Big Hands, Big Heart: Are Large Hands a Symbol of Generosity?

The Eshkiolmes sanctuary, one of the largest collections of rock art sites in Eurasia, was first discovered in 1982 by archeologist A.N. Maryashev and the Kazakh Pedagogical Institute students. Despite its significance, the area remains incompletely studied. Last year, a chance discovery during a scientific conference revealed a gorge housing thousands of previously unknown petroglyphs from various eras of history, which also remained unexplored.

However, an expedition was undertaken in 2024, which produced a number of valuable findings, and the newly found image of a figure with large hands, possibly a deity, stands out among other important discoveries made by petroglyph hunters. But why do scientists believe that this scene depicts a deity?

The answer lies in the analogies that can be drawn with the drawings of the Sumerians, ancient Egyptians, and Assyrians. In these cultures, high-status characters differed from others in their size—gods were depicted as larger than humans, kings larger than their subjects, and the dead larger than the living. Additionally, the creation of this petroglyph, approximately dated to 2000 BCE, nearly coincides with the peak of these civilizations.

Of particular interest are the disproportionately large palms of the deity. Who the figure is and what it commanded is not known with any certainty, and we can only speculate. For instance, the ancient god Mithra, an Indo-Iranian deity who was revered over a vast territory including Kazakhstan, bore the title of being ‘large-handed’. According to the Vedas,i A large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Mithra, together with the god Varuna, surveyed the entire universe from the top of the sky and ascended every day to the throne with the rising sun. Interestingly, the petroglyph is located near the summit of the hill, from where a breathtaking view of the Alabasy Mountains and the Koksu River valley opens up.

In later texts, Mithra's responsibilities became more complex—he became the patron of light and the god who sealed unbreakable oaths. He was extremely popular, and people often prayed to him, hoping for his generosity in granting their wishes. Perhaps that's why he was called ‘large-handed’. We do not know if the ancient shaman-artist depicted Mithra in the Eshkiolmes mountains, but he and his tribesmen apparently counted on the deity hearing and fulfilling all their requests. After all, he certainly had the right hands for the task.