For the first time, the Great Shaman and Shaman Drum Petroglyphs with royal properties were discovered in Daxing'anling

Recently, researchers of Daxing'anling petroglyphs have restored a petroglyph site in Daxing'anling through digital technology, and for the first time discovered the great shaman and shaman drum petroglyphs with royal properties.

The petroglyph site is located on the steep stone wall of the secondary terrace by the river, about 60-200 cm high from the ground, with an area of about 30 square meters, and only more than 50 single petroglyphs can be recognized by the naked eye, and the number of individuals after restoration exceeds more than 1,000 singles, which is the largest number of single petroglyph sites found in Daxing'anling.

The main body of the petroglyph is a large shaman with a hat ornament (or feather ornament) with two thick horns on the head, with a strong and burly body, different from hundreds of other humanoid petroglyphs, with parallel and slightly drooping arms, legs naturally separated, and a huge genitalia in the middle of the legs (or tail ornaments, Daxinganling petroglyphs are generally understood as male genitalia, different from females); To the right of the Great Shaman is a circular shamanic drum that conforms to the size of its body, above which is an upright animal, interestingly holding aloft a drumstick with a branch in the middle of a top ellipse; Underneath the shaman's drum is a square altar in a mottled form; To the left of the Great Shaman is an abstract and incomplete figure in the form of a dancing maniac. The petroglyph is located at the top of the overall petroglyph, and below it are arranged more than 1,000 single rock paintings showing fishing and hunting, intercourse, war, dance and other social forms, implying that the great shaman is supreme in this tribe, and the great shaman already has the privilege of tribal leader or "king", showing that the society at that time already had royal rule.

The daxinganling petroglyphs are closely related to the origin of the early forms of religion, and the creation and function of petroglyph images are included in the religious (ritual) activities of prehistoric human groups. Shamanism belongs to the original religion, is the representative of the spiritual culture of the clan tribes in the Heilongjiang River Basin, and the shamanism believed in by the peoples in the big forest has distinct regional characteristics, no organization, no doctrine, no fixed temple, no special clergy, worship of animism, it maintains the solemnity of religion and the simplicity of human childhood culture. Legends about shamans, shamanic lyrics, shamans' dances, shamans' costumes, sacred drums, magic tools, etc., have high research value in the history and culture of Daxinganling.