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A hidden city
In 1929, a farmer in Guanghan, about 40 kilometres northeast of Chengdu , found some  strange jade objects. 
He must have known they were ancient and valuable. He probably sold some. They  ended up in the hands of private collectors. 
When the authorities learned about  this in the early 1950s, they  studied the area. 
They  found there might once have been a city there. By the 1980s, they had found city walls under the ground. The ancient city was built  some 4,000 years ago. It covered 13 sq km. The place was named Sanxingdui.
Mysteries from the past
The discoveries at Sanxingdui were different from the  others on the mainland. It was almost as if the people who lived there had a different culture.  
In 1986,  two big pits were  found. Inside  were very advanced bronze objects - elaborate masks that almost looked Aztec or Mayan. 
Scientists also found piles of elephant tusks. 
The tusks were much bigger than  those of elephants today. One of the tusks is 1.85 metres long. 
The people of Sanxingdui were good at using gold leaf. 
They used it to make images of the sun. Some scientists say they were sun-worshippers.
Kingdom of the sun
One of the most amazing  findings is of a gold image of the sun with birds flying around.  Scientists have also  found gold masks. They think perhaps they were worn by priests.  
Most ancient  findings  include oracle bones with primitive Chinese characters on them. There were no orale bones at Sanxingdui. Experts think  may be their language was written on some kind of paper that has long decayed.
More discoveries
In 2001, a real estate developer in the  countryside of Chengdu  found jade and ivory in the ground. The government  stopped the development.  Scientists began digging and  found another city like the one in Sanxingdui. 
In traditional Chinese history, civilisation  began in the central plains of the Yellow River. But now it seemed there was  another group of people in the Sichuan  basin. The site is called Jinsha.
When  scientists checked the findings, they saw influences from other parts of China and  may be even as far away as Vietnam. This made them think  people in Sichuan traded with the rest of China and the outside world.
now do this
1 The first discoveries at Sanxingdui were made near ...
a. Chengdu
b. Xian
c. Beijing
2 The Sanxingdui people were likely ...
a.  Christian
b. Confucian
c. sun-worshippers
3 The Sanxingdui people were  good at working with ...
a.  silver
b. gold leaf
c.  aluminium
Answers:
November 23
1. b, 2. a, 3. c



Sanxingdui