Sanxingdui

Sanxingdui (Chinese: 三星堆; pinyin: Sānxīngduī; lit. 'Three Star Mound') is an archaeological site and a major Bronze Age culture in modern Guanghan, Sichuan, China. Largely discovered in 1986, following a preliminary finding in 1927, archaeologists excavated artifacts that radiocarbon dating placed in the 12th–11th centuries BC.

The archaeological site is the type site for the Sanxingdui culture that produced these artifacts, archeologists have identified the locale with the ancient kingdom of Shu, which suggests the presence of a unique civilization in this region before the state of Qin conquered the area in 316 BC. The artifacts are displayed in the Sanxingdui Museum located near the city of Guanghan.

Sanxingdui is on the UNESCO list of tentative World Heritage Sites, along with the Jinsha site and the tombs of boat-shaped coffins.

Background

Many Chinese archaeologists have identified the Sanxingdui culture to be part of the ancient kingdom of Shu, linking the artifacts found at the site to its early and legendary kings. The kingdom is mentioned in Shiji and Shujing as an ally of the Zhou who defeated the Shang. Accounts of the legendary kings of Shu also may be found in local annals.

According to the Chronicles of Huayang that were compiled during the Jin dynasty (266–420), the Shu kingdom was founded by Cancong (蠶叢). Cancong was described as having protruding eyes, a feature that is found in many of the masks and figures of Sanxingdui. It has therefore been suggested that the large masks with protruding eyes are a representation of Cancong, although there are other interpretations.

Other eye-shaped objects were also found that might suggest worship of the eyes. Other rulers mentioned in Chronicles of Huayang include Boguan (柏灌), Yufu (魚鳧), and Duyu (杜宇). Many of the objects are fish- and bird-shaped, and these have been suggested to be totems of Boguan and Yufu (the name Yufu means fish cormorant), and the clan of Yufu has been suggested as the one most likely to be associated with Sanxingdui.

Later, similar discoveries were made at Jinsha as well, which is located 40 km away and has close link with the Sanxingdui culture. It is thought to be the relocated capital of the Shu Kingdom. It also has been suggested that the Jinsha site may be the hub and capital of the Duyu clan.

Archaeological site

The Sanxingdui archaeological site is located about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) northeast of Nanxing Township, Guanghan, Deyang, Sichuan Province. Archaeological digs at the site showed evidence of a walled city founded c. 1,600 BC. The trapezoidal city has an east wall 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), south wall 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), west wall 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) enclosing 3.6 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi), similar in scale to the inner city of the Zhengzhou Shang City.

The city was built on the banks of the Yazi River (Chinese: 涧河; pinyin: Jiān Hé), and enclosed part of its tributary, Mamu River, within the city walls. The city walls were 40 metres (130 ft) at the base and 20 metres (66 ft) at the top, varying in height from 8–10 metres (26–33 ft). There was a smaller set of inner walls.

The walls were surrounded by canals 25–20 metres (82–66 ft) wide and 2–3 metres (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) deep. These canals were used for irrigation, inland navigation, defense, and flood control. The city was divided into residential, industrial, and religious districts organized around a dominant central axis. It is along this axis that most of the pit burials have been found on four terraces. The structures were timber-framed adobe rectangular halls. The largest was a meeting hall about 200 m² (2,200 sq ft).

Discovery

Evidence of an ancient culture in this region was first found in 1927 when a well-to-do farmer unearthed a large stash of jade relics while dredging an irrigation ditch, many of which through the years found their way into the hands of private collectors. In 1931, the discovery was brought to the attention of Vyvyan Donnithorne, an Anglican missionary stationed at the Gospel Church of Guanghan. He recognised the importance of the discovery and contacted a local magistrate as well as Daniel Sheets Dye, a professor of geology at West China Union University (WCUU). The three of them then visited the location and photographed and measured the site. Through the magistrate, a few items were acquired and sent to the museum at WCUU. Then, in 1934, David Crockett Graham, the new director of the museum at WCUU, organised the first archaeological excavation of the site.

In 1986, local workers accidentally found sacrificial pits containing thousands of gold, bronze, jade, and pottery artifacts that had been broken (perhaps ritually disfigured), burned, and carefully buried. Containing approximately 800 objects, the second sacrificial pit was found a little less than a month later, on August 14, 1986, only 20–30 metres (66–98 ft) from the first one.

Bronze objects found in the second sacrificial pit included sculptures of humans, animal-faced sculptures, bells, decorative animals such as dragons, snakes, chicks, and birds, and axes. Tables, masks, and belts were some of the objects found that were made out of gold, while objects made out of jade included axes, tablets, rings, knives, and tubes. There were also many ivory carvings, and clam shells. Researchers were astonished to find an artistic style that was completely unknown in the history of Chinese art.

Among the Sanxingdui discoveries, the bronze artifacts garnered exceptional scholarly attention. Task Rosen, chief archaeological expert from the British Museum, considered them to be more outstanding than the Terracotta Army in Xi'an. The first exhibits of Sanxingdui bronzes were held in Beijing (1987, 1990) and the Olympic Museum in Lausanne (1993).

Despite the interest in the excavated finds, the site suffered from flooding and pollution. For this reason the site was included in the 1996 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund. For the preservation of the site, funding was offered by American Express to construct a protective dike. In 1997, the Sanxingdui Museum was opened near the original site as a central repository and exhibition complex for all Sanxingdui artifacts.

In March 2021, more than 500 cultural relics, including a 3,000-year-old gold mask, were discovered at Sanxingdui at a 4.6 square miles (12 km²) area outside the provincial capital of Chengdu. The mask is estimated to be made from 84% gold and weighs 280 grams (9.9 oz). According to the National Cultural Heritage Administration, the items were recovered from six newly discovered "sacrificial pits". Additional masks, jade tools, and ivory relics were also discovered in the pit.

The six pits were discovered at the Sanxingdui site between 2020 and 2022 during a renewed slate of excavations. The artifacts found in these excavations include fragments of a gold mask, traces of silk, bronze ware depicting animals, ivory carvings, and more. A round of excavations is scheduled to conclude in October 2022.