二里头遗址新见神灵及动物形象的复原和初步认识

Preliminary Discussion and Reconstruction of Newly Discovered Imaginary Zoomorphic Iconography from the Erlitou Site

河南偃师二里头遗址经过60余年的田野工作,出土了丰富的考古遗存。1999年,公布该遗址1959~1978年考古发掘资料的考古报告出版,集中发表了一批刻饰神灵和动物形象的陶器资料[1],笔者曾对其中的15个形象做了初步复原,并以此探讨了夏人的神灵崇拜等问题[2]。

Representations of high feather headdresses,animal masks,dragons/serpents,and other imaginary animals are found on dozens of objects unearthed from the Erlitou site.The high feather headdress motif indicates a connection to preceding cultural and artistic traditions.Throughout the Erlitou period,the animal mask motif was the forerunner to the taotie motif of the Shang and Zhou dynasties.The dragon was the paramount spirit worshipped by the Xia people.This artistic tradition,as one important component of early Chinese cultural traditions,comes into being no later than the Xia period.The Shang artistic tradition formed on the basis of Xia artistic traditions,with a great emphasis on the taotie motif.