A Study of Cattle Motifs on the Petroglyphs of Teymareh Golpayegan

Golpayegan is the name of a land in the northwest of Isfahan province, which is located almost in the center of Iran. Golpayegan river is considered as an important factor in the formation of ancient cultures in this region. Archaeological sites (Choqa -Hassan and Lohramesh) show that at least from the fifth millennium BC this area has been the habitat of human groups and also the existence of a large number of petroglyphs that during various periods, on the rock Art made of schist stone; Throughout this area, there is a sign of ancient civilization in this region. Thematically, the designs of these rocks include animal, human, plant, symbolic, tools, lines, etc. Among these, animal motifs have the highest frequency and among animal motifs, the motif of Ibex has been repeated the most. One of the rare animal motifs in this is the image of a Cattle, which is depicted in two different poses, which seem to be a sign of being domesticated and wild. Signs of using the power of this animal in the domestic state and in agriculture with plow motifs can also be examined. In this article, based on the works identified in this geographical area and the historical study of the biological signs of this animal on the plateau of Iran and the comparison of this motif on petroglyphs of other regions in Iran and other prehistoric decorative arts, this motif has been studied. Finally, based on the type of domestic and wild Cattle motifs, a relative chronology of such motifs can be obtained; So that for the motif of wild Cattles, the minimum chronology that can be imagined is the beginning of the Chalcolithic period, and for the motif of domestic Cattles, the maximum age is probably the beginning of the Chalcolithic period.