A 3,700-Year-Old Dragon-Shaped Artifact Made from Over 2,000 Pieces of Turquoise Identified as the Oldest Dragon Totem in China.
The ancient artifact was discovered at the Erlitou archaeological site in Yanshi City, Henan Province. Many Chinese scholars believe that Erlitou was the capital of the Xia Dynasty (2100 – 1600 BC) – the first dynasty in China.
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The totem resembles a python and is made from over 2,000 pieces of turquoise. |
“Some dragon-shaped artifacts older than the one from Erlitou have been found elsewhere, such as a 7,000-year-old jade statue of a dragon with a pig’s head and fierce snout discovered in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, but they do not have any direct connection to the ancient civilization originating from the Central Plains,” said archaeologist Du Jinpeng.
“Only the dragon found at Erlitou has a direct connection to the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, forming a continuous lineage,” Du, a researcher at the Archaeological Institute, stated. “Therefore, the dragon statue from Erlitou is the direct ancestral source of the dragon totem of the Chinese people.”
The dragon totem, measuring 70.2 cm in length, resembles a python. It is constructed from over 2,000 pieces of turquoise, each piece only 0.1 cm thick and ranging from 0.2 to 0.9 cm in length.
“It is extremely rare to find such an exquisite dragon-shaped artifact from that era. It carries profound historical, artistic, and scientific value,” Du noted.
Xu Hong, the discoverer of the dragon totem, stated that the piece was excavated from the grave of an official in the Erlitou palace. The turquoise statue was found located between the shoulders and pelvis of the deceased.
Du Jinpeng suggested that the totem could have been attached to a scepter used in sacrificial rituals. The remains in the tomb may belong to an official presiding over the ceremonies.
Images of dragons have also been found in other areas, such as on pottery and a bronze plate at Erlitou. Some dragons appear snake-like, while others resemble the modern depiction of dragons with bird claws and fish fins.
Experts believe that the ancient Chinese people began to form during this period, with Erlitou as the center. All dragon-shaped artifacts have been discovered in the palace area.
“This indicates that the dragon became a symbol of power and royal status during that time, and this concept has been passed down through generations in China’s thousands of years of history,” Du concluded.
