“Sirens” along the Silk Road: Identification, Application and Transmission of Human-headed Bird Motif in Asia before 800 CE

Abstract

This dissertation examines the transmission of a visual motif—the human-headed bird—across ancient Asia, using it as a lens to explore the circulation of visual ideas. Drawing on material from East, Central, West, and South Asia, primarily dated between the 2nd century BCE and the 8th century CE, with a few earlier or later instances, it undertakes a multi-layered analysis combining iconographic study, focused case analyses, network reconstruction, and quantitative chronology.
The study first compiles and categorises regional examples to construct a chronological overview of the motif’s appearance in each area. Distinctive formal and contextual features are highlighted at successive stages, outlining a developmental trajectory that reveals both convergent and divergent regional expressions. Selected case studies—particularly those previously understudied or misidentified—are then examined in depth within their socio-historical contexts. This reassessment clarifies local mythological associations and demonstrates how similar composite-creature motifs could acquire markedly different meanings in adjacent cultural zones.
Building on these insights, the dissertation reconstructs a transmission network shaped not by the traditional Silk Road routes, but by shared religious and cultural packages. It identifies four “cultural spheres” (Greek, Persian, Indian, and Chinese), each defined by a distinct core and corresponding peripheral diffusion pathways. A comparison between these spheres and the Silk Road networks reveals a more complex picture of a religious- and visual culture-centred network, in which the spread of the motif was primarily driven by shared cultural identities and practices among social groups, rather than by commodity exchange. This led to the formation of multiple smaller, culturally coherent subnetworks, rather than a single, continuous, densely integrated network. Such a perspective allows for a rethinking of the key nodes, directions, and accessibility in the circulation of material culture and visual art across the continent.
Lastly, statistical analysis of motif occurrences indicates an initial emergence in the Greek and Persian spheres around the fifth century BCE, followed by staggered peaks in the Indian and Chinese contexts. The period between the first and fifth centuries CE appears as a phase of heightened activity across all spheres, suggesting intensified cultural interaction and this trend was driven by three main vectors, including the identity and power practices of social elites, the interactions fostered by vast empires, and the mobility of numerous religious communities. From the seventh century CE onwards, as new religious traditions gained prominence, the motif was integrated into evolving artistic conventions while remaining recognisable as a marker of ancestral visual memory.