Best of Almaty region Petroglyphs Tours.

“If diversity is a source of wonder, its opposite - the ubiquitous condensation to some blandly amorphous and singulary generic modern culture that takes for granted an impoverished environment - is a source of dismay. There is, indeed, a fire burning over the earth, taking with it plants and animals, cultures, languages, ancient skills and visionary wisdom. Quelling this flame, and re-inventing the poetry of diversity is perhaps the most importent challenge of our times” 

Wade Davis.

Petroglyphs Visitor Guide in Kazakhstan. 

There are about fifty рlасes in Zhetysu where you can find rock drawings, or petroglyphs, most dating back to the Bronze Age, The best-known petroglyphs are at Tamgaly, the Koksu river valley and the Sholak, Kindyk-Tas and Anrakhai mountains.
Near the ancient drawings are archaeological finds such as settlements, burial grounds, religious structures and altars. In the late 1950s а unique sanctuary with rock drawings was found at Tamgaly in the Anrakhai mountains (170 km north-west of Almaty).
Tamgaly is truly a gallery of ancient art. It reflects several periods of history, possibly more than twenty centuries. Over 4,000 drawings have been discovered, dating back to the Bronze Age, the early nomadic era and the Turkic period.
There are low slate cliffs on both sides of the gorge, and these sheer, flat surfaces are decorated with individual animals and entire scenes, carved with а metal chisel. The petroglyphs include both single and group images of mountain sheep, goats, Przhevalsky s horses, deer, au-rochs and steppe antelope, as well as domestic animals-camels, horses, bulls, dogs. There are sun-headed gods; scenes depicting hunting, religious rituals and animal sacrifices; compositions of people and animals, female forms, archers and so on; prayer inscriptions; and images of discs, chariots and tamgas (Kazakh for "clan sign", from which the name Tamgaly derives).
Not far from the gorge are burial grounds dating back to the Bronze Age (XI - X centuries ВС) and the early nomadic period (III century ВС - II century AD), and an early nomadic settlement.
The Tamgaly gallery of petroglyphs is one of the world' s treasures and is protected by Unesco.

Authority:
The guidebook across Kazakhstan . Authors Dagmar Schreiber and Jeremy Tredinnick.   Publishing house "Odyssey".2010. 

Photos
Alexander Petrov.