When did the ancients first use "sheep" as a tribal totem?

There are two "Huang San", Fuxi and Shennong both use "sheep" as the totem of the tribe, not "dragon".

Sheep is one of the earliest animals that humans began to hunt and domesticate. It can be said that the traditional culture of China has a close relationship with sheep since its birth. According to the latest archaeological findings, pottery sheep have appeared in Peiligang Cultural Site in Xinzheng, Henan Province about 8000 years ago and Hemudu Cultural Site in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province about 7000 years ago.

"Sheep are beautiful", "Sheep fish are fresh", "Sheep eat nutrition" and "Sheep speak well" can also capture a lot of information about the relationship between sheep and early culture from China Chinese characters.

Shennong, that is, Yan Di, has a higher status and greater influence than Huangdi (both of them are half-brothers), so the ancients collectively called it "Yanhuang" instead of "Huangyan". Emperor Yan is an agricultural expert, so he is called "Shennong". As a traditional agricultural country, Emperor Yan was more respected in ancient China. "Emperor Century" records that "Yan Di Shennong, surnamed Jiang, mother and daughter traveled in Huayang, born in, is also his place". Sima Qian's Records of the Five Emperors also recorded this. Yan Di's mother and daughter were pregnant in Changyang (Yangtou Mountain) in Jiang Shui, and Jiang Shui belongs to the Qiang nationality. The Qiang tribes here regard sheep as their totem, which shows that Yan Di has been attached to sheep since birth and has a very close blood relationship.

Chiyou, whose real name is Jiang, was defeated by the Yellow Emperor, and his tribe used sheep as its totem in the early days. Later, Yan Di tribes moved eastward along the Yellow River, bringing the primitive sheep worship custom to today's Henan and Shandong provinces. On the Han stone reliefs unearthed in these places, you can see portraits with sheep's head and horns as patterns.

Fuxi belongs to the ancient Qiang and Rong clan, and the original totem is "sheep". The word "Xi" contains "sheep", which is also a reflection of the phenomenon of "sheep worship". Later, the ancient Qiang Rong where Fuxi was located changed the totem to "tiger" and formed the "tiger family".