On the Interpretation of ‘Sun-Ray Head’ Figures

as Shamanic in the Rock Art of Central Asia

Abstract

This paper is about the ‘sun-ray head’ figures in the rock art of Central Asia that can be evidence for a specific form of prehistoric religion—shamanism. The latest discoveries of rock art sites in Central Asia have a considerable impact on the interpretation of some of the ‘sun-ray head’ figures as shamanic and the associated rock art scenes as illustrating shamanic rituals. [...]