This study aims to interpret the significance as a cultural symbolism of ‘rentouhu (人頭 壺),’ which is gourd-shaped earthenware with a human face sculpted on the spout and has been excavated in large quantities at the Neolithic sites in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River in China. Although there have been brief descriptions on these artefacts due to their unusual shape, there has been little discussion of their significance as a cultural symbol. This study would like to argue that this object is a visual depiction of the origin myth that ‘humankind was born from a gourd,’ a myth that is widespread in China. The narrative of the origin of humankind from bottle gourd is universal and takes various forms in the origin myths of many ethnic groups in China, including the Han Chinese. It is also closely associated with the gourd, a device that enabled humankind to survive the disaster of the Great Flood. This paper draws on graphonomic, philological, archaeological, and anthropological data to discuss the cultural implications of ‘rentouhu (人頭壺).’ In particular, by clarifying the etymology of several Chinese characters including the character ‘yi’ (壹: one), this paper analyzes the traces of the myth of the origin of humankind from the calabash implicit in the etymology. Artefacts from Yinxu (殷墟), Anyang, Henan Province showing ‘a bird’s body with a human face’ discovered in the lower Yellow River region and the petroglyphs depicting the ‘flowers in the shape of human faces’ in Lianyungang (連雲港), Jiangsu Province in the downstream area of the Huai River are also expressions of the myth of the origin of humankind and cultural symbols of ‘rentouhu.’ This study will contribute to in-depth studies of the rentouhu as well as the origins of Chinese civilization. Beyond this, it will contribute to proposing a methodology of ‘Chinese character archeology,’ a convergence study involving graphonomy, philology, anthropology, and archeology.

本文旨在闡釋所謂“人頭壺”的文化象征的意义。“人頭壺”是一種葫蘆形陶 器，壺嘴雕刻人臉，大量出土於新石器時代中期的黃河上游地區。儘管由於這些文 物的形狀具有特色，許多學者只對其進行簡要描述，但很少討論它們作為文化符號 的重要性。本文認為，該文物是對“葫蘆生人”起源神話的形象描繪，這一神話在 中國廣為流傳。關於葫蘆是人類起源的敘述並不少見，在包括漢族在內的中國民族 的起源神話中都可見到。這與葫蘆密切相關。葫蘆是一種使人類能在洪水中倖存的 物件。本文利用文字學、文獻學、考古學和人類學數據來討論“人頭壺”的文化內 涵。尤其是通過釐清“壹（一）”等幾個漢字的字源，從中分析神話中人類起源的 蹤跡。河南安陽殷墟黃河下游地區出土的“人面鳥身”和江蘇連雲港淮河下游地區 的“人面花”岩畫，以及“人頭壺”的文化符號都是人類起源神話的表述。本文有 助於深入研究“人頭壺”和中國文明的起源，此外還有助於提出“漢字考古學”的 方法論，這是一項涉及字形學、語言學、人類學和考古學的融合研究。

Abstract
1. Introduction: The Secret of Rentouhu (人頭壺)
2. 'Rentouhu' (人頭壺) in the Middle and Upper Reaches of the Yellow River
3. Bottle Gourds and the Myth of Human Origins
    (1) Bottle Gourds in Myths of the Origin of Humankind
    (2) Gourd in the Flood Myth
4. Etymology and Symbols of ‘Yi (壹: One)’
5. Comparison with Eastern China
    (1) Petroglyphs of ‘Renmiancao (人面草)’ at Jiangjunya(將軍崖), Lianyungang(連雲港)
    (2) 'Renmianniao (人面鳥)' Artefacts from Yinxu (殷墟)
6. A Cultural Studies Interpretation of the Symbol of Rentouhu (人頭壺)and Chinese Characters
References

• Ha Youngsam(Kyungsung University, Korea) | 河永三