The remains of a gold mask are among a huge deposit of 3,000-year-old artifacts found at an archeological site in China’s Sichuan Province.
The discoveries were made in Sanxingdui, an area of 4.6 square miles outside the capital of Chengdu Province. Some experts say the articles could shed even more light on the ancient Shu state, a kingdom that ruled in the western Sichuan Basin until it was conquered in 316 BC.
A bronze object recently unearthed from a sacrificial pit at the Sanxingdui archeological site. Credit: Li He / Xinhua / Sipa SUA
More than 50,000 ancient artifacts have been found in Sanxingdui since the 1920s, when a local farmer accidentally found a series of relics on the spot. A major discovery took place in 1986, with the discovery of two ceremonial pits containing over 1,000 objects, including elaborate and well-preserved bronze masks.
A gold decoration was among more than 500 recently unearthed items on the site. Credit: Prospect / Xinhua / Sipa USA
After a long break in the excavations, a third pit was found at the end of 2019, which led to the discovery of another five last year. Experts believe the pits were used for sacrificial purposes, explaining why many of the objects contained were ritually burned as they were thrown and buried.
Independent civilization
Sanxingdui is believed to have settled in the center of Shu State, about which historians know relatively little because of low written records. The discoveries made on the site date from the 12th and 11th centuries BC, and many of the objects are now on display in an on-site museum.
The site has revolutionized the understanding of experts about how civilization developed in ancient China. In particular, evidence of a unique Shu culture suggests that the kingdom developed independently of neighboring societies in the Yellow River Valley, which was traditionally considered the cradle of Chinese civilization.
An archaeologist was photographed working on one of the pits earlier this month. Credit: Shen Bohan / Sinhua / SipaUSA
Song Xinchao, deputy director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, told the Xinhua news agency that the latest findings “enrich and deepen our understanding of Sanxingdui culture.”
The discovery of silk fibers and textile scraps could also expand our understanding of Shu. Tang Fei, head of the excavation team and head of the Sichuan Provincial Relics and Cultural Archeology Research Institute, told a news conference that the discovery indicates that the kingdom “was one of the important origins of silk in ancient China,” according to Xinhua. . .
A bronze head and mask discovered in Sanxingdui in 1986, when the first slaughter pits were found on the spot. Credit: Shen Bohan / Xinhua / Sipa USA
Subtitle image above: A gold mask unearthed from a sacrificial pit at the Sanxingdui ruins site in China’s Sichuan Province.