The owl is one of the regular shapes of bronze ritual vessels used during the Shang Dynasty and the Chou Dynasty. It was the most important bird in their iconography. In many shamanic traditions the owl represents wisdom. Greek mythology, for example, continued that tradition in the form of Athena to whom the owl was sacred, but Chinese mythology did not. Many times the owl appears in ancient Chinese art in association with death. Professor Hugo Munsterberg in his Symbolism in Ancient Chinese Art thinks the owl was "the protector of the beloved dead in the darkness of the grave." Later, Chinese mythology gave the owl a negative meaning. The owl became a fearsome creature whose cry is still thought to be the harbinger of death. Typically used to hold a fermented ritual beverage (zun).