Reporter: Yue Yitong
On the 28th, the mysterious Sanxingdui site once again brought people a surprise: the national treasure-class bronze top statue of the sacrificial pit No. 3 was unveiled!
The picture shows the bronze top statue.
Photo courtesy of the organizer
After more than three months of excavation, the bronze top figure in the sacrificial pit No. 3 of the Sanxingdui site finally revealed its true appearance under a large number of ivory.
The bronze top statue is composed of upper and lower parts. The upper part is a large bronze statue with a height of 55 cm. There is a short column on the inner side of the bronze statue, and the shoulders are welded with exquisite dragon-shaped decorations; the lower part is a kneeling posture with two hands. The 60 cm tall bronze figure in front of him.
The picture shows the bronze top statue.
Photo courtesy of the organizer
The bronze figure in the lower part of the bronze ware is in a kneeling position, wearing an embroidered short skirt, hands interdigitated and a head with big eyes and a grin, with an exaggerated expression and a pious expression.
According to reports, this large-scale bronze artwork combining human and respect is the first discovery in China and even the world.
The Sanxingdui site, which "sleeps for thousands of years, wakes up the world" is located in Guanghan, Sichuan. It covers an area of 12 square kilometers. It has a history of 5,000 to 3,000 years. It is the largest and longest ever discovered in southwestern China. The ancient city, ancient country, and ancient Shu cultural sites with the richest cultural connotations are known as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of mankind in the 20th century.
Archaeological excavation sites of 6 sacrificial pits were newly discovered at Sanxingdui site.
Photo courtesy of Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics
Beginning in 1986, archaeologists have excavated Sanxingdui No. 1 and No. 2 sacrificial pits and unearthed a large number of rare cultural relics.
On September 6, 2020, the archaeological excavation of 6 newly discovered sacrificial pits at the Sanxingdui site was officially launched, and the preliminary excavations were announced on March 20 this year. The golden mask, the bronze statue, the remains of textiles, and a large number of ivory ... The Sanxingdui site once again astounded the world.
Bronze ware in the sacrificial pit.
Photo by Lei Yu
Multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary cohesion is one of the highlights of this round of archaeological excavations. The "big guys" from dozens of universities and scientific research institutions in China participated in it in order to uncover the mystery of ancient Shu civilization.
So, what are the results of the research of experts in various fields in related fields?
How does the "black technology" of archaeology that have attracted much attention from outsiders help archaeological excavations?
Newly discovered textile relics in multiple sacrificial pits
Expert: The ultimate goal is to find words
On March 20 this year, experts announced the extraction of silk protein from the ashes of Sanxingdui No. 4 Sacrificial Pit. This is the first time that silk product residues have been discovered in Sanxingdui archaeology, which is of great significance.
Remains of textiles were found on the surface of unearthed bronzes.
Photo by Lei Yu
After a few months, what progress has been made in the textile archaeological work at the Sanxingdui site?
According to Zhou Yang, director of the key scientific research base of the National Cultural Relics Administration of Textile Cultural Relics, since March 20, archaeologists have tested more than one hundred samples taken from the sacrificial pits No. 1 to No. 6 of the Sanxingdui site. Remains of textiles were once again found in the sacrificial pit.
Textile traces found on copper eye blister.
Photo courtesy of Zhou Yang
Zhou Yang said that the samples were taken from the soil in the sacrificial pit or from the surface of unearthed relics. The artifacts with fabric structure were found to include bronze human heads, animal masks, copper eye bubbles, bronze statues, and fish-shaped copper foil pieces.
These new discoveries once again verified the view that the silk in the Sanxingdui site was used as a sacrificial article and had a unique role in communicating the heavens, the earth, the people and the gods.
Why was silk found in some sacrificial pits, but no "signals" in some sacrificial pits?
Could the unearthed textiles be hemp?
Zhou Yang told reporters that in the next step, archaeologists will conduct a comprehensive investigation and research and carry out a carpet search.
I hope to explore the characteristics of the sacrificial pits in Sanxingdui through the medium of silk.
"Our ultimate goal is to find words." Zhou Yang said that no words were found on the bronzes unearthed at the Sanxingdui site, so would silk be the carrier of words?
Cinnabar was unearthed from several sacrificial pits in Sanxingdui. Could this be written material?
"With the development of science and technology, various test results are becoming more and more accurate, and everything is possible. Guessing boldly and verifying carefully, we will continue to carry out a lot of work in this direction."
Experts interpret the characteristics of Sanxingdui gold ware:
Have a unique aesthetic while not breaking away from the Central Plains system
"Forging gold into thin slices to decorate the surface of bronze ware or use it alone is a characteristic of Sanxingdui gold ware. This method was unearthed at the Shangcheng site in Zhengzhou, Henan, the Panlongcheng site in Wuhan, Hubei, and the Yinxu site in Anyang, Henan. It can also be seen on gold objects."
Professor Chen Jianli, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Archaeology, Culture and Museum of Peking University, said that the use of the above-mentioned gold tools is actually one of the main features of the gold tools centered on and affected by the Shang Dynasty, and the direct use of gold in the northern grasslands. Compared with the practice of body decoration, there is a big difference.
Half a large golden mask unearthed from the No. 5 sacrificial pit.
Photo by Lei Yu
On March 20 this year, after the announcement of the archaeological results of the six sacrificial pits discovered at the Sanxingdui site, the unearthed half of the golden mask once again made the world feel the charm of the Sanxingdui gold ware, and the public was more curious about the characteristics of the Sanxingdui gold ware.
The excavation site of the golden mask at No. 5 sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui site.
Photo by Lei Yu
"Basically, I haven't seen the use of gold into earrings, nose rings and other ornaments directly used on the human body. From the perspective of the way gold is used, Sanxingdui has not broken away from the Central Plains system." Chen Jianli told reporters that the gold currently unearthed in Sanxingdui Most of the vessels are thin, including the famous Sanxingdui golden rod, which is also a golden skin wrapped on a wooden rod.
"Of course, we can also clearly see that the gold ware unearthed at Sanxingdui site is peculiar and vivid, which clearly reflects its unique aesthetic orientation."
Where did Sanxingdui bronze ore come from?
What are the characteristics of the bronze casting process?
The tall and exquisite bronze sacred tree, the uniquely shaped bronze human head, the intricately patterned bronze container... The various bronzes unearthed at the Sanxingdui site have attracted attention because of their vivid shapes and distinctive features.
Bronze ware unearthed at Sanxingdui site.
Photo by Lei Yu
According to Chen Kunlong, an expert in the field of metallurgical archaeology and deputy dean of the Institute of Science and Technology History and Cultural Heritage of Beijing University of Science and Technology, from the aspects of molding process, alloy composition, and types of unearthed artifacts, the production methods of Sanxingdui bronzes are indeed affected by the Central Plains.
However, compared with the bronzes unearthed in the Central Plains, the Sanxingdui bronzes also have their own unique styles, and the two have different casting techniques.
In addition, the bronze masks unearthed in Sanxingdui have no decorations. They may be decorated by painting and pasting with gold leaf, instead of casting the decorations directly on the surface.
In terms of post-processing, the cutting, grinding, and chiseling methods found on Sanxingdui bronzes are also relatively rare in the Central Plains.
"Through lead isotope analysis, the bronzes unearthed from the sites of Sanxingdui in Sichuan, Yinxu in Anyang, Henan, and Oceania in Xingan, Jiangxi all contain a very special lead mineral-lead of high radioactivity origin." Chen Kunlong said in the middle of the Shang Dynasty. In the late period of about 300 years, this special lead mineral was found on bronzes unearthed at many important sites in China. "It is reasonable to speculate that these minerals came from the same place."
Bronze restoration in Sacrificial Pit No. 2.
Photo by Lei Yu
"In ancient society, copper, jade, gold, etc. were rare resources, and the place of origin was limited. Where did Sanxingdui cast such a large number of bronzes, where did the raw materials come from?" Chen Kunlong told reporters that there must be long-distance material circulation behind it.
At present, the archaeological community has many opinions on the source of mineral materials, such as the southwestern region, the nearby local materials, the Central Plains region, and the Qinling region.
"These are reasonable conjectures based on incomplete evidence. If you want to prove it, more and more comprehensive archaeological work is needed."
More than 30 patents for scientific and technological archaeological equipment
"Black Technology" Helps Explore "Ancient Shu Code"
A transparent multifunctional archaeological cabin filled with various advanced instruments, a personnel working platform that can be suspended to clean up cultural relics, a dedicated load platform for cultural relics, and various scientific and technological archeological laboratories that are in front of the excavation site... 6 new discoveries at the Sanxingdui site After the preliminary announcement of the results of the archaeological excavation of the sacrificial pit, various "black technologies" used in this round of archaeological excavations have allowed people from all walks of life to see different archaeological work.
Archaeologists work on the personnel working platform.
Photo by Lei Yu
"As of now, we have formed more than 30 patent applications for the research and development of archaeological equipment at the Sanxingdui site, including about 10 invention patents and more than 20 utility model patents." Li Jun, general manager of Optoelectronics Zhilian Electronics Co., Ltd., said that China is ushering in the "spring" of archaeological excavations and cultural relic protection equipment. In the future, related equipment may be promoted throughout the country and even countries along the "Belt and Road".
Li Jun introduced that the cultural relics and archaeological equipment at the Sanxingdui site is actually a fusion of multidisciplinary equipment, supported by more than 20 equipment technologies, involving instrumentation, truss technology, earthquake resistance and shock absorption and other disciplines.
Among them, a personnel work platform that integrates a variety of equipment and technologies has realized non-contact archaeology between archaeologists and cultural relics, "this is the first in China and even in the world."
It is reported that the application of scientific and technological archaeology has been involved from the geological survey stage in the early stage of this round of excavation, and even adopted China's unique ground penetrating radar technology to determine the quantity and density of underground cultural relics.
In addition, multiple systems such as hydrological monitoring, soil detection, and geological collapse monitoring have been adopted.
"The application of these technologies is necessary and effective." Li Jun cited the role played by the hydrological monitoring system as an example. "The humidity of the cultural relics when extracted can be determined by judging the level of the groundwater level, so that the cultural relics can be underground. The state in which it is and when it was unearthed is very important to the cultural preservation work."
Ivory nitrogen-filled protective box.
Photo courtesy of Chongqing Sound Optoelectronics Zhilian Electronics Co., Ltd.
More equipment was used in the excavation process.
Li Jun told reporters that a series of "black technologies" such as airbag damping equipment, water damping equipment, cultural relics transfer platforms, and ivory nitrogen-filled protective boxes have all played their role.
"We are currently developing a huge boot that can be used for mine exploration. This kind of boot can greatly reduce the pressure, allowing archaeologists to stand in the sacrificial pit without putting pressure on the cultural relics. These equipment will be used in future archaeological work. To apply."