Latticed Petroglyphs of Mount Kalbak-Tash, Gorny Altai

On Mount Kolbak-Tash, petroglyphs belonging to various periods of the ancient history of Gorny Altai can be observed, from the Neolithic to the Ancient Turkic period. The majority of petroglyphs represent zoomorphic and anthropomorphic images. Among geometric images, the so-called latticed fi gures attributable to the Chalcolithic (late 4th–3rd millennia BC) can be distinguished. Archaeologists suggest two interpretations for these fi gures: female anthropomorphic images and representations of ritual construction. Rather than being mutually exclusive this article shows that the two interpretations offered are semiotically connected.