In 1984, following the discovery of a few bits of jade in an irrigation ditch, excavations near Guang Han City in Sichuan Province uncovered the earthen outer walls of an ancient city dating from the 5th to 2nd millennium B.C. (...)
In 1984, following the discovery of a few bits of jade in an irrigation ditch, excavations near Guang Han City in Sichuan Province uncovered the earthen outer walls of an ancient city dating from the 5th to 2nd millennium B.C. Many scholars believe that the site, now known as San Xing Dui or Three Stars Mound, was a prehistoric to early Shang period settlement, but others see the town as the center of an independent, local culture. The people who occupied San Xing Dui are not mentioned in Chinese writing, and as a result little is known about their civic life or religious practices. A 200-square-meter structure, probably used as a public gathering place, is the largest of the numerous buildings found at the site. The discovery that earned San Xing Dui international fame, however, was a series of sacrificial pits filled with precious objects: statuary, stone tools, gold and jades, bronze vessels, pottery, and charred animal bones. The fact that no human remains were found among the thousands of items indicates that the pits were not burials but rather ritual deposits from religious activity. Though San Xing Dui is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important Bronze Age sites in China, the survival of the city was threatened by pollution and encroaching development in the late 20th century.
