Face to face丨Sanxingdui finds thunderstorms again: I believe the ancient Shu civilization should have words
From June 14th to 16th, the CCTV news special program "Sanxingdui New Discovery" once again started the live broadcast of Sanxingdui treasure inventory. It was broadcast live for three days. The archaeological excavation of Sanxingdui No. 7 and No. 8 sacrificial pits once again refreshed people's imagination.
Lei Yu, head of the Sanxingdui Site Workstation of the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, experienced the whole process of the discovery and excavation of the latest six sacrificial pits in Sanxingdui.
Sleep for three thousand years, wake up and startle the world
Reporter:
Because this excavation was broadcast live by the media, everyone paid a lot of attention in the recent stage.
As of today, what is the biggest achievement of this Sanxingdui excavation?
Thunderstorm:
In the past, many people thought that Sanxingdui would never have such high-level sacrificial pits except for the first pit and the second pit, that is, the two pits excavated in 1986.
During this excavation, we found six new sacrificial pits, which are roughly the same as the No. 1 and No. 2 pits, and have roughly the same specifications or grades. This was unexpected by many people.
In addition, a large number of pits that were not found in the No. 1 and No. 2 pits appeared in the pit, which is a relatively new type even for us.
Even at the scene, we will all see it, and we should all cheer.
It turned out to be this thing, something new, so good we didn't even think about it.
The Sanxingdui Site is located in Sanxingdui Town, Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, with a history of about 4,800 to 2,600 years ago.
In July 1986, workers from the No. 2 Brick Factory in Nanxing Town, Guanghan County dug up a jade ring while borrowing soil to burn bricks.
The excavations that year unearthed thousands of bronzes, golds, jades, ivory and thousands of seashells, which finally made the academic circle fully realize that the Sanxingdui Culture is a splendid ancient civilization with bronzes, cities and large ceremonial buildings. .
Thunderstorm:
At that time in 1986, the Sanxingdui site had not been protected, so the nature of its excavation was defined as rescue excavation.
Because it was only after the brick factory was discovered that the archaeologists entered the site. Later, it was because of the discovery of these two pits that Sanxingdui was designated as a national treasure. After the national key protection site, all our excavations are called active excavations.
The site has been completely preserved.
Our work appears to be more leisurely, proactive, and targeted, with the nature of the subject, and the nature has completely changed.
After the excavation of No. 1 and No. 2 sacrificial pits in 1986, according to the principle of "protection first, rescue first" in my country's cultural relics protection policy, the interpretation and digestion of unearthed cultural relics has become a more important task for Sanxingdui Archaeological Station instead of excavation.
In 2019, 33 years later, the Sanxingdui site was included in the Archaeological China and Ancient Shu Civilization and Inheritance Project in Sichuan Province. The archaeologists discovered six sacrificial pits next to the No. 1 and No. 2 sacrificial pits. This is the third one. No. to No. 8 Sacrificial Pit.
In September 2020, the excavation work of the sacrificial area of the Sanxingdui site was restarted, and its refresh of the world's imagination was also started.
Leiyu:
The greater highlight of this excavation is the intervention of multidisciplinary methods, especially the construction of on-site laboratories, as well as the intervention of a large number of cultural conservation personnel, as well as the intervention of scientific and technological archaeologists, so that our excavation far exceeds that of traditional excavations. information that can be extracted.
This time, the amount of information we extract is very, very large, and it is massive.
Of course, this also requires our traditional archaeologists to slowly understand, digest and interpret these scientific and technological archaeological achievements in the future, which also requires a long process.
Up to now, the excavation of No. 3 and No. 4 pits has been completed, and No. 5 and No. 6 sacrificial pits have been cut as a whole and moved to the Cultural Protection Center for laboratory archaeology.
The excavation of No. 7 and No. 8 sacrifice pits has also entered the final stage.
Sanxingdui archaeology once again "new"
In May of this year, archaeologists discovered a tortoise-shaped grid-shaped bronze ware in Pit No. 7, and successfully extracted it out of the pit on June 14.
This unique bronze ware in Chinese archaeological history is known as the treasure of the No. 7 Pit, and some netizens gave it a cute name - Moonlight Treasure Box.
Reporter:
When the artifact was unearthed, what was your reaction when you saw it at the scene?
Thunderstorm:
The first reaction is that I don't know it at all, including everyone who doesn't know it at all.
I have never seen such a strange object before. It was when it first appeared, probably in May. I felt it was like a barbecue grill. Some people even said that it was like a manhole cover, like a sewer, and I felt it was very, very magical.
And at that time, I only thought that it might be a rather strange bronze ware, but I didn't expect that this bronze ware was also wrapped with a huge, turtle-shaped jade ware.
I very much hope that in the middle of the huge tortoise-shaped grid-shaped utensil, there must be some kind of pattern on the tortoise-shaped jade like a sandwich biscuit, and it is not even ruled out that there is text. If there is text, even if it is In short, it was an amazing discovery, and we are very, very looking forward to it.
The excavation of the Sanxingdui site has shown the world its dazzling and magical bronze and urban civilization, but unfortunately, no written records have been found so far.
The lack of written records makes further interpretation difficult.
Reporter:
But there is no text and such a very delicate civilization, how do you explain this phenomenon?
Thunderstorm:
Maybe I personally believe in the ancient Shu civilization. At that time, the ancient Shu should have text, but it was not discovered.
Then the writing of our ancient Shu people is likely to be written on organic materials that are not easy to preserve, such as silk or textiles, as well as lacquer and woodware. These carriers may be important carriers for writing words.
Because they are not easy to be preserved, we have not found anything like writing so far, but I believe that such a splendid civilization without writing is unimaginable.
Reporter:
Because of the complex manufacturing process, it is hard to imagine without words and language.
Thunderstorm:
Yes.
Reporter:
There is still further research on this excavation. When will it be fully presented?
For example, when you say extracting text or patterns?
Thunderstorm:
As for the specific artifact, in fact, the process of the tortoise-shaped mesh device does not take a long time, and it may be revealed in a few months.
Is there anything on it?
I believe there should be, at least a pattern.
Otherwise, such a plain jade article would not be treated so seriously and wrapped in such a strange bronze vessel.
On the grid of bronze ware, which netizens call the Moonlight Treasure Box, and even on the jade shrouded in the grid-like bronze ware, archaeologists have found a large number of silk fabric residues.
This provides very valuable information for interpreting the ancient Shu civilization.
Reporter:
If there is such a relic of silk, how would it be reinterpreted for the Sanxingdui civilization?
Thunderstorm:
In fact, after the first and second pits of silk were discovered, many people believed that the ancient Shu Kingdom or ancient Shu civilization had a relatively developed silk industry at that time.
Because the robes worn by the bronze Daliren are very exquisitely decorated, many people think that this, including clothing experts, experts who specialize in clothing research, believe that this must be silk clothing.
And very early we ancient Shu people, the word Shu, the word Shu in the oracle bone inscriptions, first of all, there is a big eye on the top, and a worm on the bottom. What is a worm?
It is silkworm.
In fact, in the ancient Shu Kingdom, we all believe that the ancient Shu Kingdom had a relatively developed ability to raise silkworms and weave silk a long time ago.
It's just that we have not found such specific evidence of silk in archaeological excavations.
Well this time, we have detected or found a lot through this high-tech method, and almost every pit has such a trace of silk.
In fact, it also confirms that we used to speculate or reason that the ancient Shu Kingdom had a developed silk industry during the Xia and Shang dynasties. We put the monument at the starting point of the Southern Silk Road in Sanxingdui, which is well-deserved.
Now we have such confidence.
From June 11, the excavation focused on the extraction of a bronze altar in Pit No. 8.
This bronze ware has a peculiar shape and a residual height of nearly one meter. As it gradually reveals its true face, its numerous figures and complex structure have made it the most unique bronze ware unearthed so far.
Thunderstorm:
According to many experts, this is a typical type of Sanxingdui bronze ware, that is, a scene-style bronze ware, which represents a certain life or a sacrificial scene.
Through this utensil, we can understand how the priests of the ancient Shu State practiced things or engaged in sacrificial activities. If this utensil is the largest or the most complex in structure in China at that time Combined bronzes, things like this were only found in Sanxingdui at that time.
Not only the tortoise-back grid bronze ware and the tall and complex bronze altar, but also the lovely figure of a figure with a skirt and standing hair, a bronze dragon with a tiger's head and a tiger's head, and a three-hole jade bi that has never been seen in archaeology before. and many more.
Although there is no text, Sanxingdui, which has been sleeping for more than 3,000 years, brings archaeologists a steady stream of surprises and a large number of puzzles waiting to be answered.
Thunderstorm:
It was slowly cleared at the site of the pit, good guy, how could it be such a shape?
Or how can this type of device be so large?
Indeed, it has repeatedly surprised our excavators at the site.
Reporter:
When one of the cultural relics was excavated and discovered, you appeared in the state you said at the scene, cheering or being particularly excited?
Thunderstorm:
In fact, there should be a lot of this state.
Let me talk about the first time. The first time was the huge kneeling figure in Pit No. 3. When it was first cleaned up, because the upper part of it was one of the core ritual artifacts from the Central Plains, It's the big mouth.
Below is a very large, almost life-size, bronze kneeling figure, but because there is still a lot of ivory between the bronze kneeling figure and Dakouzun, everyone was not sure when it first came out. , thought to be two artifacts.
At that time, I was pondering, and I was thinking, I said, could it be one piece?
It would be awesome if this was an artifact.
Because if it is one piece, it means that a typical bronze statue of Sanxingdui culture will be perfectly combined with a typical bronze ritual vessel from the Central Plains.
Then, after the ivory was slowly taken away one by one, it really stuck together. This is a typical case that made many people, including me, including the pit leader, very excited.
Reporter:
Why is the value of connecting and separating it completely different, and it will bring you such a great shock and excitement?
Thunderstorm:
If it is separated, of course, I think the value will be much less. At most, the bronze statue is the factor of the Central Plains, and the factor of the Yellow River Basin.
The kneeling bronze figure is an element of our typical Sanxingdui culture.
If they are combined together, then it means that the people of ancient Shu or Sanxingdui, their imagination or a little more fashionable, is their ability to mix and match, integrate, integrate or innovate. If they stick together, it can best reflect the super-romantic and imaginative nature of the ancient Shu people. Combining them together is far more valuable than the two separate objects.
Diversity of Chinese Civilization
According to Lei Yu, among the cultural relics that have been excavated in Sanxingdui, although there are many strange shapes and symbols with distinctive features, there are also elements and shadows of the Central Plains civilization.
Thunderstorm:
Even in this sacrificial pit, the strange objects have very typical Chinese elements or Chinese symbols on them.
On this bronze figure, the statue on the top of the head, the Yazhang in his hand, and the image of a large number of dragons really abound in various pits.
There are not only round or flat carvings of dragons, but also dragon patterns on clothes.
Including these Central Plains Dakou Zun, bronze scorpion, etc., one of the core ritual vessels in the Central Plains, is widely accepted by our Shu people, and has had a very profound impact, and is extremely respected in the minds of Shu people. For example, it is said that Dakouzun is put on the head of a person. It is conceivable that it is like what our director Wang Wei said, it is the kind of scene that fully reflects our worship.
Therefore, it can be said that the ancient Shu people and the Central Plains have a high degree of core values or this cognitive system, and they are quite compatible. It should be a big family, it has long been a big family.
The excavation of the Sanxingdui site further confirms the evolution of the ancient Chinese civilization.
The excavation, through carbon 14 determination, confirmed that the age of these cultural relics should be in the late Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago.
Reporter:
As for the future archaeology and excavation, what kind of attention will you continue to invest?
Thunderstorm:
First and foremost, we should pay attention to this. Are there any new ones? There are relics of similar sacrifices in Sanxingdui, which means that there will be No. 9 pits, other than No. 8 pits, No. 9 and No. 10. , 11, 12, I personally believe that there should be, but it may be some places that are relatively far away from this area. This is one aspect.
At the same time, because the Sanxingdui site is very large, there are many problems that have not been solved, including this bronze workshop. Are so many bronzes made locally?
If it is made locally, where is its workshop?
This is now our clue not much.
The third is the royal mausoleum. Since this ancient city of Sanxingdui was said to be the capital of the ancient Shu Kingdom during the Xia and Shang periods, where are the tombs of those high-level nobles represented by kings or high priests?
At present, we have no clues at all. It is very likely that I will jump out of the body of the ruins and look for it nearby.
Reporter:
Seeing that you have been paying attention to Sanxingdui for so long, do you have any questions like the so many cultural relics unearthed in Sanxingdui this time, especially the cultural relics of the sacrificial altar you mentioned just now. How could the welding process be able to complete such a beautiful utensil in that era?
Thunderstorm:
Personally, I am really confused. It is the civilization of Sanxingdui. This bronze ware is indeed a bit sudden. At least our current archaeological discoveries cannot support it. It is a step-by-step, a development process. This is A thing, or a technology, or a civilization that is not quite in line with normal, it is a gradual development trajectory.
At present, perhaps our archaeological work has not been done enough, because after all, the Sanxingdui site is so large, 12 square kilometers, and the area we have excavated so far is a little more than one thousandth, so there are still a lot of unexcavated areas. It is still waiting for us to discover, maybe such a piece of evidence in this middle section, the chain of evidence, if more archaeological excavations are carried out, then the chain of evidence or its progress chain for the development of our Sanxingdui bronze civilization will be more complete. .
Reporter丨Gu Bing