One of the world’s earliest carvings conveying human sexuality shows bisexuality was normal, even over 3,000 years ago The Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs, rock carvings found in a remote region in northwest China, show a fertility ritual.
Archaeologist Wang Binghua discovered the symbols in the late 1980s, but little has been written about them. In a new report from Mary Mycio, the carvings show 100 figures which abstractly depicts different ways of expressing sexuality.
While carvings have been found dating back over 20,000 years, these petroglyphs are probably the most explicit and intricate. Mycio writes: ‘The few scholars who have studied the petroglyphs think that the larger-than-life hourglass figures that begin the tableau symbolize females. They have stylized triangular torsos, shapely hips and legs, and they wear conical headdresses with wispy decorations. ‘Male images are smaller triangles with stick legs and bare heads. Ithyphallic is archeology-talk for “erect penis,” and nearly all of the males have one. ‘A third set of figures appear to be bisexual. Combining elements of males and females, they are ithyphallic but wear female headwear, a decoration on the chest, and sometimes a mask. They might be shamans. Read on…
