A Study Of Prehistoric Anthropomorphic Figurines In The Gansu And Qinghai Region

Anthropomorphic figurines unearthed in the Gansu and Qinghai region are not large in number but unique in style.In this paper,I divide them into five categories according to the position of the objects.There is a clear evolution with three development phases.Each phase reflects its own style of portraits,morphology and characteristics.Comparing those in the Gansu and Qinghai region with anthropomorphic figurines in the middle reaches of the Yellow River,Northeast China,Central Asia,the Mesopotamia region,the lower and middle reaches of the Danube.we find that there are many similar characteristics in the aspects of modeling features,the of personage and objects,the decoration of objects and so on.In the first stage,anthropomorphic figurines in the Gansu and Qinghai region were influenced by the techniques of making figures on pottery in Central China and Northeast China,while factors of cultural with Central Asia and the Near East were more important in the second and third periods.After analyzing the unearthed situation of anthropomorphic figurines and ethnological materials,it is found that the anthropomorphic figurines of the Gansu and Qinghai region has the cultural connotation of reproduction,high yield worship and religious witchcraft,which fully reflects prehistoric human beliefs and living conditions.