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Sanxingdui
Ruins Prove Diversity of Chinese Civilization
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????Ancient ruins located
on the upper reach of China's Yangtze River have provided evidence
of the diverse origins of Chinese civilization.
????The Sanxingdui ruins in Guanghan, Sichuan
Province, are of the ancient Shu Kingdom, which can be dated back
some 3,000 to 5,000 years.
????Chen De'an, an archaeologist with the Sichuan
provincial archaeological team in southwest China, said that the
ruins were home to three different but consequently developed ancient
cultures.
????Jade ware featured with unique characteristics
and processed with advanced technology for the times, suggests that
the Sanxingdui culture in the first phase had interacted with the
cultures of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River about 3,700 to
5,000 years ago.
????The second phase culture in Sanxingdui represented
by bronze, which occurred afterwards, had been dominant in the Shu
Kingdom, and extended influence on other cultures while also being
influenced by civilizations from the central region and the middle
reaches of the Yangtze River.
????Chen said the ancient kingdom of Shu located
in Sanxingdui was a stable, independent political entity that was
more advanced than tribe culture. The kingdom was a typical "ancient
kingdom" bordering the ancient hinterland.
????The ruins also serve as a convincing proof
that the origins of Chinese civilization are diverse.
????Chen said that Sanxingdui ruins, which archaeologists
have been excavating for two decades, will not only "belong
to" the archaeologists, but also to the experts in other fields
in the new century.
????The study of the ruins is a systematic project
which includes geology, environment, hydrology, and more sciences.
????Chen said that archaeologists in future excavations
are expected to uncover such mysteries as, where the raw material
for the bronze came from, and when and why the civilization disappeared.
(Eastday.com 12/17/2000)
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