During the process of exchange between those nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppes and Chinese agricultural societies, techniques and beliefs related to the raising of horses were carried onto the Chinese central plain. Nomadic peoples generally believed that monkeys had the ability to prevent illnesses and plagues in horses, cattle, and sheep, and excavated materials have proven that during the Warring States period, Chinese artisans had possibly already begun to create bronze amulets which displayed these beliefs (i.e. the relationship between monkeys and horses) for the nomadic peoples. After this motif entered the Chinese central plain, it sometimes retained roughly the same meaning and design characteristics it had before, but, in some cases, the motif's meaning and design changed (like those changes seen in Shandong stone sculptures and portraits) and it was, instead, used to express wishes for prosperity and promotion. Decorations which implied wishes for quick promotion and wealth, possibly because of their creation by Chinese craftsmen, were transmitted back to societies on the steppe and accepted by the nomadic peoples. In this extremely complicated process of interaction, what was actually going on? The answer to this question awaits further study and research.