Posted on 07/13/2005 7:21:21 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Archeologists shake up history
NEW EVIDENCE: Artifacts found at a building site and the subsequent discovery of a lost civilization have forced historians to rethink Chinese history as a whole
AFP , JINSHA, CHINA
Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005,Page 4
 A worker stands on a stack of bags of cement before a huge billboard featuring the famous ''bronze human head figure with gold mask,'' one of the treasures of the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan, Sichuan Province in this photo from May. Recent archeological finds from previously unknown civilizations such as the Sanxingdui and the Jinsha are dealing shattering blows to traditional views of Chinese history. PHOTO: AFP |
Day after sweltering day on the banks of the Modi stream, archeologists are dealing shattering blows to traditional views of Chinese history as they work their way through the parched, yellow earth.
One of the world's great cities once flourished here at Jinsha village in China's southwest, the 1000BC equivalent of New York or Paris, and then inexplicably vanished, leaving no trace behind in the historical records.
Until recently, locals had no idea they were living on top of a great lost bronze-age civilization.
"Of course, people get excited when they hear that their home area has such a long history, such an advanced culture, and such refined art," said Jiang Zhanghua, deputy head of the Institute of Archeology in nearby Chengdu City.
The discovery of the site was entirely fortuitous, reflecting how much of the patchy record of the pre-historic past has come together merely by chance.
On a winter day in early 2001, excavation teams sent to the site by a property developer unearthed large numbers of ivory and jade artifacts that clearly suggested a major find.
If the company had decided to just carry on its work, covering the site in concrete as is believed by archeologists to be quite common, the Jinsha civilization might have been forgotten forever. But they called in authorities.
Weird masks
In and by themselves, the artifacts are striking in their weirdness -- masks with strangely protruding eyes, cult statues frozen in poses of unknown, but likely religious, significance.
More importantly, the spectacular discovery in Jinsha has added to the mass of evidence forcing historians to rethink Chinese history as a whole.
It is now clear that Chinese culture had multiple origins and did not, as previous generations of historians confidently believed, follow a simple path from just one single source.
It is a popular idea that the cradle of Chinese civilization is in the Yellow River valley about 1,000km northeast of Chengdu, and matured there before gradually spreading southward.
If nothing else, this traditional concept of history is supported by ancient myths about the Yellow Emperor and other early rulers, held dear by many Chinese.
But historians have long suspected this cannot be right. Ever since, that is, the discovery of the Sanxingdui civilization, about 50km from the Jinsha excavation site.
Here archeologists have been unearthing artifacts for most of the 20th century, discovering what now is confirmed as one of the world's major pre-historic civilizations.
The Sanxingdui culture, which blossomed from 5000BC to 3000BC, is characterized by the same radical strangeness as that unearthed at Jinsha.
Masks with oversized eyes and eyebrows, with some of them covered with gold leaf, are among its hallmarks.
But even as they display unique features, both Sanxingdui and Jinsha also show remarkable parallels with other ancient cultures.
Sacred sun and trees
"Sun worship was practiced here at the same time as it formed a central part of ancient Egyptian cults," says Zhu Yarong, a young historian at the large museum erected at Sanxingdui.
"People here appear to have worshipped sacred trees, just like in Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq," she says.
As the archeologists analyze the finds, they try to solve important questions, such as why the Sanxingdui site had a city wall while Jinsha did not.
The absence of a city wall in Jinsha is particularly strange, because cities in ancient China emerged as concentrations of political power, not trading centers as was mostly the case in the west.
Researchers also know little about the ties the Sanxingdui and Jinsha people had with other cultures, even if they can determine that exchanges must have been frequent.
The archeological teams have uncovered large numbers of ivory tusks originating from China's current border with mainland Southeast Asia.
The question is, how did they get here, and why?
Other questions remain. Where did the Sanxingdui and Jinsha people come from? Where did they go? And what exactly characterized their religion?
These are questions that may never be answered, because the Sanxingdui people left no written record. It is odd that people at their stage of development did not invent some type of writing system, but it is not unheard of.
Other civilizations, most notably in pre-Columbian America, were also illiterate, even as they were highly advanced in other fields such as architecture and astronomy.
Hidden knowledge
For Zhu, the museum historian, the discovery of written records would be a dream come true, unlocking hidden knowledge about how the mystical ancient inhabitants of the area lived and what their thoughts and feelings were.
"We don't know if they actually did invent writing. Maybe they did, but they used a material that has not survived to this day. It would be major, major step forward if we found written records," she says.
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Bronze Image With Gold Mask |
Sacred Tree |
Click here for more picture of artifacts from Sanxingdui Culture.
Ping!
They couldn't have thought they were the only ones in the area.... Hell, China's made up of several different ethnic groups. The area is probably a lot like the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys.
that mask looks like Burt from Sesame Street. Hmmm....
Good one, thanks.
I am inclined to agree with you.
Burt is cuter.:-)
The baby is even cuter than Burt. No wonder he is crying. Compared with him, Burt is a brute.:-)
i'm waiting for all them "bert is evil" pics to start showing up. he also resembles OBL.
"then inexplicably vanished, leaving no trace behind in the historical records."
I had a better understanding of this when I had a chance to volunteer in Mongolia for a project. In the rural towns were large soviet style apartments standing empty. When the infrastructure changed, when the Soviets left, there was no one to pay the bills for electricity and heat. You CAN't live in an apartment without those. So everyone moved out to the country and lived in tents. Land was free and the new wealth and living opportunity were cattle and horses.
UlanBatar (sp?) the capital city had more access to international help so the system there kept going. Prior to my being in the capital the electricity had been on only 25-50% of the time.
If the international community had not stepped in to keep things going there was no choice for the residents except to move out to the country. The cities and towns would have been immediately abandoned.
What would happen in the US if the USDA and Bank system closed down tomorrow?
So... not only is Burt evil... but he is an ANCIENT evil...
hmmm...
oh i WON'T go there;-)
oh i WON'T go there;-)
but you should hear what he does to ernie when nobody's around!
Similar to Mayan and Inca art...they will claim the Americas now.
Very high bridges on the noses for Mongoloids, though some Amerind groups have the same.
So9
Great post, thanks.
In shamanistic belief of Siberia, a tree is a bridge connecting earth to spiritual world in the sky.
More proof that Bert is evil?
interesting
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