Human blood may have helped preserve ancient Chinese rock art for 2,000 years
The Huashan rock art landscape in southern China, close to the border with Vietnam, is a remarkable UNESCO World Heritage site. Thousands of images are painted on river cliffs across more than 80 locations stretching 260 kilometers (162 miles). They depict people, musical instruments, boats, animals, weapons and many other figures, and date back at least 2,000 years.
The Huashan rock art landscape in southern China, near the Vietnam border, is a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring thousands of ancient paintings on river cliffs. These images, dating back over 2,000 years, depict various figures and date back to the Luoyue people, a matriarchal society. A new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science suggests that the paint's longevity may be due to a lime mortar binder mixed with blood.
The research team collected rock fragments from three sites, used microscopy and spectroscopy to analyze the paint layers, and found that red pigment came from local iron oxide-rich clay encapsulated in a lime-based mortar containing blood-derived proteins. The study suggests that blood may have served both practical and symbolic purposes, potentially indicating life and renewal in the community's worship of female fertility.
This new research challenges the traditional view of these ancient artists as primarily labor-intensive, highlighting the complex technological processes involved in creating the prehistoric rock art.
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