Emily Chan
At the archaeological site of Sanxingdui in Sichuan, China, a trove of items was found in a series of sacrificial pits that shed light on the secrets of an ancient Chinese civilization.
The discovery was made in 2022. Among the artifacts were a bronze sculpture of a snake with a human head, an altar, gold masks, and jade items.
“The sculptures are very complex and imaginative, reflecting the fairy world imagined by people at that time, and they demonstrate the diversity and richness of Chinese civilization,” said Zhao Hao, the excavation leader of one of the pits and an associate professor at Peking University.
Sanxingdui was accidentally discovered in the late 1920s by a farmer who was repairing a sewage ditch. It is one of the major archaeological sites in China. Experts think its treasures were from the ancient Shu kingdom, which dates back 4,800 years ago and lasted for 2,000 years.
In the 1980s, two pits were excavated at the 12-square-mile site. Since 2020, six more have been explored. Overall, archaeologists have uncovered 13,000 artifacts.
The latest finds came from what archaeologists refer to as sacrificial pits 7 and 8. The most notable find was a box with a tortoise-shaped lid containing jade objects, including dragon heads. Around the box, there were traces of silk.
“It would not be an exaggeration to say that the vessel is one of its kind, given its distinctive shape, fine craftsmanship, and ingenious design. Although we do not know what this vessel was used for, we can assume that ancient people treasured it,” said Li Haichao, a professor at Sichuan University.
No evidence of human burials or remains has been found at the site, indicating that the pits were not funerary. However, the sacrificed remains of cattle and boars were identified alongside bamboo, reeds, and soybeans.
The organic remains, along with the presence of artifacts, suggest that the pits might have been used for rituals. Some of the artifacts showed signs of damage. They appeared to have been broken or burned on purpose.
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