Scattered across the meadows of northern Mongolia and southern Siberia are hundreds of megaliths bearing mysterious designs that seem to depict flying deer. Known as deer stones, these vertical slabs of stone from 90 centimeters to 4.5 meters high are arranged in small groups. In total, there are about 900 deer stones in Central Asia and Southern Siberia, of which 700 are in Mongolia alone. These monuments are believed to have been erected by the nomads of the Bronze Age, about 3000 years ago.
Deer stones are usually made of granite or jade, depending on which material is more common in the area. Deer feature prominently in almost all of the deer stones. The earliest stones have very simple images of deer, but over time, the drawings have become more detailed. The difference of 500 years results in complex images of flying deer.
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