The prehistoric cliff paintings discovered in northwestern China
may be a medium of primitive language and an origin of picture
writing, experts have said.
The cliff painting discovered in Damaidi in Zhongwei County,
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, was made by ancients with the
purpose of communication, instead of entertaining themselves with
drawings, argued Zhou Xinghua, member of the International Cliff
Painting Committee and former curator of the Ningxia Autonomous
Regional Museum.
Damaidi, located at the Weining North Mountain on the northern
bank of the Yellow River, boasts 8,532 cliff carvings in a 15-sq-km
area, according to Zhou. The density of figures carved in the area
was rarely seen elsewhere.
The earliest cliff carvings in Damaidi can be traced back 20,000
to 30,000 years, he said.
The carvings feature the sun, moon, stars, rivers, mountain
rocks, trees, flowers, more than 20 animal species and vivid human
figures such as hunters, herdsmen, warriors and wizards.
There are also more than 100 kinds of carvings featuring human and
animal heads and footprints and dozens of utensils used commonly in
construction, production and daily life, and weaponry.
A large number of carvings portray celestial bodies, hunting,
sacrificial services, domestic animal raising, grazing, war and
other activities.
Archaeologists also found that a prehistoric "Venus" carving on
the cliff, a stone-carved figure of a nude woman, dates from the
late Paleolithic period. Similar carvings have been discovered in
Greece and Austria.
Zhou Xinghua said Damaidi cliff carvings, recording the thinking
and attitudes of prehistoric people, primitive beliefs, ancient
social life and events, are effectively the picture language of
ancient people.
(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2006)
