4,000-YEAR-OLD ROCK ART DEPICTING DANCING TRIBE CELEBRATING BIRTH DISCOVERED IN CHINA

[Judi Lynn]

4,000-YEAR-OLD ROCK ART DEPICTING DANCING TRIBE CELEBRATING BIRTH DISCOVERED IN CHINA
BY KATHERINE HIGNETT ON 4/2/19 AT 10:54 AM EDT

Archaeologists have discovered a number of rock carvings on a giant boulder in Alxa Right Banner, Inner Mongolia.

Markings on one side of the rock depict dancing human figures holding hands. On the other side, three human figures are displayed in a row. According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, researchers think the artworks are around 4,000 years old.

Link to tweet

But Chinese rock art expert Paola Dematte, from the Rhode Island School of Design, told Newsweek the markings were unlikely to be as old as researchers reported. Although she has not seen the artworks in person, she said: "They are petroglyphs like many others in Inn Mong... It is difficult to be certain but they seem much later than the date proposed."

Archaeologists speculated the images might honor new life. "These well-preserved paintings depict a tribe celebrating the birth of a child," Wu Yi, who is from the local cultural relics bureau, told Xinhua. "They record the ancient tribes' reverence for the prosperity and circle of life."

More:
https://www.newsweek.com/rock-art-ancient-china-tribe-painting-archaeology-1383276?piano_t=1