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Ancient Chinese gold mask raises a wealth of questions about Shang dynasty culture
- Relic found in royal tomb covered whole face to ensure spirits remained whole, archaeologist says
- Discovery predates Sanxingdui mask that made headlines around the world last year
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Archaeologists in central China have unearthed a gold mask dating back at least 3,000 years, the first of its kind to be found from the Shang dynasty (1600BC-1046 BC).
The National Cultural Heritage Administration said on Friday that the gold mask was discovered in royal tombs in Shangcheng county in the Henan provincial capital Zhengzhou and predated another gold mask found in the Sanxingdui Ruins last year.
The Sanxingdui archaeology site in Sichuan province in the country’s southwest is considered one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century, and has yielded a trove of gold artefacts, including the mask that made international headlines last year.
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Sanxingdui is believed to have been the centre of the ancient Shu kingdom, which dates back about 4,800 years and coexisted with the Shang dynasty.
03:06
Archaeologists find treasures from mystery civilisation that could rewrite Chinese history
Archaeologists find treasures from mystery civilisation that could rewrite Chinese history
Gu Wanfa, director of the Zhengzhou Municipal Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said the Henan find indicated that the Sanxingdui artefacts were influenced by Zhongyuan culture, societies that emerged from the Henan region and became the basis of the modern Chinese civilisation.
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