CHINA-ARCHAEOLOGY: NEW FIND AT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE SUGGESTS EXISTENCE OF PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN 3000 YEAR OLD CHINESE CIVILISATION

A report in the South China Morning Post (March 20) stated that during a massive dig at the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan, which started from 2019, almost 500  artefacts made from gold, bronze, jade and ivory more than 3,000 years ago were uncovered. Archaeologists feel this suggests that the area was once home to an unknown highly-developed civilisation whose existence may rewrite the history of China. Shi Jinsong, Deputy Director of the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Chinese civilisation was traditionally thought to originate from that area, which was known as the Zhong Yuan, or central land. The Zhong Yuan was long believed to be the centre of the world with the most advanced civilisation and “people living outside were regarded as barbarians.” But the new discoveries at Sanxingdui suggest the story of Chinese civilisation may be more complex than previously thought. Shi Jinsong said, “We are more likely a fusion” of different ancient cultures or civilisations.  Zhao Congcang, an archaeologist with Northwest University in Xian, said he was stunned when seeing the artefacts.





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