During the Chinese Bronze Age, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (云贵高原) was home to various Baipu (百濮) peoples, such as the Dian (滇), Yelang (夜郎) and Dianyue (滇越), and one of the key characteristics of the Bronze Age artefacts that have been excavated in Yunnan Province is the widespread use of snake imagery. The snake motif is a recurring theme in Dian art during the Eastern Zhou, Qin and Han Dynasties and can be seen on artefacts excavated from the Shizhaishan (石寨山) tombs in Jinning County (晋宁县), the Lijiashan (李家山) tombs in Jiangchuan County (江川县), the Yangfutou (羊甫头) tombs in Kunming (昆明), the Batatai (八塔台) tombs in Qiujing (曲靖), and other Dian culture burial sites.
