Chinanews client, Beijing, March 21 (Reporter Song Yusheng) The Sanxingdui site archaeology, described by netizens as "six blind boxes in a row," was released to the public on the 20th.
Prior to this, the impression that Sanxingdui left on people can probably be summarized in terms such as "mysterious" and "novelty". Many people will be curious about what the ancients who lived in this ruin are like, and some even speculate that Sanxingdui is an alien. remains.
However, the latest archaeological results have already answered some questions to a certain extent.
Location map of the sacrificial pits in the sacrificial area of the Sanxingdui site.
Photo courtesy of Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Sanxingdui is an extraterritorial civilization?
The reason for this and that kind of imagination of Sanxingdui is closely related to the many cultural relics unearthed in the "Sacrificial Pit" No. 1 and 2 of the site in 1986.
Tall bronze statues, bronze sacred trees, exquisite gold masks, golden rods, as well as large jade-zhang, ivory...These precious cultural relics unearthed in the last century all show people the huge difference between Sanxingdui and the original Chinese text in people’s impressions. .
At the press conference on the morning of the 20th, Sun Hua, a professor at the School of Archaeology, Arts and Sciences of Peking University, said frankly that the discovery that year attracted great attention from domestic and foreign scholars and the public because "everyone was surprised. It seemed that China did not cast these things before ".
Bronze head with gold mask, unearthed in 1986 at No. 2 Sacrificial Pit of Sanxingdui Site.
Photo courtesy of Sanxingdui Museum
In short, it has the characteristics of extraterritorial civilization.
As a result, various speculations follow.
As a result, not only foreign claims, but also bold speculations such as "Sanxingdui is a relic of aliens" appeared.
So, is Sanxingdui really a relic out of Chinese civilization?
The answer has to be found in archaeological evidence.
The latest archaeological results "have something to say"
In fact, the cultural relics unearthed in Sanxingdui that shocked the world in the last century only came from the "sacrifice pits" 1 and 2.
From November 2019 to May 2020, archaeologists discovered 6 new "sacrifice pits" of Sanxingdui culture.
According to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, at present, pits 3, 4, 5, and 6 have been excavated to the artifact level, and pits 7 and 8 are being excavated to fill the pits. Remnants of golden masks, bird-shaped gold ornaments, gold leaf, and There are more than 500 important cultural relics such as painted bronze heads, giant bronze masks, bronze god trees, ivory, exquisite tooth carvings, jade congs, and jade tools on the eyes.
Cultural relics in the "sacrifice pit".
Photo by An Yuan
In addition, Song Xinchao, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said in an interview with the media that the bronze square statues, large bronze masks, and ivory trinkets carved with diamond patterns were all very important new discoveries.
One thing here seems to be different from people's inherent impression: the Sanxingdui site with obvious characteristics of extraterritorial civilization also has Fangzun that was popular outside Sichuan in ancient times?
This is a bronze ware and ivory photographed in the No. 3 "sacrifice pit" at the archaeological excavation site of the Sanxingdui site (photographed on March 16).
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shen Bohan
The trace of cultural exchange
Dakouzun in the southern part of the late Shang Dynasty was discovered in Hunan, Hubei and other places in history.
At the press conference on the 20th, Zhang Changping, a professor at the School of History of Wuhan University, pointed out that this shows that Sanxingdui had the possibility of communicating with the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River at that time.
Zhang Changping also said that the local bronzes in Sanxingdui clearly draw on the cultural elements of the Central Plains.
"For example, enlarge the cloud and thunder pattern as a symbol of Sanxingdui." The cloud and thunder pattern is the representative pattern of the Shang culture in the Central Plains.
Fragment of ivory carving in Sacrificial Pit No. 5.
Photo courtesy of Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Ran Honglin, the person in charge of the archaeological excavation site of the Sanxingdui site, also stated at the ventilation meeting that afternoon that a series of artifacts, such as bronze statues, copper lizards, and jade ge, unearthed at the Yinxu site can be found in the Sanxingdui site. The relationship between business culture.
Obviously, Sanxingdui culture is not isolated.
This is a part of a large bronze ware unearthed from the No. 3 "sacrifice pit" at the archaeological excavation site of the Sanxingdui site (photographed on March 19).
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li He
Ran Honglin also pointed out that from the perspective of the unearthed cultural relics, the Sanxingdui site and the Jinsha site in Sichuan are more closely related.
"Whether it is the bronze, jade, and gold unearthed in the two places, or the choice of the location of the two remains, the direction of the houses and tombs, the continuity between the two can be seen. The Jinsha and Sanxingdui sites belong to the ancient Shu. Civilization is the central site of two different periods created by the same group of people."
Unsolved mysteries and new problems
Excavations at the Sanxingdui site that lasted for decades have not found any written or written records.
Is there any text in Sanxingdui?
Ran Honglin revealed that archaeologists found carved symbols on many pottery.
"We tend to think that this is at least a sign of text." But what do these symbols mean?
This is a new problem again.
An article from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage shows that during the excavation, archaeologists made full use of modern technology.
This also allows archaeologists to see the possibility of solving some questions.
The picture shows the excavation cabin.
Photo courtesy of Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Sun Hua called this excavation "fine excavation."
Compared with the past, an important improvement is "a lot of organic matter, we have not been able to extract it in the past, and now we can extract it."
For example, he said, "We found so many bronze heads. What is its body? Everyone had speculated that it was made of wood, but now I see it seems that something wooden and body-like has been unearthed. It may be a pillar. It may be the body. I think there will be new discoveries, but now these discoveries have just emerged."
In addition, during the excavation, the China Silk Museum team found traces of textiles in the ashes of Pit 4 through microscopic observation, which may be attached to the surface of the bronze ware; enzyme-linked immunoassay technology was used to detect silk protein in the ashes of Pit 4, indicating that Pit 4 Silk used to exist in China.
Protect the platform analysis and testing room.
Photo courtesy of Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Zhou Yang, director of the Technical Department of the China National Silk Museum, tends to believe that at that time these silks might be used for sacrifices, as a vehicle for communication between heaven and earth, humans and gods.
It is worth mentioning that Ran Honglin revealed that, based on the information currently available, the No. 8 pit that is being excavated and filled with soil may still be unearthed relatively rich cultural relics.
(Finish)