New Archaeological Discovery at Sanxingdui Site Demonstrates Diversity of Chinese Civilization
On March 20, the "Archaeological China" major project work progress meeting released the phased results of important archaeological discoveries and research on the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan.
At present, the archaeological work of the Sanxingdui site is in progress. The six newly discovered "sacrifice pits" have been excavated to the artifact level. Fragments of golden masks, bird-shaped gold ornaments, gold foil, painted copper heads on the eyes, giant bronze masks, and bronze were unearthed. Important cultural relics such as sacred trees, ivory, exquisite tooth carvings, jade congs, and jade tools.
The new discovery of the "sacrifice pit" at the Sanxingdui site will enrich and deepen the understanding of the Sanxingdui site and the Sanxingdui culture, and a more comprehensive understanding of the Sanxingdui culture and the culture of the surrounding areas, especially the historical relationship with the culture of the Central Plains and the Jianghan Plain. The study of the historical process of the pluralistic integration of Chinese civilization provides new physical data.
What is Sanxingdui Site
The Sanxingdui site is located in Sanxingdui Town, Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, on the south bank of the Mianjiang (Duck River), a tributary of the Tuojiang River in the northern part of the Chengdu Plain.
The site covers an area of about 12 square kilometers. The core area is the ancient city of Sanxingdui, with an area of about 3.6 square kilometers. It is the largest and highest-level central site found in the Xia-Shang period in the Sichuan Basin.
Sanxingdui got its name from the "Hanzhou Chronicles" during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, "the famous district in Guanghan, the old land of Luocheng...the east is spring and ten thousand springs, and the west is accompanied by three stars."
The site was discovered in the late 1920s. In 1934, the former American scholar David C. Graham of the West China University Museum made the first excavation.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Department organized many archaeological excavations at Sanxingdui site, and discovered important relics such as city walls, houses, tombs, "sacrifice pits" and kiln sites, and unearthed a large number of precious cultural relics.
Among them, in 1986, the No. 1 and 2 "sacrifice pits" were excavated in the sacrificial area of the ruins, and more than a thousand precious cultural relics such as bronze statues, bronze statues, bronze sacred trees, golden masks, golden rods, large jade Zhang and ivory were unearthed. Unseen. Among them, bronze ware is a major item, especially with more than 80 bronze statues as unprecedented heavy objects. These "shocking discoveries" have revealed a new face of bronze culture.
Sanxingdui is the capital of the ancient Shu state created by the ancient Shu ancestors. It was built in the summer and basically took shape in the middle and late Shang Dynasty. Its city wall system, residential areas, workshops, tombs and sacrificial pits are large in scale, rigorous in layout, and functional. Clear.
The unearthed numerous bronzes indicate that the bronze smelting technology in the ancient Shu region is very mature. The outstanding achievements of the Sanxingdui ancient Shu in various fields indicate that the ancient Shu civilization, as an important part of the Chinese civilization, had developed to a considerable height at that time. .
From the 1980s to the present, through large-scale investigation, exploration and excavation work, important relics such as the ancient city of Sanxingdui, the small city of Moon Bay, the small city of Cangbaobao, the base of Qingguan Mountain, and the cemetery of Rensheng Village have been discovered successively, and the distribution of Sanxingdui sites has been continuously clarified. Scope, structure and layout.
Qingguanshan No. 1 large building
“Since October 2020, the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has carried out archaeological exploration and excavation in the area of Pit No. 1 and Pit No. 2 excavated in 1986, which basically clarified the spatial pattern of the sacrificial area of the Sanxingdui site.” Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research According to Lei Yu, a researcher of the Institute and the head of the Sanxingdui workstation, six "sacrifice pits" have been newly discovered, and the two "sacrifice pits" excavated in 1986 are located in the eastern part of the Sanxingdui platform between the Sanxingdui city wall and the southern city wall. There are sacrificial activities around them. Relevant rectangular trenches, circular pits and large trench-style buildings.
Pit Three
Archaeologists conduct archaeological excavations in Pit No. 4
Archaeologists conduct archaeological excavations in Pit No. 5
Excavation site of Pit No. 7
The six newly discovered "sacrifice pits" are all rectangular in plan, ranging in size from 3.5 to 19 square meters.
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 gold masks, bird-shaped gold ornaments, gold leaf, and painted copper heads have been unearthed. There are more than 500 important cultural relics such as giant bronze masks, bronze sacred trees, ivory, exquisite tooth carvings, jade congs, and jade tools.
Golden mask
Fragment of the Golden Mask
Fragment of the Golden Mask
Bronze Sacred Tree
Bronze statue
For the pluralistic integration of Chinese civilization
Provide physical examples
On the afternoon of March 19, the archaeological excavation site at Sanxingdui site, the archaeological excavation work was proceeding in an orderly manner.
According to reports, the excavation work adheres to the concept of “subject pre-setting, protection synchronization, multi-disciplinary integration, and multi-team cooperation”, coordinating many domestic scientific research institutions and universities such as the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking University, and the Sichuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Participate to form a joint archaeological, conservation and research team.
Ran Honglin, the person in charge of the archaeological excavation site at the Sanxingdui site, said, “From the staffing, expert construction, to the configuration of facilities and equipment, and specific work operations, this series of processes, in all aspects of the process, cultural relic protection personnel participate in the unearthed cultural relics. Escort'."
"Multi-disciplinary integration and multi-team cooperation are also a major feature. In this excavation work, more than 30 units participated in it. Multidisciplinary researchers from different units not only participated in the archaeological excavation, but also participated in the setting of multi-disciplinary research plans. Sample collection, etc., to avoid the unfavorable situation of archaeological excavation and multidisciplinary research." Ran Honglin told reporters.
In addition, the archaeologists at Sanxingdui site collected all-round excavation information. Ran Honglin believes that “archaeological excavations are not only for our generation, but also for future generations, and enough information is reserved for future excavation and protection research. Sufficient information".
What are the similarities and differences between the six newly discovered "sacrifice pits" at Sanxingdui site and the two "sacrifice pits" discovered more than 30 years ago?
Chen Xiandan, the excavator of Sanxingdui No. 1 and No. 2 "sacrifice pits" and former vice president of the Sichuan Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute, told reporters, "Compared with the previous two, the six newly discovered sacrificial pits are all rectangular in shape. The basic shape and orientation are the same, and the types of unearthed cultural relics are similar, but many new shapes have appeared. At the same time, the sacrificial pits are of different sizes and depths. The cultural relics in the pits have their own emphasis. Some pits have more ivory, and some pits are large bronze wares. More."
Chen Xiandan further introduced that the new shape of the archaeological excavation not only reflects the close connection with the Central Plains culture, but also reveals the innovation that the ancient Shu culture absorbed and merged into its own use in the exchange of civilizations.
"Archaeological discoveries at Sanxingdui site will affect important discoveries in Sichuan, Chinese archaeology and even world archaeology." Sun Hua, a professor at the School of Archaeology and Cultural Sciences of Peking University, believes that the new discoveries in the Sanxingdui "sacrifice area" will help solve the long-standing unsolved problems. Academic issues, such as the most basic issues of age and nature.
In the past, we only found two pits. This time the new discovery has increased from two pits to eight pits, and detailed exploration of the surrounding areas helped to restore the space inside the “temple” or “sacrifice area” at that time. It provides very important information for a complete understanding of the ritual space, religious thoughts, and even the reflected concept of the universe at that time.
"The archaeological excavations in the Sanxingdui'sacrifice area' gather multi-disciplinary and multi-team archaeological and cultural protection forces." Sun Hua believes that so many archaeological experts and cultural protection experts gather together, and different ideas and technologies collide together, which is conducive to promotion. The development of archaeology in our country.
"The archaeological achievements of the Sanxingdui site fully reflect the important contributions of the ancient Shu civilization and the Yangtze River culture to the Chinese civilization, and are a physical example of the origin and development context of the pluralistic integration of the Chinese civilization, and the splendid achievements." Relevant experts said.
Moved the laboratory to the archaeological site
Seamless connection between archaeology and cultural relics protection
After more than 30 years, the archaeological excavation of Sanxingdui site was carried out again, and the role of science and technology in the field of archaeology became increasingly apparent.
"For the excavation, protection and information extraction of the newly discovered pits, a set of multi-functional archaeological operating systems was specially designed, and efforts were made to innovate and design archaeological excavation facilities and equipment with Chinese style." Lei Yu introduced.
The reporter saw that an archaeological laboratory was set up at the archaeological excavation site. This is the first initiative to realize the seamless connection between the archaeological unearthed cultural relics and the protection of cultural relics.
Microscopic observation of unearthed cultural relics in the field protection laboratory
According to reports, during the excavation, archaeologists made full use of modern technology to build archaeological excavation cabins, integrated excavation platforms, and multi-functional excavation operating systems. With the support of multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional professional teams, they constituted traditional archaeology and laboratory The working mode of deep integration of archaeology, scientific and technological archaeology, and cultural relics protection has realized the combination of archaeological excavation, systematic scientific research and timely and effective protection of the site, ensuring the high quality and high level of archaeological work.
The new archaeological discovery of the "sacrifice pit" at the Sanxingdui site further demonstrates the rich connotations of the Sanxingdui site and the Sanxingdui culture, and helps to promote the in-depth study of the Sanxingdui culture.
Excavation cabin
Wang Wei, head of the expert advisory group for archaeological excavations in the "sacrifice area" of Sanxingdui, member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and chairman of the Chinese Society of Archaeology, believes that domestic multi-unit and multidisciplinary participation in the excavation and research work of the sacrificial area of Sanxingdui can be regarded as a first-class archaeological excavation greenhouse. , Working cabins, and laboratory facilities are the exploration and practice of "Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese style" archaeology, and a new model of preventive protection of archaeological excavation sites. It has a leading and demonstrative role and is the next step of science. The excavation and the achievement of important results laid a solid foundation.
According to the plan of the "Archaeological China" project, the next step will continue to carry out fine archaeological excavations and cultural relic protection, multidisciplinary research on the newly discovered "sacrifice pit", and explore and excavate the periphery of the "sacrifice pit" to grasp the overall pattern of the sacrificial area, The formation process is to systematically and comprehensively grasp the sacrificial system of ancient Shu civilization.
Incorporating the Sanxingdui site into the research system of the Bashu civilization process in the entire Sichuan-Chongqing region, working hard to further understand the inherent characteristics and connections of the Bashu civilization, explore the origin and development of the "multi-integrity" of Chinese civilization and the civilizational process of the establishment and development of a unified multi-ethnic country in China .
Author: Li Rui