The long history of the Chinese zodiac can be seen in the ancient artifacts connected with the twelve animals that have been dug from the ground. Pottery figurines made for burial with the dead during the T'ang dynasty, for example, and bronze mirrors with the twelve signs engraved on them.
由於生肖的由來歷史久遠，民間曾出土各種生肖文物，像唐代殉葬用的十二生肖俑、刻有十二生肖的銅鏡等。