Investigation and symbolic analysis of the new petroglyphs of Meskotan Fanuj
Abstract

Rock art is one of the oldest arts expressing the thoughts, beliefs, sociology, beliefs, mythology and diverse culture of human civilizations that have been found around the world.Balochistan is one of the rich regions in the rock art of Iran, and the study of Baluchistan's petroglyphs is of great importance for two reasons: 1. Balochistan region has been less studied by archeology compared to other regions of Iran, 2. The motifs are closely related to the thoughts, culture, beliefs, customs and beliefs of the people of the region, and by examining the symbols of the Petroglyphs of this region, a step can be taken to identify the beliefs of the local people.The new petroglyphs of Meskotan are located 9 km from Meskotan village, which is part of the central part of Fanuj city, and is located 45 km northeast of this city and 180 km from Nikshahr. The petroglyphs of Mescotan are carved by professional artists and are very old. These petroglyphs are located in the south of Meskotan village and on one side of these rocks are the Dohollan mountains and on the other side of the Moskotan river. Motifs of Mescotan petroglyphs are placed in human, animal and geometric categories.On the other hand, petroglyphs are closely related to the ideas, thoughts and culture of the people of that period, For this purpose, the current research aims to introduce and record the petroglyphs of Mescotan and to know the beliefs of the native people, and seeks to answer the following questions: What people created the motifs of Meskotan petroglyphs? And what is the relationship between the motifs, the climate and the life of the people of that time? The method of doing research is descriptive-analytical. The method of collecting information in this research is field and library methods. Information gathering tools are the use of documents and design software. First, the regions and petroglyphs were identified in the field with the cooperation of the native people of Muscotan. In the next step, clear patterns were extracted from the images and designed using Photoshop software, then the patterns were separated and the symbolic analysis of the patterns was done by referring to library documents and oral studies that were conducted from the people of the region.The findings show that among the 39 figures that could be seen in Meskotan petroglyphs, most of them are animals that lived in the mountains and villages of Fanuj, and the geometric patterns go back to the religious and religious beliefs of the people of the region and the artists who created the patterns. The motifs that have been worked as a set refer to equestrian competitions, hunting scenes, animal domestication and the culture of the people of that time. The result was that: the petroglyphs of this area are of carving and pounding type. Among the analyzed motifs, the horseman, which is a symbol of power and victory, has the highest statistics, followed by animal motifs of horses and goats, which are symbols of speed and blessing. In the petroglyphs of Mescotan, human motifs in the form; a naked man, a man on a horse, a man with a bow and a hunter have been carved. It is difficult to find out the gender of the human characters and sometimes you can tell what gender they are according to their clothing and how they are placed. Cows, donkeys, dogs, and rabbits, which were native animals of the region, were seen on the stone frames of Mescotan. In addition to this, there are also geometric and abstract patterns such as the circle, which is a symbol of eternity, and the crucifix, which is a symbol of life-giving power and desire. It is not possible to find a definitive answer regarding the people who created these motifs. Some of the motifs are simple and seem to have been carved for fun by unskilled shepherds and hunters in their spare time, but the paintings of some rocks have been professionally carved by artists who have mastered this art. The petroglyphs have a set of individual and group patterns and each of them contains the secrets of the beliefs, culture and society of the people of the region. In the Paleolithic age, because they lived through hunting, the petroglyphs show this that man intended to show off his power by portraying scenes of hunting, taming animals, and scenes of war and conflict.
Keywords: petroglyph, rock art, symbology, Mescotan