新石器时代环形饰品研究

THE RESEARCHES ON THE ANNULAR ORNAMENTS OF NEOLITHIC AGE

装饰品起源于旧石器时代，即使人们还在为生存与大自然搏斗的艰苦时代，他们也没有忘记用动物骨骼、贝壳、石头等信手拈来的材料做成装饰品。提起腕臂环饰，也许首先想到的是晶莹的水晶或各色美玉，而那些曾流行于距今7000年前的新石器时代，用泥土或蚌骨制作的腕臂环饰则不为人们所关注。制作陶器使人类走出了茹毛饮血的时代，人们在关注自身生存的同时，

As one type of the ornaments in various types and forms,annular ornaments showed strong diversity in quantities,materials and wearing customs.In this paper,the annular ornaments unearthed from over 150 Neolithic sites distributed in six regions are collected and analyzed.Firstly,the changes of materials and types along with the time and space and the distribution in the burials and sites of these annular ornaments are subject to quantitative analysis.Secondly,through the observation to the wearing positions and the measuring of the diameters of the annular ornaments,the similarities and differences of the wearing methods and the genders and ages of the wearers in these regions are compared and the social rites and etiquettes,ornament wearing customs and social cultural backgrounds reflected by the results of these comparisons were stated.The pottery rings,a type of annular ornaments peculiar to the Neolithic Age,were widely distributed and unearthed in large amounts and diversified forms;moreover,the special discovering positions — not in burials as grave goods or body ornaments of the dead — implied their special natures different from that of rings made of jade,stone,bone,shell,etc.This fact might reflect that the pottery rings had nothing to do with the ritual activities showing statuses.The ritual activities of the ornament wearers usually corresponded to their social statuses when they were alive;however,the large amounts of jade or stone rings unearthed from the tombs were not worn on the wrists but placed at the shoulders,abdomens and/or heads of the tomb occupants.These annular ornaments which were out of body ornamenting functions had strong ritual nature,and their materials and quantities were decided by the statuses and positions of their owners as other ritual implements.In this situation,these rings played a social role of symbolizing ritual activities.On the contrary,the pottery rings were suitable for the women and children to wear,and they could be made into many beautiful and variable types,so their functions may be pure body ornamenting.