Ancient rock painting identified in north China grassland

HOHHOT -- A rock painting discovered in 2021 in the Hulun Buir grassland in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region has been identified as an ochre rock painting recently, according to local researchers.

The find marks the first time that a rock painting has been identified in the Hulun Buir grassland area.

Ochre rock paintings are paintings drawn on rocks with red mineral pigments. Experts found that the painting could date back about 2,500 to 3,000 years.

The painting is located on a single rock covering an area of about 1,000 square meters. The painted surface is flat and square, with clear edges. The surface seems to have been deliberately shaped for the purpose.

The rock painting is about 180 centimeters tall and is positioned about 150 cm above the ground.

The images were drawn simply using sketching lines and consist of human forms holding hands, as well as solid dots.

There are 23 human-shaped lines visible to the naked eye, which are arranged in three rows -- upper, middle and lower -- with the rows containing two, six and 15 human-shaped patterns, respectively. There are also several rows of solid dots lined up between the middle and lower rows, and below the lower row.

Experts believe that the discovery has high academic value for the distribution of prehistoric cultures in Northeast Asia, and has reference value for the study of the communication and transmission routes of Eurasian civilizations.