Hongshan Dynasty Large Zoomorphic Mask
(4700 – 2900 BCE)

This large Hongshan Mask was likely used in a burial ritual. Hongshan culture, also spelled Hung-shan culture, (c. 4000–3000 BCE) is a prehistoric, Neolithic culture of northern China in the Liao river basin. Hongshan sites have been found in an area extending all the way from Inner Mongolia to Liaoning and dating from about 4700 to 2900 BCE. Hongshan burial artifacts include some of the earliest known examples of jade working. The Hongshan societies of northeastern China are among East Asia’s earliest complex societies, and they have been known largely from elaborate burials with carved jades in ceremonial platforms.

Please see this academic article “Hongshan chiefly communities in Neolithic northeastern China” for more information regarding the Hongshan culture: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/13/5756