On crescent-shaped objects of the early Bronze Age in southern Siberia and the surrounding areas
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Peng Wang
Abstract
Crescent-shaped objects are a special type of artifact commonly found among early Bronze Age archaeological cultures in southern Siberia and the surrounding areas. Based on typology, burial context, and accompanying assemblages, in addition to related iconographic evidence, this study shows that these crescent-shaped objects, in the form of single or double birds, were religious representations once suspended from sacred attire. Crescent-shaped objects in southern Siberia and the surrounding areas might have originated in the Baikal region during the first half of the third millennium BCE, and likely began to influence regions of northern China toward the end of the third or the beginning of the second millennium BCE.
Postscript
The original article 论南西伯利亚及周边地区青铜时代早期的“ 月形器” was published in Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) 2022.3:69–82 with 13 figures and 68 notes. This abbreviated English version, translated by Catrin Kost 金秋月, has removed the notes.
Further readings
Esin, Yu. N. Есин Ю. Н. 2009. Drevnee iskusstvo Sibiri: samus’skaya kultura Древнее искусство Сибири: самусьская культура (Ancient art of Siberia: Samus culture). Tomsk. pp. 123–133.Search in Google Scholar
Guo, Shuyun 郭淑云. 2001. Yuanshi huotai wenhua: Shaman jiao toushi 原始活态文化: 萨满教透视 (Primitive living culture: a perspective on shamanism). Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe.Search in Google Scholar
Molodin, V.I. Молодин В. И. 2013. Каменные “луновидные” п од в е с к и в н е п о т р е в о ж е н н ы х п о г р е б а л ь н ы х комплексах кротовской культуры (Stone “moon-shaped” pendants in undisturbed burial complexes of the Krotov culture, Western Siberia). In Monumentum Gregorianum Сборник научных статей памяти академика Григория М а кс и м о в и ч а Б о н г а р д - Л е в и н а (Mon u me n tu m Gregorianum. Collection of articles in memory of academician Grigory Maksimovich Bongard-Levin). Moscow: Granitsa. pp. 135–153.Search in Google Scholar
© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Piluo Paleolithic site in Daocheng, Sichuan
- The Huangshan Neolithic site in Nanyang, Henan
- The sacrificial area at the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan
- The Guozishan Warring States tomb M1 in Zhangshu, Jiangxi
- The 2021 excavation on the Zhengjiahu cemetery in Yunmeng, Hubei
- Tang dynasty Tuyuhun royal tombs in Wuwei, Gansu
- Reports
- The excavation of M793 at Liujiazhuang North in Yinxu, Anyang, Henan
- The 2015–2019 excavation of the bronze foundry site at the Huanbei Shang City in Anyang, Henan
- Research
- The Lushanmao site and the formation of the Xitu type architectural tradition
- Archaeological observations on agro-pastoralist integration in south-central Inner Mongolia during the Eastern Zhou
- On crescent-shaped objects of the early Bronze Age in southern Siberia and the surrounding areas
- Further discussion on the origins of horse stirrups
- Research on the pottery decorations and manufacturing techniques of the Houtaomuga Phase I culture
- Scientific examination and study of the Qijia culture bronze artifacts from Mogou site in Lintan, Gansu
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Piluo Paleolithic site in Daocheng, Sichuan
- The Huangshan Neolithic site in Nanyang, Henan
- The sacrificial area at the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan
- The Guozishan Warring States tomb M1 in Zhangshu, Jiangxi
- The 2021 excavation on the Zhengjiahu cemetery in Yunmeng, Hubei
- Tang dynasty Tuyuhun royal tombs in Wuwei, Gansu
- Reports
- The excavation of M793 at Liujiazhuang North in Yinxu, Anyang, Henan
- The 2015–2019 excavation of the bronze foundry site at the Huanbei Shang City in Anyang, Henan
- Research
- The Lushanmao site and the formation of the Xitu type architectural tradition
- Archaeological observations on agro-pastoralist integration in south-central Inner Mongolia during the Eastern Zhou
- On crescent-shaped objects of the early Bronze Age in southern Siberia and the surrounding areas
- Further discussion on the origins of horse stirrups
- Research on the pottery decorations and manufacturing techniques of the Houtaomuga Phase I culture
- Scientific examination and study of the Qijia culture bronze artifacts from Mogou site in Lintan, Gansu
