Abstract
Petroglyphs of the Serektas Mountains are found in the territory of tracts with springs along the bed of the river of the same name. The monuments are clusters of rock carvings near ancient and medieval sites and settlements, as well as on cattle trails from dwellings to pastures. In total, about 800 petroglyphs of different historical stages from the Bronze Age to the New Age have been recorded. The most significant series of them are Early Iron Age drawings (50–60%). The repertoire of petroglyphs is diverse and is represented by plots with anthropomorphic, zoomorphic images and iconic symbols (tamgas). The dominant subjects on the rocks of the Serektas Mountains were scenes of hunting, grazing and pursuit of a hoofed animal by a predator. The cult of fertility, expressed by the zoomorphic code in the images of a goat with a goat cub, argali with a lamb or a deer with a fawn, had a special significance in the drawings. The cultural influence of the nearby Tamgaly tract on the content and stylistics of these rock paintings was dominant, especially in the Bronze Age. This allows us to define the petroglyph complexes of the Serektas Mountains as a peripheral zone of the Tamgaly area. The main pictorial canons of ancient petroglyphs of Serektas show the development of local artistic traditions and demonstrate the cultural interaction of the ancient population of the region with the neighboring territories of Kazakhstan.