Dinosaur Tracks, Myths and Buildings: The Jin Ji (Golden Chicken) Stones from Zizhou Area, Northern Shaanxi, China

For centuries, dinosaur footprints have influenced popular legends and myths in the surroundings of important tracksites. In many regions of China, track-bearing slabs were utilized as building materials and integrated in houses, yards, or cave dwellings, often serving as auspicious symbols or aesthetic decorations. Special birds such as the golden pheasant, widely distributed in China, may have inspired people to consider them as mythic trackmakers. The Zizhou area in northern Shaanxi, China, is famous for tracksites in the lower portion of the early Middle Jurassic Yan'an Formation. Sandstones with dinosaur tracks from these localities have been collected since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and are used by villagers as cellar covers, stalls, or millstones. Besides their historical importance, the slabs are a valuable resource for ichnological research. Well-preserved theropod, ornithopod, and stegosaur tracks such as Kayentapus, Eubrontes, Anomoepus and Deltapodus incorporated into manmade structures can be seen while simply walking through some small villages of this area.