Major breakthroughs at 4 archaeological sites in China offer window into early days of Chinese civilisation
- China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration recently made public updates about four different archaeological sites
- They all offered insights into the Xia and Shang civilisations, two of the earliest Chinese civilisations
In the traditional telling of ancient Chinese history, two dynasties hold special significance as being the heart of where civilisation began to emerge.
The Xia civilisation (circa 2070- 1600BC) is often called the first Chinese dynasty, although evidence of its existence is largely the result of archaeology and second-hand ancient texts. The Shang civilisation (1600-1046BC) is the first Chinese ruling dynasty in the written historical record.
In mid-September, the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) held a press conference to update the public on four significant developments at major Xia and Shang archaeological sites.
“The four important achievements of this briefing show the historical process of China’s prehistoric civilisation and the formation and development of an early state,” wrote the NCHA in a press release.
An ancient gold funerary mask
The mask is the most striking artefact found in a dig that revealed over 200 other burial objects, including bronze wares and jade artefacts.
“Although this gold mask is older than those unearthed from the Sanxingdui Ruins, we still need more evidence and a larger amount of archaeological discoveries to confirm a direct connection between the Shang city ruins and the Sanxingdui Ruins,” said Chen Lüsheng, a researcher at the National Museum of China, in an interview with state-run newspaper Global Times.