the center of Iran. The ancient sites (Choqa- Hassan and Lohramesh) show that this area has been the habitat of human groups since at least the fifth millennium BC, as well as the existence of a large number of petroglyphs throughout this area during different periods. The area has a sign of an ancient civilization in this area. In terms of subject, the petroglyphs include motifs of animal, human, plant, symbolic motifs, tools, lines, etc. Among these, one of the rare animal characters is the motif of the Cattle, which is depicted in two different states, which are apparently a sign of domesticity and wildness. In the study of petroglyphs, attention should be paid not only to the motifs themselves, but also to the conditions of creation of the motifs. Investigating the natural and cultural contexts of the region where the petroglyph was found is very important. Natural elements such as weather, land, plant and animal species, water sources, etc. are among the most important natural substrates that influence the creation and thematic diversity of petroglyphs. Cultural elements should also be considered. There are petroglyphs in many regions of Iran with different regional distributions, subject differences and different carving and artistic styles. Many studies have been done on these works, especially with the aim of introducing them; However, content analysis and specifically relative chronology based on the subject of motifs, has been less done by the Iranian archaeological community. In this research, relying on the image of the Cattle on the petroglyphs of Teymreh Golpayegan and introducing different species, we intend to offer a proposal for the relative chronology of such images. About 31 areas have been identified in the collection of petroglyphs of Teymreh Golpayegan, of which Cattle motifs can be seen in only 9 areas. The question raised here is, what are the stylistic and typological characteristics of the Cattle on the petroglyphs? Also, by relying on different representations of the Cattle, can we achieve a relative chronology of such motifs?
This research is placed in the ranks of descriptive analytical research due to the detailed review of documents and analytical work. The data was collected by field method and library studies were also used in this research.
Discussion
Cattle motifs among the petroglyphs of Teymreh Golpayegan are very rare and about 0.3%. So far, 105 examples of this pattern have been identified in different areas of Teymreh Golpayegan petroglyphs. We have divided the motifs of Cattles into two types of humped Cattles and non-humped Cattles. There are two styles of representation: abstract and realistic in Cattle motifs. The method of engraving Cattle motifs is both knocking and scratching. There is the biggest motif of Cattle in Kouchery and Makule area, which are very close to each other in terms of distance. These areas are often in the form of low sloping hills, and flat plains are less common. From the point of view of height, almost most of the motifs were carved in places where in reality it was possible to move this heavy animal from those places, except for the motifs in the Barafto Hendeh area. Among the Cattle species, humped species have a much lower frequency than non-humped species. In a number of motifs, the plow is also attached to the Cattle.
In the Chalcolithic period, in addition to using the three animals of ibex, sheep and pig, which were also used in the Neolithic period, Cattle were also exploited for the first time (Talaei, 2018). In some motifs of the Cattle, its wildness can be clearly seen. It means that it is most likely a date before the beginning of Chalcolithic. In some other petroglyphs, the motif of humans using Cattles is shown. For other motifs of domesticated Cattles, they can be dated to the end of the historical period and even the beginning of the Islamic period.
Conclusion
Due to its special location in the center of Iran and the presence of permanent water sources, Golpayegan region has always been the focus of humans throughout history. The motif of the Cattle, along with the motifs of other animals such as ibex, sheep, etc., although rare and few in number, are signs of its importance, both for hunter-gatherer and farming communities. Based on the hunting evidence, it is very likely that some of these pictures, which are mostly Cattle being hunted by humans, carnivorous animals, are related to the pre-domestication of Cattle by humans. For this group of motifs, the lowest chronology that can be considered is the Chalcolithic period. In other Cattle images, there are signs of human presence and domestication using the plow. Most likely, these motifs are not more historical than the Chalcolithic period. Two important types of Cattles, humped and non-humped, can be seen among the motifs. Golpayegani male Cattle species also has a hump and its characteristics are consistent with some of the Cattle patterns. Both abstract and realistic representation styles are seen in Cattle paintings.