Kars rock art preserves traces of life from thousands of years ago

KARS

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Rock art dating back thousands of years in Kars, an important passage between the Caucasus and Anatolia, sheds light on early cultures in the region and the relationship people had with nature.

Located at a key point on the route from the Caucasus into Anatolia, Kars is among the regions that hosted some of Anatolia’s earliest cultures.

The rock art found in the area of Camuşlu village in Kars’ Kağızman district is an important part of this historical heritage.

More than 100 drawings depicting mountain goats, deer and other animal figures on the rocks in the Camuşlu area preserve traces of the past.

Mustafa Karageçi, an associate professor in the Department of Ancient History at Kafkas University, told Anadolu Agency that numerous rock art sites have been identified through field research conducted in the region over many years.

Karageçi said field studies were carried out under the direction of Professor Alpaslan Ceylan between 1999 and 2012 and Professor Akın Bingöl between 2012 and 2022.

Emphasizing that more than 100 figures have been identified in the Camuşlu rock art, Karageçi said: “Kağızman district of Kars is an important region that contains some of the earliest cultures in Anatolia and is a passageway. As we know, Kars is one of the most important gateways from the Caucasus into Anatolia. As a result of our research, we identified many rock art sites in the region. There are more than 100 figures in these rock paintings, including mountain goats, deer and similar animal figures.”

Karageçi said the rock art provides important information about the lives of people who lived during the period.

“These are paintings in which particularly nomadic groups depicted their relationship with nature, their fears and beliefs on rocks. For thousands of years, especially during periods when there was no writing, people conveyed the message, ‘We were here, and we lived here,’ by carving their own history into rocks through images,” he said.

Karageçi said the rock art has been associated with the Paleolithic Age and subsequent periods.

“Looking at the techniques used to create the rock art, we see that drawing and engraving techniques were particularly prominent in Kars. They took a piece of flint stone, scraped the smooth surfaces of the rocks and patiently carved these images,” he said.