Hongshan culture
The ancient Chinese self-identified as "the gods of the dragon" because the Chinese dragon is an imagined reptile that represents evolution from the ancestors and "qi" energy. The earliest dragon-like motif seems to be a zoomorphic composition in reddish-brown stone, found at the Chahai site (Liaoning) in the Xinglongwa culture (6200–5400 BC). The presence of dragons within Chinese culture dates back several thousands of years with the discovery of a dragon statue dating back to the fifth millennium BC from the Yangshao culture in Henan in 1987, and jade badges of rank in coiled form have been excavated from the Hongshan culture circa 4700–2900 BC. Some of the earliest Dragon artifacts are the pig dragon carvings from the Hongshan culture.