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The Dragon in Ancient China
Dragons appear in the mythology of many ancient cultures but nowhere else in the world was the creature quite so revered as in China. There, in marked contrast to other world mythologies, the dragon was almost always seen in a positive light...
Definition
Chinese Writing
Ancient Chinese writing evolved from the practice of divination during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). Some theories suggest that images and markings on pottery shards found at Ban Po Village are evidence of an early writing system but...
Definition
Ancient Chinese Calligraphy
Calligraphy established itself as the most important ancient Chinese art form alongside painting, first coming to the fore during the Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE). All educated men and some court women were expected to be proficient at...
Definition
Ancient Chinese Art
Ancient China covered a vast and ever-changing geopolitical landscape, and the art it produced over three millennia is, unsurprisingly, just as varied. Still, despite continuous indigenous technical developments, changes in materials and...
Definition
Oracle Bones
Oracle Bones (also known as Dragon's Bones) were the shoulder blades of oxen or plastrons of turtles (the flat underside of the turtle's shell) which were used in the Shang Dynasty of China (c. 1600-1046 BCE) for divination. The symbols carved...
Article
Rock Art History of Madhya Pradesh: Adamgarh & Nagori
Rock art, that is paintings and carvings on natural rock formations, is one of the earliest forms of creative expression and a universal phenomenon among prehistoric societies. An instrument of communication rather than simply art, it is...
Definition
Ancient Chinese Philosophy
The term Ancient Chinese Philosophy refers to the belief systems developed by various philosophers during the era known as the Hundred Schools of Thought when these thinkers formed their own schools during the Spring and Autumn Period (c...
Article
Rock Drawings of Valcamonica
The rock drawings of Valcamonica are prehistoric petroglyphs carved in the glacier-polished, grey-purple Permian sandstone of the Camonica valley that extends for 90 km in the Italian provinces of Brescia and Bergamo in Lombardy. The name...
Definition
Uluru
Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock and pronounced: ool-or-roo) is a large natural sandstone rock formation located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It stands at a massive 348 meters tall and measures a lengthy 9.4 km in width. The sandstone...
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Black Rock with Family
Sioux: Black Rock with family, painting by George Catlin, 1854.
Ethnological Museum, Berlin.