ExclusiveSanxingdui: Lost Ancient Civilization or extraterrestrial civilization?

Today, let's dive into Sanxingdui, the ancient city near Chengdu, Sichuan Province, a place that has become even more astonishing than the Terracotta Warriors, with unearthed artifacts being unprecedented treasures. On the south bank of the Duck River in Guanghan City, northwest of Chengdu, there were three Lus Mounds. The Ma Mu River gracefully winds through the area, forming a crescent-shaped bend called Moon Bay. The Lus Mounds facing Moon Bay were recorded as, three stars accompanying the moon, in the county chronicles of the Qing Dynasty. Thus, the name Sanxingdui originated. However, archaeological research revealed that these three mounds with beautiful names were not just a few mounds, they were the remains of ancient city walls that had existed for thousands of years. Back in 1929, a guy named Yan Daocheng and his son stumbled upon a stone cellar while cleaning a ditch. Inside, they found over 400 jade artifacts, which Yan Daocheng quietly sold at a low price in Chengdu's antique market. By 1931, British missionary Donathorne noticed the unusual jade artifacts and informed David Graham, the director of Huaxi University Museum. In 1934, Graham organized an archaeological team, leading to the first excavation of the Sanxingdui site, revealing more than 600 artifacts. Due to the war of 1934, archaeological work was halted for some time. In 1963, Professor Feng Hanji's Sichuan Joint Archaeological Team re-excavated Sanxingdui, including Moon Bay, suggesting it was the central city of the ancient Shu State. By 1986, the discovery of Pit No. 1 unearthed 567 artifacts. Pit No. 2 revealed bronze masks, large figures, divine trees, and more, totaling 6,095 artifacts, astonishing the world. Ongoing excavations rediscovered sacrificial pits and revealed a large building site, likely a temple or palace. The city walls outlined a three-tiered pattern and gradually unveiled the ancient city of Sanxingdui, which covers 3.6 square kilometers, equivalent to five Forbidden Cities, with workshop, palace, burial, sacrificial, living, and river supply areas. A significant portion of the artifacts discovered at Sanxingdui are sacrificial in nature. Notably, objects like sun wheel shapes, sun-shaped crowns on bronze figures, sun patterns on golden staffs, sun patterns on jade blades, and sun god birds all indicate a reverence for solar totems. In Pit No. 5, a gold mask with an impressive 85% gold content was found. Additionally, small gold beads from the same pit unearthed recently boast a purity exceeding 99%, nearly 24k gold. Pit No. 3 revealed a very thin gold mask weighing around 100 grams, representing the most complete gold mask in Sanxingdui's archaeological excavations so far. The national treasure-level golden staff features two head portraits at the bottom, each adorned with four feathered arrows arranged oppositely. Each arrow tip pierces the head of a fish, and each arrow shaft is followed by a bird with a hooked beak. The remarkable craftsmanship prompts questions about how the ancient Shu civilization achieved such high-level gold mining and processing. Archaeologists made a surprising discovery that the bronze artifacts from Sanxingdui lack the element of zinc, which puzzles scientists. In contrast, central plains civilizations typically use copper-zinc alloy smelting for bronze forging. The mastery of more advanced bronze smelting technology by the people of Sanxingdui, without a writing system, raises intriguing questions. The bronze statues uncovered from Sanxingdui, including the bronze divine tree, bronze figure, and vertically oriented bronze mask, are exceptionally large. For instance, the bronze figure stands at 2.62 meters tall, the vertically oriented bronze mask is 1.38 meters wide and 80 centimeters high, and the bronze divine tree reaches nearly five meters in height. The purpose of these sizable bronze products and sacrificial rituals remains a mystery. A substantial number of shell currencies from ancient India were unearthed from Sanxingdui's site. Given the historical challenges of accessing Shu, the transportation of these shell currencies from distant India to Sanxingdui poses an intriguing question. Numerous ivory items were discovered at Sanxingdui and the Jinsha sacrificial area nearby. The largest ivory pit in Jinsha featured up to eight layers of ivory arranged meticulously. Ivory appeared to hold significance as an offering to celestial spirits, with variations in quantity and usage in each ritual activity. These ivory items originated from the Asian elephant, prompting questions about how such large quantities were transported if they were from the regions of Myanmar and India. Excavations revealed artifacts known as Sanxingdui's eyes, featuring a diamond shape with a circular center resembling an eye. The diameter of this diamond precisely measures 3.1416 times the diameter of the circle, suggesting an impressive level of mathematical knowledge among the people 5,000 years ago. The source of this advanced mathematical understanding remains a mystery. Six bronze sun wheels found at Sanxingdui have sparked extensive debate regarding their use and symbolic meaning. Some interpret them as chariot steering wheels, adding to the overall mystery surrounding these artifacts. In addition, most ancient instruments were generally symmetrical and even in number. However, this 5-axis type of object not only goes against common understanding but also increases the difficulty of production, making it somewhat incredible. Some experts believe that this may be an astronomical measuring instrument. Based on the length and shadow length of the bronze sun wheel, the solar altitude angles on the winter solstice and summer solstice were accurately measured with minimal error. Moreover, historical records indicate that the Zhou people once used similar methods. There are still many mysteries, but this advanced civilization, with all its bling, leave no written records. As a result, the origin of the Sanxingdui civilization and where it vanished has sparked various debates. Some believe that the Sanxingdui culture migrated from ancient Egyptian or Sumerian civilizations. This is due to its advanced forging techniques, mathematical proficiency, and artifacts like golden masks and staffs, which are typically associated with highly developed civilizations like Egypt. Additionally, in the central plains, bronze items are mostly royal ritual vessels, musical instruments, tripods, wine vessels, food containers, and bells. Sanxingdui, however, features figures with human, divine, bird, and beast characteristics. These mask designs exhibit distinct features such as high cheekbones, pointed noses, and coiled nostril wings, resembling the facial characteristics of people from the western regions. The costumes and hairstyles of the figures also bear distinctive traits of the Middle East and Persia. Therefore, some speculate that the Sanxingdui culture originated from the Sumerian civilization in the Mesopotamian region. However, these conclusions are only based on comparisons of specific types or categories of artifacts unearthed from Sanxingdui with those of other civilizations. As discussed in previous episodes, we explored the alignment between Sanxingdui artifacts and descriptions in the Shanghai Jing. Therefore, I am more inclined to view the Sanxingdui civilization as a lost ancient civilization. In the Shanghai Jing, classic of mountains and seas, we've got these legendary figures, three sovereigns, and five emperors like the Yellow Emperor, Zhuangzhu, and Fuxi. And guess what? They're tied to the Barshu region. Fuxi is not only the big deal for Huaxia civilization, but also the kickstarter of the Bashu culture. Both Bashu and Central Plains fall under the Chinese civilization umbrella. People in Shu see Zhuangzhu as a godly ancestor. He's the great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor, born in the ancient Shu country near Ruoxue. Now, check this out from the Shanghai Jing, bird-human creatures everywhere. Bird with three legs and a human face here, bird-like thing with an owl face, and bird dude with a crow look in the mix, etc. Among the Sanxingdui artifacts, bronze divine birds steal the spotlight. This bird-footed deity bronze statue with brocade robes, looking all fancy with those protruding eyes and fangs. There is also the bronze figure with a bird's body and a human head. It features large ears, a high nose, and eyes that protrude outward. Regarding ivory, it is recorded in the Shanghai Jing that, in the southwest, in the country of Ba, there are black snakes with green heads that have a preference for eating elephants. It is also mentioned, 300 Li to the northeast is Mount Min. There are many rhinoceroses and elephants, and many Kui cattle. You see, although there are no wild elephants in Chengdu now, it doesn't mean there were none in ancient times. Plus, there are jade discs with cool concentric circle patterns, giving off serious Shang dynasty vibes. Sanxingdui is like, hey, we're part of the ancient Chinese civilization too. There's more. In the Shanghai Jing, it talks about Kuafu chasing the sun's shadow, getting all thirsty, and eventually dying near a big marsh. What's he got in his hand? A staff. And you know what? Sanxingdui has a similar long golden scepter with bird and fish totems. Coincidence? Alright, let's shift gears to the ancient Shu country. According to ancient texts, the earliest kings of the ancient Shu state were Cancong, Baiguan, and Yufu. Descendants in the next three generations included Wang Diduyu, Biling, or Puzui. Following them was Kaiming. The famous ancient poet Li Bai even wrote about it in The Difficulties of the Shu Road. He said, Oh dear, how towering and treacherous! The Difficulties of the Shu Road are like reaching the sky, truly challenging to overcome. According to legend, Cancong and Yufu established the Shu state, but the exact founding date is so ancient that it's hard to delve into. It's been about 48,000 years since then, and the Qin and Shu regions have been separated by the Qin Mountains, making communication and travel between them impossible. Sichuan Basin is surrounded by the Qin Mountains to the north, the Sichuan Plateau to the west, the Yungui Plateau to the south, and the Wushan Mountains to the east. It's like nature set up a crazy obstacle course. Only two ways in and out, land route through the Qin Mountains or water route along the Yangtze River tributaries. Both are tough. Li Bai describes the first and third kings, Cancong and Yufu, as legends who established the Shu country. Yang Xiong's record of the Chronicles of the Kings of Shu claimed that the three kings each lived for several hundred years and achieved immortality through deification. That's a bit mind-blowing, right? This somewhat challenges the limits of Chinese historians under today's atheistic education, making it hard to believe. Yang Xiong, also known as Yang Zi, is referred to as the Confucius of Western Shu. Zhang Heng, building upon the systematic exposition of cosmology attributed to Yang Xiong, invented the celestial globe. The Shu folks started on the Minshan Mountains, led by the Cancong clan. The character Shu is derived from the character Chan, silkworm. There is a historical record stating that the Yellow Emperor married a woman from the Shu Mountain clan, and they had a son with a vertical eyes, who was skilled in silkworm cultivation. The vertical eyes of Cancong align with the bronze vertically oriented masks unearthed at Sanxingdui. Yufu, the third king, may be connected to bird and fish worship. Book of Songs even mentions a fu as a waterfowl. Numerous bird-shaped bronze artifacts and ladles in the form of fish and waterfowl were unearthed at Sanxingdui. Especially, the golden staff is engraved with arrows, bird heads, fish, and human heads, possibly symbolizing royal and divine authority. One legend says after Cancong died, he got a stone coffin, while Yufu suddenly attained the immortal way. Scholars think Sanxingdui, with its fish and bird worship connection, might just be the archaeological remains of ancient Shu during the Yufu era. Even though there are tons of mysteries, Sanxingdui isn't alone in the ancient wonders club. Think Egyptian pyramids, Babylon city-states, and Stonehenge all existing around the same time. These historical buddies, alongside Sanxingdui, shout loud and clear, prehistoric civilizations were seriously advanced. No monkey business here. So, here's the kicker, maybe the most mind-blowing part of Sanxingdui is the ancient civilization it preserves from before the big flood. The Shu people later built a new civilization right on top of the old one. What do you think? Drop your thoughts in the comments. 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