Image of a dog in neolithic art of China

The article deals with the image of a dog in Neolithic art of China. By the time of the Middle Neolithic a dog not only became an economically important animal, but also began to play a significant role in the worldview of the ancient population of the territory of China. Dogs’ remains from the sites of Neolithic cultures in the territory of China prove the existence of ritual use of these animals. The main categories of findings include burials of dogs in human tombs, sacrificial pits, ash-pits etc. Burials of dogs in human tombs were found at several sites belonging to different Neolithic cultures. No fewer than 64 tombs with dog burials (whole skeletons or parts of bodies - skulls, mandibles etc.) at 17 archaeological sites are known so far. Dog burials in sacrificial pits and ash-pits were found at 24 sites. Most of these burials were located at cemeteries or near them. At three sites (Jiahu, Longqiuzhuang, Wangyin) burials of dogs were found inside buildings. It can therefore be concluded that in the Middle Neolithic period three main types of the usage of dogs in rituals - accompanying burials, sacrifices connected with mortuary practices and building sacrifice - were formed and spread over the territory of China. However a small amount of dog’s images in Chinese Neolithic art is known up to the present moment. It includes a painting on the surface of a Yangshao pottery vessel, a dog-shaped pottery vessel (Dawenkou culture), a relief figure of a dog on the fragment of a pottery vessel (Hemudu culture) and numerous small-sized clay sculptures of dogs found at the sites of Shijiahe culture. Our research mainly concentrates on the interpretation of complex compositions of painted pottery and mass findings of clay figurines. The painting on the late Yangshao (3 500-2 900 BC) vessel found at Dadiwan site (Qing’an County, Gansu Province) depicts the scenes of fighting between two pairs of dogs. In the center of one of the compositions there is a fish (which can be the reason of fight). The fish whose image is rather common for Yangshao painted pottery can mark the whole scene as taking place in the underworld. Another possible interpretation is that the dogs stand as the mediators on the border of two worlds. Both explanations correspond to the archaeological materials of Yangshao culture community. Small clay figurines of dogs found at Dengjiawan site (Tianmen County, Hubei Province) are numerous and multifarious. Dogs are depicted in various attitudes: standing, sitting, lying, dogs with bones in chaps, adult dogs with puppies etc. There are also some figurines of humans stroking dogs. Analogies to dogs’ figurines from Dengjiawan can be found in contemporary folk crafts of China that prove the stability of ritual practices in traditional culture.