These remarkable images show some of the earliest known examples of what we these days might dub pornography. The Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs, in Xinjiang, north-west China, depict an intense fertility ritual the likes of which is almost unique in the ancient world. That's because while most prehistoric art presents images that are abstract and disembodied, this tableau appears to explicitly present our sex-crazed ancestors in the midst of a wild orgy. Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs: The first scene shows nine massive females, each about two metres high, dancing arond in a circle, while a second transexual figure on the left is partially reclining as if about to fall into a trance . The petroglyphs - thought to date back to the second millennium BC, although their exact age is difficult to determine - were discovered in the late Eighties by Chinese archaeologist Wang Binghua. Jeannine Davis-Kimball, an expert on Eurasian nomads, was the first Westerner to see them and detail them in scientific journals. Nevertheless they remain little known. One of her descriptions of the tableau is featured on the website of the Center for the Study of Eurasian Nomads, where she is currently executive director. The Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs are . carved in bas-relief in a sheltered grotto, at the base of a massive . red-basalt outcrop in Tien Shan, about 45 miles west of Urumchi, the . capital of Xinjiang province. The . cast of about 100 figures, which range in size from more than nine feet . tall to just a few inches, are taking part in what is obviously a . fertility ritual. Almost all . are depicted in the same ceremonial pose, in which their arms are held . out and bent at the elbows with one hand pointing up and the other . pointing down. Location: The petroglyphs are carved in bas-relief in a sheltered grotto at the base of this red-basalt outcrop in Tien Shan, in Xinjiang, west China . 'In addition, human figures, floating heads, meandering dogs, static felines, and heraldic animals fill voids,' Dr Davis-Kimball writes. 'To the ancients each image most surely represented some aspect of the ritual.' It is believed that the larger-than-life hourglass figures that begin the tableau represent females, with their stylised triangular torsos, and shapely hips and legs. These figures wear conical headdresses with wispy decorations. Males, on the other hand, are depicted as smaller triangles with spindly stick legs, bare heads and mainly erect penises - dubbed 'ithyphallic' in archaeology speak. Many of the figures appear to depict transexuals combining both male and female features. Ithyphallic but wearing female headgear and chest decorations, they sometimes also wear masks and may depict shamans. 'In general, the figures are represented in a dance so intense that some have fallen into a trance or state of ecstasy,' writes Dr Davis-Kimball. 'Others are about to engage in sexual intercourse with the obvious intent of procreation as small embryonic images evoking chorus lines emphasise the significance of this act. 'The various animals add notes of ambiguity, yet provide additional clues to place the tableau in time and space and provide some historical basis.' She distinguishes eight separate scenes in the tableau, four of which are fully formed and the remainder of which appear to be sketches. Sex crazed: The second scene of the petroglyphs. It is believed that the larger-than-life hourglass figures that begin the tableau represent females, with their stylised triangular torsos, and shapely hips and legs . The first scene shows nine massive . females, each about two metres high, dancing arond in a circle, while a . second transexual figure on the left is partially reclining as if about . to fall into a trance. A 12-inch rock carving discovered in a cave in central Brazil is now the earliest-known art in the Americas. And with a phallus nearly as big as his arm, 'little horny man' is also testament that man was fascinated with his genitals even 11,000 years ago. The archaeologists who found the stick figure carving believe it is linked to a fertility ritual of the early residents of the region. They believe it could help shine light on exactly when prehistoric humans migrated to the New World. The carving was found in 2009 in Lapa do Santo -- a massive rock shelter where researchers from the University of São Paulo in Brazil had already dug up human bones, tools, ash from hearth and the ancient remainders of meals of fruit and small animals, according to Live Science magazine. The carving has been dated as being 9,000 to 12,000 years old. It is the only scene withoug ithyphallic men, although the transexual featured does have an erect penis. 'It . wears a female headdress with antenna and a “bra” ...' writes Dr . Davis-Kimball. 'Although its torso and legs are stylized as the male and . it is ithyphallic. 'Both arms, raised over its shoulders, have deviated from the normal dancing position. 'To complete the scene a single human head and two pairs of heraldic animals, probably goats — one pair markedly ithyphallic — are interspaced between the female dancers.' It is the second scene identified by Dr Davis-Kimball that appears to show the wildest orgy of all. In it sixteen figures - 10 female and six male - look set to begin having sex, with one particularly unusual one on the left wearing a monkey mask and probably representing a shaman. 'As it is ithyphallic it is also a bi-sexual representation and it appears that it about to copulate with a small female with splayed legs whose vulva is explicit,' she writes. Next to it is a headless male who looks like he's trying to have sex with another transexual figure. At the centre of the scene is another prominent transexual figure who appears about to have sex with a smaller female with splayed legs, whose private parts are quite explicitly rendered. Another large female figure seems to have two heads, and is positioned in the foreground as if leading the dance. Dr Davis-Kimball describes how it is stained stained red, 'perhaps suggesting heat'. Nearby, below the figure wearing the monkey mask, are a pair of ithyphallic striped feline animals surrounded by three bows which appear to have arrows which are about to be discharged. The third scene is smaller more . crudely rendered, containing nine figures, three female and six male, . all apparently about to have sex. Dr . Davis-Kimball identifies two images which stand out. 'First, the male . at the left with testicles and grossly exaggerated penis attempts to . mate with the second important figure, the adjacent female,' she writes. To this female’s left are three more males eager for their turn to have sex with her. Dr . Davis-Kimball adds: 'In this scene the importance of progeny is . emphasized with the portrayal of two rows of small anthropomorphic . figures.' The third scene: Many of the figures appear to depict transexuals combining both male and female features. Ithyphallic but wearing female headgear and chest decorations, they may depict shamans . Ancient: The final scene, which appears according to one writer 'a lot like a frat party'. It shows 14 characters, seven of which have erect penises, apparently in the midst of a frenzied dance . The final scene contains no obviously female figures at all, and one writer for Slate described it as looking 'a lot like a frat party'. It shows 14 characters, seven of which have erect penises, apparently in the midst of a frenzied dance. How they look in situ: Almost all the figures are depicted in the same ceremonial pose, with arms held out and bent at the elbows . Near the bottom is a single male, who appears to masturbating alone with a stream of babies emanating from his penis. Curiously for their location, all the figures presented in the Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs appear to be Caucasoid, which fits in with other evidence which suggested the residents of this region of what is now China were nomads with European characteristics. Dr Davis-Kimball believes the tableau was probably some kind of storyboard for groups of cultic leaders that was used until about 850BC. '[This] interpretation of the tableau is reasonable as follows,' she writes. 'Many personages are represented, with about half being female (priestesses) and the other half being males (priests). 'Slightly more than half the males had assumed a bisexual gender role, being ithyphallic and cross-dressing as priestesses with high headdresses. 'All these personages are engaged in a ritual fertility/procreation dance with some engaged in symbolic copulation that would result in procreation. 'Lines of tiny images are, figuratively, the resulting progeny.' If she is correct, that makes ancient pornography rather more meaningful than today's. Where to find the Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs .
The Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs depict of an intense fertility ritual .
Uniquely for the ancient world, they explicitly show a wild orgy .
They are thought to date back to the second century BC .
These remarkable images show some of the earliest known examples of what we these days might dub pornography. The Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs, in Xinjiang, north-west China, depict an intense fertility ritual the likes of which is almost unique in the ancient world. That's because while most prehistoric art presents images that are abstract and disembodied, this tableau appears to explicitly present our sex-crazed ancestors in the midst of a wild orgy. Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs: The first scene shows nine massive females, each about two metres high, dancing arond in a circle, while a second transexual figure on the left is partially reclining as if about to fall into a trance . The petroglyphs - thought to date back to the second millennium BC, although their exact age is difficult to determine - were discovered in the late Eighties by Chinese archaeologist Wang Binghua. Jeannine Davis-Kimball, an expert on Eurasian nomads, was the first Westerner to see them and detail them in scientific journals. Nevertheless they remain little known. One of her descriptions of the tableau is featured on the website of the Center for the Study of Eurasian Nomads, where she is currently executive director. The Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs are . carved in bas-relief in a sheltered grotto, at the base of a massive . red-basalt outcrop in Tien Shan, about 45 miles west of Urumchi, the . capital of Xinjiang province. The . cast of about 100 figures, which range in size from more than nine feet . tall to just a few inches, are taking part in what is obviously a . fertility ritual. Almost all . are depicted in the same ceremonial pose, in which their arms are held . out and bent at the elbows with one hand pointing up and the other . pointing down. Location: The petroglyphs are carved in bas-relief in a sheltered grotto at the base of this red-basalt outcrop in Tien Shan, in Xinjiang, west China . 'In addition, human figures, floating heads, meandering dogs, static felines, and heraldic animals fill voids,' Dr Davis-Kimball writes. 'To the ancients each image most surely represented some aspect of the ritual.' It is believed that the larger-than-life hourglass figures that begin the tableau represent females, with their stylised triangular torsos, and shapely hips and legs. These figures wear conical headdresses with wispy decorations. Males, on the other hand, are depicted as smaller triangles with spindly stick legs, bare heads and mainly erect penises - dubbed 'ithyphallic' in archaeology speak. Many of the figures appear to depict transexuals combining both male and female features. Ithyphallic but wearing female headgear and chest decorations, they sometimes also wear masks and may depict shamans. 'In general, the figures are represented in a dance so intense that some have fallen into a trance or state of ecstasy,' writes Dr Davis-Kimball. 'Others are about to engage in sexual intercourse with the obvious intent of procreation as small embryonic images evoking chorus lines emphasise the significance of this act. 'The various animals add notes of ambiguity, yet provide additional clues to place the tableau in time and space and provide some historical basis.' She distinguishes eight separate scenes in the tableau, four of which are fully formed and the remainder of which appear to be sketches. Sex crazed: The second scene of the petroglyphs. It is believed that the larger-than-life hourglass figures that begin the tableau represent females, with their stylised triangular torsos, and shapely hips and legs . The first scene shows nine massive . females, each about two metres high, dancing arond in a circle, while a . second transexual figure on the left is partially reclining as if about . to fall into a trance. A 12-inch rock carving discovered in a cave in central Brazil is now the earliest-known art in the Americas. And with a phallus nearly as big as his arm, 'little horny man' is also testament that man was fascinated with his genitals even 11,000 years ago. The archaeologists who found the stick figure carving believe it is linked to a fertility ritual of the early residents of the region. They believe it could help shine light on exactly when prehistoric humans migrated to the New World. The carving was found in 2009 in Lapa do Santo -- a massive rock shelter where researchers from the University of São Paulo in Brazil had already dug up human bones, tools, ash from hearth and the ancient remainders of meals of fruit and small animals, according to Live Science magazine. The carving has been dated as being 9,000 to 12,000 years old. It is the only scene withoug ithyphallic men, although the transexual featured does have an erect penis. 'It . wears a female headdress with antenna and a “bra” ...' writes Dr . Davis-Kimball. 'Although its torso and legs are stylized as the male and . it is ithyphallic. 'Both arms, raised over its shoulders, have deviated from the normal dancing position. 'To complete the scene a single human head and two pairs of heraldic animals, probably goats — one pair markedly ithyphallic — are interspaced between the female dancers.' It is the second scene identified by Dr Davis-Kimball that appears to show the wildest orgy of all. In it sixteen figures - 10 female and six male - look set to begin having sex, with one particularly unusual one on the left wearing a monkey mask and probably representing a shaman. 'As it is ithyphallic it is also a bi-sexual representation and it appears that it about to copulate with a small female with splayed legs whose vulva is explicit,' she writes. Next to it is a headless male who looks like he's trying to have sex with another transexual figure. At the centre of the scene is another prominent transexual figure who appears about to have sex with a smaller female with splayed legs, whose private parts are quite explicitly rendered. Another large female figure seems to have two heads, and is positioned in the foreground as if leading the dance. Dr Davis-Kimball describes how it is stained stained red, 'perhaps suggesting heat'. Nearby, below the figure wearing the monkey mask, are a pair of ithyphallic striped feline animals surrounded by three bows which appear to have arrows which are about to be discharged. The third scene is smaller more . crudely rendered, containing nine figures, three female and six male, . all apparently about to have sex. Dr . Davis-Kimball identifies two images which stand out. 'First, the male . at the left with testicles and grossly exaggerated penis attempts to . mate with the second important figure, the adjacent female,' she writes. To this female’s left are three more males eager for their turn to have sex with her. Dr . Davis-Kimball adds: 'In this scene the importance of progeny is . emphasized with the portrayal of two rows of small anthropomorphic . figures.' The third scene: Many of the figures appear to depict transexuals combining both male and female features. Ithyphallic but wearing female headgear and chest decorations, they may depict shamans . Ancient: The final scene, which appears according to one writer 'a lot like a frat party'. It shows 14 characters, seven of which have erect penises, apparently in the midst of a frenzied dance . The final scene contains no obviously female figures at all, and one writer for Slate described it as looking 'a lot like a frat party'. It shows 14 characters, seven of which have erect penises, apparently in the midst of a frenzied dance. How they look in situ: Almost all the figures are depicted in the same ceremonial pose, with arms held out and bent at the elbows . Near the bottom is a single male, who appears to masturbating alone with a stream of babies emanating from his penis. Curiously for their location, all the figures presented in the Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs appear to be Caucasoid, which fits in with other evidence which suggested the residents of this region of what is now China were nomads with European characteristics. Dr Davis-Kimball believes the tableau was probably some kind of storyboard for groups of cultic leaders that was used until about 850BC. '[This] interpretation of the tableau is reasonable as follows,' she writes. 'Many personages are represented, with about half being female (priestesses) and the other half being males (priests). 'Slightly more than half the males had assumed a bisexual gender role, being ithyphallic and cross-dressing as priestesses with high headdresses. 'All these personages are engaged in a ritual fertility/procreation dance with some engaged in symbolic copulation that would result in procreation. 'Lines of tiny images are, figuratively, the resulting progeny.' If she is correct, that makes ancient pornography rather more meaningful than today's. Where to find the Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs .
pornography. The Kangjiashimenji Petroglyphs, in Xinjiang, north-west China, depict an intense unique in the ancient world. That's because while the midst of a wild orgy. Kangjiashimenji thought to date back to the second millennium BC, obviously a . fertility ritual. Almost all . are