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This article discusses seven painted anthropomorphic representations at the Maloarbatskaya rock art site and Malaya Syya site, belonging to the early pictorial tradition of the Okunevo culture (late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BC), which were studied in 2025 by the Khakass Team of the Minusinsk Petroglyph Expedition from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS. All representations were masks rendered in a stylized manner in red paint. Five images (section 1, surfaces No. 4, 17, 25, 27, 31) were found at the Maloarbatskaya rock art site (Tashtyp District, Republic of Khakassia). Two masks were discovered at the Malaya Syya site (Shira District, Republic of Khakassia). Typical features of the paintings included dotted eyes, horizontal mouth line, and minor additions of arcs or strokes. In two objects (surfaces No. 27 and 31) at the Maloarbatskaya rock art site, the mouth and eyes were outlined with ovals. Stylistically, all these paintings can be attributed to the pictorial traditions of the Early Okunevo period (Uybat, Early Dzhoy traditions). Raman spectroscopy of paint composition in one mask at the Maloarbatskaya rock art site and one painting at the Malaya Syya site revealed hematite-containing raw materials (hematite, ocher) as mineral basis for the paints. The paint which was used for creating one mask at the Malaya Syya site contained admixture of calcium sulfate (probably gypsum), which could have served as color regulator. The use of multicomponent paints testifies to highly developed tradition of producing and using paints in the Okunevo culture, which is manifested by numerous finds of pigments on steles, portable art, pottery, and in burials dated to that period.
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