The beautiful but mysterious discoveries at China’s Sanxingdui archaeological site arouse curiosity, even raising suspicions about connections with aliens.
Archaeological relics such as the bronze altar recently unveiled at the Sanxingdui site in Sichuan province, Southwest China have aroused everyone’s curiosity. Many people are eager to know whether the Sanxingdui culture that existed in this place more than 3,000 years ago is connected to other cultures from around ancient China, or maybe even influenced by a alien civilization or not.
To find out the truth, Global Times interviewed archeology professor Sun Hua at Peking University and cultural studies expert Jiang Song.
Cultural connection?
According to the carbon dating method, the unique relics unearthed at the Tam Tinh Doi site were dated to around 1250 BC, coinciding with the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). Based on findings at the site and similarities in art and crafting techniques, experts say it is likely that the San Tinh Doi culture was connected to other cultures.
“China is very large. Early civilizations would not have come from a single source. Judging from the information obtained so far, the Sanxingdui culture is likely to have been a catch-all culture. originated from the ancient Shu Kingdom” – said Professor Sun Hua.
The Kingdom of Shu was an ancient state that existed in what is now Sichuan province from the 10th to the 4th century BC.
Professor Sun noted that, from the perspective of origin and culture, the Sanxingdui culture was a secondary civilization formed from the combination of the Yellow River and Yangtze River cultures in the delta center of China.
Expert Jiang Song said: βMost of the pottery excavated at the Tam Tinh Doi site shows a connection with the culture of the central plains. The animal, fish or bird face is inherited from the central plain. Some bronze ceramics found in Hubei province and Jiangxi province of Southern China are very similar to the Sanxingdui relics.
Furthermore, Sanxingdui culture shows connections with cultures that existed in Central Asia or South Asia at the time. Studies suggest a bronze ornament inlaid with turquoise may be related to what is now the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in Northwest China, or possibly beyond.
Furthermore, according to Professor Sun, a large number of seashells unearthed at the Tam Tinh Doi site came from the Indian Ocean, meaning they must have been transported from ancient India. Professor Sun concluded that these seashells traveled through the Silk Road precursor to ancient India.
The Sanxingdui relic has changed the Western world’s perception of Chinese civilization. They realized that China had a larger and older civilization than previously thought.
Experts note that Chinese civilization is a diverse culture, gradually formed by constantly absorbing foreign cultural elements.
Alien visitors?
From the first moment the Tam Tinh Doi site was introduced to the world, people couldn’t stop talking about the unique shape and style of the relics.
Some bronze statues found at the ruins have prominent cylindrical eyes, while the eyes of other bronze statues are also very large, making them look like the popular depiction of “black men”. little gray” in science fiction stories. These shapes have led some to hypothesize whether the ancient Sanxingdui culture once welcomed visitors from extraterrestrials.
However, Professor Sun believes that these elements are just artistic exaggerations and cannot be considered real images of the Tam Tinh Doi people.
Through artistic exaggeration and strange imagination, the Tam Tinh Doi people created deities such as bird gods, which is not surprising because it is also common in traditional religious cultures or foreign.
“The relationship between the people of Sanxingdui and aliens is just a science fiction fantasy. No one has ever seen aliens… Strangely shaped relics found in temples of Tam Tinh Doi gives everyone a strange feeling” – Sun said.
Around the world, ancient civilizations exaggerated the eyes and ears of the gods to show that they had superhuman cognitive abilities that humans lacked. Today, experts are still studying how the colorful Tam Tinh Doi culture ended. According to Professor Sun, it could be the result of an internal conflict.
“Two Sanxingdui noblemen clashed and one eliminated the other. The winner moved the capital to Jinsha in present-day Chengdu and started a new dynasty” – Professor Sun explained.
