Petroglyphs of Gamigaya and their Analogies in the Cultures of the Ancient East

Since ancient times the Nakhchivan region of Azerbaijan has been part of the Middle Eastern cultures. Nakhchivan region is located on the one side in the basin of Lake Urmia, on the other in the immediate vicinity of Eastern Anatolia, in close proximity to Mesopotamia. Cultural processes in this region of the ancient East directly affected the territory of Nakhchivan. One of the richest archaeological monuments of Nakhchivan is Gemigaya complex. The Gemigaya monuments located in the high mountainous area are mainly rock paintings – the Bronze-Early Iron Age petroglyphs. Numerous fgures of people, farm animals, wild animals, carts with ancient vehicles, various signs are engraved on the monument. Analogues of some of Gemigaya paintings can be found on archaeological materials of the Middle East. At the same time, a number of human paintings of Gemigaya are stylistically close to some anthropomorphic clay fgures of the ancient East. Such close similarities are the result of the close ties of the ancient South Caucasian population, including Nakhchivan, with the centers of civilization in the Middle East. These relations are also reflected in the fne arts.