UDC 903.26 A. M. Zhulnikov 1, E. A. Kashina 2 1 Petrozavodsk State University 33 Lenin Ave., Petrozavodsk, 185910, Karelia, Russia E-mail: wigwam@karelia.ru 2 State Historical Museum Krasnaya pl., 1, Moscow, 109012, Russia E-mail: eakashina@mail.ru The paper examines the so-called elk-headed wands - L-shaped carved objects with a moose head top and their images in rock art of the Late Mesolithic - Early Metal era. The morphology, geographical location, chronology, and archaeological context of these items are analyzed. They were sacred objects that were used in the ritual of mature and elderly men. Semantically, these things were probably ambiguous. They could be connected with the idea of both fertility and the correlation of maturity and old age with the autumn-winter season. "Mooseheaded wands" on petroglyphs refer to images of magical objects that embody the symbolism of the Universe. Key words: Mesolithic-Neolithic-Eneolithic, carvings and rock carvings, elk, reindeer. Introduction Items with a finial in the form of an elk/deer head and their images in rock art are of considerable interest in terms of reconstructing the worldview of the ancient inhabitants of the north of Eurasia and studying the social structure of primitive collectives of the Mesolithic - Neolithic - Early metal eras. The colossal time of the existence of the "elk-headed wands" (VI - second half of the II millennium BC) and their rock carvings (VI-III millennium BC), the extensive territorial distribution (from the Trans-Urals to Northern Europe), undoubtedly reflect a certain ideological community of carriers of a number of archaeological cultures of the forest zone of Eurasia (Stolyar, 1983 Studzitskaya, 1997]. Both varieties of" mooseheaded wands", which have repeatedly attracted the attention of researchers, require additional study. So, carvings vary greatly in size and shape features, so it is necessary to conduct their morphological analysis. You should also consider fragmented subject ... Read more