Sanxingdui
Encyclopedia
Sanxingdui is the name of an archaeological site
and its deduced culture in China
, now believed to be the site of an ancient Chinese
city. The previously unknown Bronze Age
culture was re-discovered in 1987 when archaeologists excavated remarkable artifacts
, that radiocarbon dating
dated as being from the 12th-11th centuries BCE. Leaving behind nothing in the historical record, not even in myth, the unknown culture that produced these artifacts is now known as the Sanxingdui Culture. A museum housing the artifacts is located near the city of Guanghan
.
, Chengdu Prefecture
, Sichuan Province. The site is a walled city belonging to the Sanxingdui Culture founded c 1600 BCE. The trapizoidal city has an east wall 2000 m, south wall 2000 m, west wall 1600 m enclosing 3.6 km2. The city was built on the banks of the Yazi River
, and enclosed part of its tributary, Mamu River, within the city walls. The city is equal to the Shang capital Ao
in scale and development. The city wall were 40 m at the base and 20 m at the top and varied in height from 8–10 m. There was a smaller set of inner walls. The walls were surrounded by canals 25–20 m wide and 2–3 m 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 burial have been found on four terraces. The structures were timber framed adobe rectangular halls. The largest was a meeting hall about 200 m2.
The Sanxingdui Culture which corresponds to periods II-III of the site, was a mysterious civilization in southern China. This culture is synonymus with the early kingdom of Shu
during the period of the Shang Dynasty
. Although they developed a different method of bronze-making from the Shang, their culture was never recorded by Chinese historians. Sanxingdui culture is thought to be divided into several phases. The first phase which corresponds to period I of the site belongs to the Baodun
, and the final phase (period IV) the culture merged with Ba
and Chu
cultures. The recent discovery at Jinsha
is assumed to be a relocation of Shu Kingdom and continuation of Sanxingdui Culture. Literary research shows this was capital of King Yufu founder of the Shu Kingdom. The kingdom was a strong central theocracy
with trade links to bronze from Yin
and Ivory from Southeast Asia
. Such evidence of independent cultures in different regions of China defies the traditional theory that the Yellow River
was the sole "cradle of Chinese civilization."
This ancient culture had remarkably advanced bronze casting technology which was acquired by adding lead to the usual combination of copper and tin creating a stronger substance that could create substantially larger and heavier objects; for instance, the world's oldest life-size standing human statue
(260 cm high, 180 kg), and a bronze tree
with birds, flowers, and ornaments (396 cm), which some have identified as renderings of the fusang
tree of Chinese mythology.
The most striking finds were dozens of large bronze masks and heads (at least six with gold foil masks originally attached) represented with angular human features, exaggerated almond-shaped eyes, some with protruding pupils, and large upper ears. Many Sanxingdui bronze faces had traces of paint smears: black on the disproportionately large eyes and eyebrows, and vermillion on the lips, nostrils, and ear holes. interprets this vermillion "not be coloring but something ritually offered for the head to taste, smell, and hear (or something that gave it the power to breathe, hear, and speak)." Based upon the design of these heads, archeologists believe they were mounted on wooden supports or totem
s, perhaps dressed in clothing. concludes "masked ritual played a vital role in community life of the ancient Sanxingdui inhabitants", and characterizes these bronze ritual masks as something that may have worn by a shi
尸 (lit. "corpse") "personator, impersonator; ceremonial representative of a dead relative".
Another scholar compares these "bulging-eyed, big-eared bronze heads and masks" with "eye-idols" (effigies with large eyes and open mouths designed to induce hallucinations) in Julian Jaynes
's bicameral hypothesis
; and proposes, "It is possible that southern Chinese personators wore these hypnotic bronze masks, recursively representing the spirit of a dead ancestor with a mask that represents a face disguised by a mask."
Other bronze artifacts include birds with eagle-like bills, tigers, a large snake, zoomorphic masks, bells, and what appears to be a bronze spoked wheel but is more likely to be decoration from an ancient shield. Apart from bronze, Sanxingdui finds included jade artifacts consistent with earlier Chinese neolithic cultures, such as cong
and zhang.
, and Black Tortoise of the North. Each of these Four Symbols (Chinese constellation)
was associated with a constellation that was visible in the relevant season: the dragon in the spring, the bird in the summer, etc. Since these four animals — birds, dragons, snakes and tigers — predominate the finds at Sanxingdui, the bronzes could represent the universe. It is unclear whether they formed part of ritual events designed to communicate with the spirits of the universe (or ancestral spirits). As no written records remain it is difficult to determine the intended uses of objects found. Some believe that the continued prevalence of depictions of these animals, especially in the later Han period, was an attempt by humans to "fit into" their understanding of their world. (The jades that were found at Sanxingdui also seem to correlate with the six known types of ritual jades of ancient China, again each associated with a compass point (N, S, E, W) plus the heavens and earth.)
relics while digging a well, many of which found their way through the years into the hands of private collectors. Generations of Chinese archaeologists searched the area without success until 1986, when 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. Researchers were astonished to find an artistic style that was completely unknown in the history of Chinese art
, whose baseline had been the history and artefacts of the Yellow River civilization(s).
All the Sanxingdui discoveries aroused scholarly interest, but the bronzes were what excited the world. Task Rosen of 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). Sanxingdui exhibits traveled worldwide, and tickets were sold out everywhere; from the Hybary Arts Museum in Munich
(1995), the Swiss National Museum
in Zurich (1996), the British Museum in London (1996), the National Museum of Denmark
in Copenhagen (1997), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
in New York (1998), several museums in Japan
(1998), the National Palace Museum
in Taipei (1999), to the Asian Civilisations Museum
in Singapore (2007).
Nevertheless, despite the interest in the excavated finds, the site itself suffered from flood
ing and pollution
, and was for this reason 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. Also, in 1997, the Sanxingdui Museum opened near the original site.
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
and its deduced culture in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, now believed to be the site of an ancient Chinese
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
city. The previously unknown Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
culture was re-discovered in 1987 when archaeologists excavated remarkable artifacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
, that radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
dated as being from the 12th-11th centuries BCE. Leaving behind nothing in the historical record, not even in myth, the unknown culture that produced these artifacts is now known as the Sanxingdui Culture. A museum housing the artifacts is located near the city of Guanghan
Guanghan
Guanghan is a county-level city in Deyang, Sichuan province, China. The predominant industries are tourism, pharmaceuticals and the supply of building material....
.
Sanxingdui Culture
The Sanxingdui archaeological site is located about 4 km northeast of Nanxing Township, Guanghan CountyGuanghan
Guanghan is a county-level city in Deyang, Sichuan province, China. The predominant industries are tourism, pharmaceuticals and the supply of building material....
, Chengdu Prefecture
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
, Sichuan Province. The site is a walled city belonging to the Sanxingdui Culture founded c 1600 BCE. The trapizoidal city has an east wall 2000 m, south wall 2000 m, west wall 1600 m enclosing 3.6 km2. The city was built on the banks of the Yazi River
Jian River
The Jian River is a river in China, the headwater stream of Tongkou River . The Tongkou joins the Fu River which is a tributary of the Yangtze. The Jian River flows through Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, Sichuan. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake caused a landslide dam on the river which created...
, and enclosed part of its tributary, Mamu River, within the city walls. The city is equal to the Shang capital Ao
Guancheng Hui District
Guancheng Hui District is a district in the central part of the city of Zhengzhou in Henan Province, People's Republic of China.The District government is located in this district. The ruins of a Shang Dynasty city, Ao are located here in Shang City Park.-External links:*...
in scale and development. The city wall were 40 m at the base and 20 m at the top and varied in height from 8–10 m. There was a smaller set of inner walls. The walls were surrounded by canals 25–20 m wide and 2–3 m 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 burial have been found on four terraces. The structures were timber framed adobe rectangular halls. The largest was a meeting hall about 200 m2.
The Sanxingdui Culture which corresponds to periods II-III of the site, was a mysterious civilization in southern China. This culture is synonymus with the early kingdom of Shu
Shu (state)
The State of Shu was an ancient state in what is now Sichuan, China. It was conquered by Qin in 316 BC. Shu was based on the Chengdu Plain, in the western Sichuan basin with some extension northeast to the upper Han River valley. To the east was the Ba tribal confederation. Further east down the...
during the period of the Shang Dynasty
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
. Although they developed a different method of bronze-making from the Shang, their culture was never recorded by Chinese historians. Sanxingdui culture is thought to be divided into several phases. The first phase which corresponds to period I of the site belongs to the Baodun
Baodun culture
The Baodun culture was a Neolithic culture centered on the Chengdu Plain in Sichuan, China. Recently discovered, six settlements from the culture have been found: the type site at Baodun in Xinjin County, the site at Mangcheng in Dujiangyan City, the site at Yufu in Wenjiang County, the site at...
, and the final phase (period IV) the culture merged with Ba
Ba (state)
Ba was an ancient state in eastern Sichuan, China. Its original capital was Yicheng , Hubei. Ba was conquered by Qin in 316 BC. The modern ethnic minority Tujia people trace some of their origins back to the Ba people....
and Chu
Chu (state)
The State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong...
cultures. The recent discovery at Jinsha
Jinsha
Jinsha is an archaeological site in Sichuan, China. Located in the Qingyang District of Chengdu Prefecture, Along the Modi River Jinsha is an archaeological site in Sichuan, China. Located in the Qingyang District of Chengdu Prefecture, Along the Modi River Jinsha is an archaeological site in...
is assumed to be a relocation of Shu Kingdom and continuation of Sanxingdui Culture. Literary research shows this was capital of King Yufu founder of the Shu Kingdom. The kingdom was a strong central theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
with trade links to bronze from Yin
Yinxu
Yinxu is the ruins of the last capital of China's Shang Dynasty. The capital served 255 years for 12 kings in 8 generations.Rediscovered in 1899, it is one of the oldest and largest archeological sites in China and is one of the historical capitals of China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
and Ivory from Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. Such evidence of independent cultures in different regions of China defies the traditional theory that the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
was the sole "cradle of Chinese civilization."
Metallurgy
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
(260 cm high, 180 kg), and a bronze tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
with birds, flowers, and ornaments (396 cm), which some have identified as renderings of the fusang
Fusang
Fusang or Fousang refers to several different entities in ancient Chinese literature, often either a mythological tree or a mysterious land to the East....
tree of Chinese mythology.
The most striking finds were dozens of large bronze masks and heads (at least six with gold foil masks originally attached) represented with angular human features, exaggerated almond-shaped eyes, some with protruding pupils, and large upper ears. Many Sanxingdui bronze faces had traces of paint smears: black on the disproportionately large eyes and eyebrows, and vermillion on the lips, nostrils, and ear holes. interprets this vermillion "not be coloring but something ritually offered for the head to taste, smell, and hear (or something that gave it the power to breathe, hear, and speak)." Based upon the design of these heads, archeologists believe they were mounted on wooden supports or totem
Totem
A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
s, perhaps dressed in clothing. concludes "masked ritual played a vital role in community life of the ancient Sanxingdui inhabitants", and characterizes these bronze ritual masks as something that may have worn by a shi
Shi (personator)
The shi was a ceremonial "personator" who represented a dead relative during ancient Chinese ancestral sacrifices. In a shi ceremony, the ancestral spirit supposedly would enter the descendant "corpse" personator, who would eat and drink sacrificial offerings and convey messages from the spirit...
尸 (lit. "corpse") "personator, impersonator; ceremonial representative of a dead relative".
The shi was generally a close, young relative who wore a costume (possibly including a mask) reproducing the features of the dead person. The shi was an impersonator, that is, a person serving as a reminder of the ancestor to whom sacrifice was being offered. During such a ceremony, the impersonator was much more than an actor in a drama. Although the exact meaning may have been different, the group of Sanxingdui masked figures in bronze all have the character of an impersonator. It is likely the masks were used to impersonate and identify with certain supernatural beings in order to effect some communal good.
Another scholar compares these "bulging-eyed, big-eared bronze heads and masks" with "eye-idols" (effigies with large eyes and open mouths designed to induce hallucinations) in Julian Jaynes
Julian Jaynes
Julian Jaynes was an American psychologist, best known for his book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind , in which he argued that ancient peoples were not conscious....
's bicameral hypothesis
Bicameralism (psychology)
Bicameralism is a hypothesis in psychology that argues that the human brain once assumed a state in which cognitive functions were divided between one part of the brain which appears to be "speaking", and a second part which listens and obeys—a bicameral mind...
; and proposes, "It is possible that southern Chinese personators wore these hypnotic bronze masks, recursively representing the spirit of a dead ancestor with a mask that represents a face disguised by a mask."
Other bronze artifacts include birds with eagle-like bills, tigers, a large snake, zoomorphic masks, bells, and what appears to be a bronze spoked wheel but is more likely to be decoration from an ancient shield. Apart from bronze, Sanxingdui finds included jade artifacts consistent with earlier Chinese neolithic cultures, such as cong
Cong (jade)
A cong is a form of jade artifact from ancient China. The earliest cong were produced by the Liangzhu culture ; later examples date mainly from the Shang and Zhou dynasties....
and zhang.
Cosmology
As far back as Neolithic times, the Chinese identified the four quadrants of the sky with animals: Azure Dragon of the East, Vermillion Bird of the South, White Tiger of the WestWhite Tiger (Chinese constellation)
The White Tiger is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West , and is known as Baihu in Chinese, Byakko in Japanese, Baekho in Korean and Bạch Hổ in Vietnamese...
, and Black Tortoise of the North. Each of these Four Symbols (Chinese constellation)
Four Symbols (Chinese constellation)
The Four Symbols are four mythological creatures in the Chinese constellations. They are:*Azure Dragon of the East *Vermilion Bird of the South *White Tiger of the West *Black Tortoise of the North...
was associated with a constellation that was visible in the relevant season: the dragon in the spring, the bird in the summer, etc. Since these four animals — birds, dragons, snakes and tigers — predominate the finds at Sanxingdui, the bronzes could represent the universe. It is unclear whether they formed part of ritual events designed to communicate with the spirits of the universe (or ancestral spirits). As no written records remain it is difficult to determine the intended uses of objects found. Some believe that the continued prevalence of depictions of these animals, especially in the later Han period, was an attempt by humans to "fit into" their understanding of their world. (The jades that were found at Sanxingdui also seem to correlate with the six known types of ritual jades of ancient China, again each associated with a compass point (N, S, E, W) plus the heavens and earth.)
Discovery
In 1929, a farmer unearthed a large stash of jadeJade
Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
relics while digging a well, many of which found their way through the years into the hands of private collectors. Generations of Chinese archaeologists searched the area without success until 1986, when 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. Researchers were astonished to find an artistic style that was completely unknown in the history of Chinese art
Chinese art
Chinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. This early period was followed by a series of art...
, whose baseline had been the history and artefacts of the Yellow River civilization(s).
All the Sanxingdui discoveries aroused scholarly interest, but the bronzes were what excited the world. Task Rosen of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
considered them to be more outstanding than the Terracotta Army
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army or the "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China...
in Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
. The first exhibits of Sanxingdui bronzes were held in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
(1987, 1990) and the Olympic Museum
Olympic Museum
The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland houses permanent and temporary exhibits relating to sport and the Olympic movement. With more than 10,000 pieces, the museum is the largest archive of Olympic Games in the world and one of Lausanne's prime tourist draws attracting more than 250,000...
in Lausanne (1993). Sanxingdui exhibits traveled worldwide, and tickets were sold out everywhere; from the Hybary Arts Museum in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(1995), the Swiss National Museum
Swiss National Museum
The Swiss National Museum — part of the Musée Suisse Group, itself affiliated with the Federal Office of Culture — is one of the most important art museums of cultural history in Europe and the world...
in Zurich (1996), the British Museum in London (1996), the National Museum of Denmark
National Museum of Denmark
The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main domicile is located a short distance from Strøget at the center of Copenhagen. It contains exhibits from around the world,...
in Copenhagen (1997), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
in New York (1998), several museums in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(1998), the National Palace Museum
National Palace Museum
The National Palace Museum is an art museum in Taipei. It is the national museum of the Republic of China, and has a permanent collection of over 677,687 pieces of ancient Chinese artifacts and artworks, making it one of the largest in the world. The collection encompasses over 8,000 years of...
in Taipei (1999), to the Asian Civilisations Museum
Asian Civilisations Museum
The Asian Civilisations Museum is an institution which forms a part of the three museums of the National Museum of Singapore. It is one of the pioneering museums in the region to specialise in pan-Asian cultures and civilisations...
in Singapore (2007).
Nevertheless, despite the interest in the excavated finds, the site itself suffered from flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing and pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, and was for this reason included in the 1996 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....
. For the preservation of the site, funding was offered by American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
to construct a protective dike. Also, in 1997, the Sanxingdui Museum opened near the original site.
See also
- Erligang cultureErligang cultureThe Erligang culture is the term used by archaeologists to refer to a Bronze Age archaeological culture in China. The primary site was discovered at Erligang, just outside of the modern city of Zhengzhou, Henan, in 1951....
- Erlitou cultureErlitou cultureThe Erlitou culture is a name given by archaeologists to an Early Bronze Age urban society that existed in China from 2000 BCE to 1500 BCE. The culture was named after the site discovered at Erlitou in Yanshi, Henan Province...
- History of ChinaHistory of ChinaChinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
- History of metallurgy in ChinaHistory of metallurgy in ChinaMetallurgy in China has a long history. China was the earliest civilization that produced cast iron as well as chrome plated steel.-Bronze and its Components:...
- Jinsha
- List of Bronze Age sites in China
- List of Neolithic cultures of China
- Wucheng cultureWucheng cultureThe Wucheng culture was a Bronze Age archaeological culture in Jiangxi, China. The initial site, spread out over , was discovered at Wucheng, Zhangshu. Located on the Gan River, the site was first excavated in 1973. The Wucheng culture probably developed in response to cultural contacts with the...
External links
- More About the Finds at Sanxingdui, National Gallery of Art
- Treasures from a Lost Civilization: Ancient Chinese Art from Sichuan, Seattle Art Museum
- Riddle from the Ancient Past: The Mysteries of Sanxingdui, Taiwan Panorama
- Sanxingdui mask relics record traces of Bronze Age, Shanghai Star
- Historical Wonders of Sanxingdui, China.org.cn