Ritual Landscapes in Prehistoric China

Summary

In China, rock art is often found in areas considered peripheral to the so-called cradle of Chinese civilization. However, its patterns of landscape and space use are not remarkably different from those of established religions or political institutions whose artistic production in the landscape is generally not understood as “rock art”. Historic Taoist or Buddhist rock carvings and Confucian cliff inscriptions are also associated with travel routes (land, sea or river) or remarkable landscape features (mountains, cliffs, shores) that have acquired religious or political significance. An analysis of these sites will show that the creation of religious landscapes follows similar patterns in all this cultural manifestations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Rock Art and Sacred Spaces: Recent Approaches to the Study of Ritual Landscapes

Keywords

Spatial Coverage