The paper explores the phenomenon of rock art found in and around rock art cavities in Trans-Baikal region of South-East Siberia. Although many researchers noticed that caves have had a special value in cultures around the globe, no research has been carried out specifically into the cave rock art of Trans-Baikal which was not distinguished from other rock art found in open localities and shelters. This study was conducted based on field data collected by the author in 2017. In order to answer the question whether the cave sites had a specific role in the cultures of Bronze Age Trans-Baikal, the sets of motifs of the cave sites were compared to those of the closest open sites. Drawing on the stylistic difference revealed by the analysis and landscape context, it is suggested that the cave rock art sites could be places where rituals of more restricted nature took place. Ethnographic records may imply that these ceremonies were aimed at the fertility increasing being performed by shamans or shamannesses or without their assistance. It is also possible that the ceremonies could be gender-exclusive, conducted only for women, although this interpretation needs further research.

中文翻译：

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探索西伯利亚跨贝加尔湖的洞穴岩石艺术：生育力，萨满教和性别

本文探讨了西伯利亚东南部跨贝加尔湖地区岩石艺术腔内及其周围发现的岩石艺术现象。尽管许多研究人员注意到洞穴在全球文化中具有特殊的价值，但尚未对Trans-Baikal的洞穴岩石艺术进行专门研究，这与在开放的地区和庇护所中发现的其他岩石艺术没有区别。这项研究是基于作者在2017年收集的野外数据进行的。为了回答洞穴遗址在青铜时代贝加尔湖文化中是否具有特定作用的问题，将洞穴遗址的主题集与最接近的开放站点的站点。利用分析和景观环境揭示的风格差异，有人建议，洞穴岩石艺术遗址可能是举行更为严格的自然仪式的地方。人种学记录可能暗示这些仪式的目的是提高萨满祭司或萨满祭司或没有他们的协助下的生育能力。尽管这种解释需要进一步研究，但仪式也可能只针对女性而进行，不包括性别。