Rock paintings reveal how prehistoric life was lived
Print Edition
How did prehistoric humans express their feelings? An answer can be found in more than 20,000 rock paintings at Helan Mountain in northwest China.
One of the rocks at the scenic spot in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is carved with two goats beside an enclosure by a road.
“The rock painting sends us a message that our ancestors started phasing out the nomadic lifestyle and settled down to keep animals,” said Wu Lige, a Helan Mountain guide.
On a wall 20 meters above the ground, there’s a painting known as “God of the Sun.”
With its round face, radial lines surrounding the head, and piercing eyes, the “God” looks mighty and penetrating. “In ancient times, people owed their bumper harvests to the gods. The importance of the sun outweighed all the others. Thus, they worshiped the sun and personified it as the way it looks on the rock,” said Li Xiangshi, honorary president of the Chinese rock art society.
Helan Mountain’s paintings depict herding, hunting, sacrificial rites and the lives of the people who lived 3,000 to 10,000 years ago.
Images of animals dominate, followed by humans, vehicles, plants, planets, fingerprints and abstract signs.
One painting shows two hand prints.
A goat faces the larger print on the right and lowers its head.
Researchers believe the painting is a contract. The hand prints represent two tribes. The right tribe conquers the left one, therefore the livestock belong to the tribe on the right.
“Rock paintings are an encyclopaedia carved in the hills,” Li said.
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