- 3 days ago
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:06In southwest China, one of the world's most extraordinary archaeological sites is being gradually uncovered.
00:26Archaeologists are unearthing astonishing quantities of bronze, gold and jade artefacts, and hundreds of elephant tusks in Sangxingdui.
00:41It's an unending stream of discoveries, a once-in-a-lifetime archaeological jackpot.
00:50These things show an extraordinary visual and philosophical creativity.
01:08The thousands of objects now coming to light date back to the Bronze Age, over 3,000 years ago.
01:21Contemporaneous with Tutun Kamun's treasure in Egypt, the relics of Sangxingdui are emerging from the darkness after millennia.
01:30The Sangxingdui civilization was a truly lost civilization.
01:36For 40 years, archaeologists have endeavored to understand this vanished world.
01:41Will they succeed in explaining this unique accumulation of relics and the brutal ending of a brilliant civilization?
01:51Can they bring the legendary ancient kingdom of Shu to life?
01:58A major international investigation is uncovering the mysteries of the lost city of Sangxingdui.
02:15Some archaeological mysteries take generations to solve.
02:20Here, under a dome, these eight intriguing pits have become an obsession in China.
02:32On suspended platforms, researchers carefully look for the tiniest clues.
02:41Temperature and humidity are strictly monitored.
03:07The pits, named K1 to K8, in the order they were discovered.
03:14They vary in size and hold an impressive concentration of objects, including several hundred bronze statues.
03:27They also hold other priceless treasures, such as this crumpled sheet of gold.
03:37Experts in the protection of Chinese cultural relics are called in to help.
03:51They restore it to its original form.
03:56A mask.
04:01Previously, the study of China's ancient past focused on the central plain near the Yellow River,
04:06home to the Angyang and Alito cultures.
04:10The discovery of Sangxingdui shows that another important civilization may have existed much farther west during the Bronze Age.
04:27And this miraculous discovery may have never happened.
04:34In 1986, brick factory workers collecting clay from a field noticed some jade and bronze artifacts.
04:45The first of the eight pits, K1, had just been discovered.
05:00Chen Duan, then a recent graduate, was one of the people in charge of that first excavation.
05:08When the land is discovered in Poncat, I found a savage cactus tree for the Middle East for the Middle
05:11East,
05:11In 1986, these trees are a tiny little pine terrabs.
05:15But in China, they had no major farm on fire.
05:19New Hampshire, they found one of the big trees.
05:25And they found the plant in the garden there.
05:25So in this place, I found one of the big trees,
05:32In other countries, they found one of the big trees,
05:33We were not prepared for the time.
05:34In the period, they found the people who were in a giant tree.
05:53A staff covered in gold leaf, a scepter, a symbol of prestige and power, the gold is finely engraved with
06:04a fish.
06:06A bird and an arrow.
06:11Could this scepter mean that they were excavating the tomb of a king?
06:17Shortly after the archaeologists completed their investigation, the brick factory workers discovered a second pit, K2, just a few meters
06:27away.
06:28An astonishing quantity of bronze objects emerged from the soil, masks, sculpted heads, and giant statues.
06:37But oddly, no skeletons.
06:41The archaeologists described ritual significance to the objects, and the pits were described as sacrificial pits.
06:56In short, they were linked to some kind of religious activity.
07:02But the most surprising thing was yet to come.
07:06A large bronze mask with truly extraordinary cylindrical eyes.
07:24The chronicles of Kua Yang were written eight centuries after the Sanxingdui period.
07:29In this account, more legendary than historical, Sanxing is described as having protruding eyes and being the first king of
07:38the mythical kingdom of Shu.
07:41There are some written documents, written many, many, many hundreds of years later than Sanxingdui,
07:48mentioned the ancient history of Sichuan.
07:50And the local kingdom had the first king called Chan Chong.
07:54And Chan Chong meaning the being that had protruding people.
07:59Some of the scholars immediately say, hey, this is the image of Chan Chong.
08:03The mask could be proof that an ancient kingdom called Shu did actually exist.
08:15A few rare documents refer to Sanxing as Shu's legendary ruler.
08:22Historians believe the ancient kingdom of Shu emerged in the Sichuan Basin,
08:271,000 kilometres west of the historical birthplace of Chinese civilisation.
08:35For Jessica Rawson, an art historian specialising in the archaeology of ancient China,
08:41the hypothesis of a Shu kingdom in today's Sichuan is completely plausible.
08:47Sichuan is located in a deep basin with high mountains all around it.
08:52It's a very important basin because it has a good climate and it's totally protected and isolated.
09:01A warm, humid, subtropical climate and abundant summer monsoon rains
09:06make this vast plain extremely fertile.
09:10Ideal conditions for the development of an agrarian civilisation.
09:16Even as far back as ancient times.
09:19The thing that matters in Sichuan is not the contact north or south,
09:24but the fact that it's one of the most prosperous areas in China.
09:28And it's prosperous because of the rice.
09:35Well-preserved grains of rice have been discovered in archaeological layers
09:39corresponding to the Sanxingdui period.
09:43Rice was a common staple 3,000 years ago,
09:46a vital resource for the population living on the plain in the Shu kingdom.
09:55But the archaeologists can only catch a glimpse of this lost world through the relics.
10:15These questions haunt researchers at the Sichuan Archaeological Institute.
10:23Like Run Jungfeng, who examines the new relics coming out of the pits.
10:36Today, he is looking at a typical bronze head from Sanxingdui.
10:45The state of preservation of this sculpture is remarkable,
10:50considering it spent 3,000 years underground.
10:53In the last performance from Sanxingdui,
10:56he has no further,
10:58but he's not found any essential to be done with the land.
11:01In the past,
11:03some kind of indigenous indigenous people which Mmmfeng is a contemporary language.
11:07But it's a small part of the forest.
11:11In addition to this,
11:13it was a different type of indigenous indigenous people.
11:15it would be used to be a wide-hound.
11:24The center of the center is a black black rectangle.
11:28This is a color of black rectangle.
11:32This is a color of black rectangle.
11:39After carefully examining the statue's exterior,
11:43Ren decides to investigate its interior.
11:46After carefully examining the statue's exterior,
11:50he knows from experience that interesting surprises may await.
11:55Like this bronze fragment.
11:58This is a small bronze fragment.
12:01It's a small bronze fragment.
12:04This is a small bronze fragment.
12:15This small bronze fragment is part of an eye
12:18that Sangxingdui craftsmen produced in large numbers.
12:22Their meaning is mysterious,
12:24but the holes near the edges suggest they were fixed to posts,
12:28frames, or perhaps even trees.
12:40Archaeologists have found just over 150 sculpted heads, like this one.
12:49They all have these striking almond-shaped eyes and pierced ears.
12:54Yet when you look closely, each one is unique.
13:04Chinese-American Jay Shu has spent the past 40 years
13:08trying to unravel the mystery of these bronzes.
13:20Sanxingdui is extraordinary because it's overwhelmingly striking in its sculpture tradition.
13:27They have distinguished Sanxingdui from any other cultures during ancient China.
13:36Sanxingdui is extraordinary.
13:37One of the most extraordinary bronze relics is this statue.
13:42Almost three metres high,
13:44it represents the highest ranks of Sangxingdui society.
13:49This is one and only full-length bronze figure from Sangxingdui,
13:55from ancient times in China and in the world.
14:03It's important as shown by the sculpture's finesse,
14:07depicting clothing of rare refinement.
14:11You can see those three layers very clearly on the right side of the figure.
14:18The outermost layer of garment, which is a mantle,
14:22has four beautiful dragons.
14:26But he is barefooted,
14:30which suggests he is standing on a piece of sacred ground.
14:35The position of the hands suggest an offering gesture.
14:41Several other statues confirm this theory.
14:44Clearly, this figure represents power,
14:48probably the highest power of the local society.
14:51And he, here, is in a very ceremonial stance,
14:56either making an offering or displaying an insignia of power.
15:04Unfortunately, these magnificent statues reveal only a fraction of Sangxingdui's society.
15:15But experts can follow other paths in their investigation.
15:23The six principal pits are full of clues.
15:27One of the most important is the strange and systematic organisation of the layers in each pit.
15:34The different layers always follow the same order.
15:54It's always the same three layers.
15:58This practice has never been seen before and doesn't match any known ritual.
16:11The archaeological challenges don't stop there.
16:15Many objects have been broken,
16:18sometimes into pieces.
16:23Some artefacts have been burnt.
16:28Did something violent happen in the city's history?
16:32A war?
16:33A fire?
16:55Even more puzzling,
16:57archaeologists discovered that fragments from the same object were scattered across several pits.
17:05One day I found a bronze dragon's piece. At the first glimpse, it's not special to us.
17:12But when I was visiting Pit K3, I realized that the piece found in my pit is a part originally
17:24set on one vessel of Pit K3, and it provides solid evidence that the artifacts buried in
17:35Pit K3 and K8 are of the same origin.
17:40It's a valuable clue to understanding how the objects were buried.
17:44The relics came from the same place, and the pits were filled at the same time.
17:54Archaeologists face a huge challenge, piecing together thousands of fragments scattered
18:00across these eight pits. The restorers must feel their way and improvise.
18:09One of the puzzles is a bronze tree, standing four meters high with birds,
18:17flowers and an incomplete dragon.
18:27A recently discovered bronze piece is brought out from secure storage.
18:34It might just help complete the great puzzle of the divine tree.
18:55This wooden CNC design can be buried all over the edge,
19:00and the giantiedzieć is a final design of the 那
19:06during the invasion ofเรา to the part.
19:11This made it easier for us to put us to build this element.
19:25The new piece is scanned in 3D so it can be modeled into the digital reconstruction of
19:31the divine tree, which was found in nearly 200 pieces in the first two pits.
19:40Restoration, which began nearly 40 years ago, isn't finished yet.
19:50At first glance, the sculpture may seem complete.
19:54Yu seeks the opinion of Mr Guo, who has worked on the puzzle since it was first discovered.
20:07The dragon's tail is digitally positioned on the tree.
20:13It has found its place again, fitting onto a joint high on the divine tree.
20:20That part is easy, but now new missing pieces can be identified.
20:39Small fragments that haven't found their place might help solve the puzzle.
21:04But the expert realizes that something is not quite right.
21:10So you can't see the surface of the puzzle.
21:11This piece is in the middle of the puzzle.
21:14If you want to know the piece of the puzzle.
21:17You can kind of push a stick around and avoid it.
21:18Since the length is drawn, you can see the width of the puzzle.
21:24You can't see the definition of the puzzle.
21:35That clip is very narrowed in.
21:35We just put it here.
21:37Yes, I just put it here.
21:40If you put it in the middle, it would be hot.
21:43It would be hot.
21:45It would be hot.
21:50Thanks to 3D technology, the Divine Tree's dragon
21:53has had its tail restored.
22:00But thousands of fragments still await to match.
22:03It is a never-ending task.
22:09Great mysteries still surround the purpose
22:11of the Sangshindue pits
22:13and the way they were filled.
22:16Above the layer of broken
22:17and burnt artefacts
22:19lies another,
22:21filled with elephant tusks,
22:23which poses just as many questions.
22:27Around 800 ivory tusks
22:30have been unearthed.
22:31Why is there so much ivory?
22:33Did it come from Sangshindue
22:35or from elsewhere?
22:37What role did ivory play
22:39in the Shu civilization?
22:44An American researcher, Rowan Fladd,
22:47a specialist in Chinese archaeology,
22:49has taken on these unusual questions.
22:58The elephant tusks found in this number
23:02and concentrated in contexts like sacrificial pits
23:05is not really discovered anywhere else
23:08in East Asia or Southeast Asia to my knowledge.
23:11An engraving on a jade artefact,
23:13a jang,
23:14shows a figure resembling
23:16the Sangshindue bronzers
23:18carrying an ivory tusk
23:20on his shoulder.
23:21This unique scene offers a glimpse
23:23into the role of ivory
23:25during ritual ceremonies.
23:27The depiction that we have of ivory
23:31on the jade objects
23:32where somebody's carrying one over their shoulder
23:34is very significant
23:36because it demonstrates
23:37that the bringing in of this ivory
23:40was itself a very ritually meaningful act
23:43and a socially meaningful act.
23:45Rowan Fladd believes the elephant tusks,
23:47whose origins remain uncertain,
23:49were tribute to facilitate
23:51the integration of new people
23:53into the Sangshindue community.
23:58However, precious ivories,
24:00which have been preserved
24:01by very humid conditions
24:03for 3,000 years,
24:05risk drying out and deteriorating
24:07when they are removed from the pits.
24:13They are wrapped in damp cloths
24:15before being placed in cold storage rooms.
24:19It's not very difficult.
24:22Wang Chong,
24:23from the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Archaeology,
24:26is looking for a permanent way
24:28to preserve these tusks.
25:02How can this problem be solved?
25:07Their top priority is to preserve these enigmatic tusks
25:11in the hope of one day determining their origin.
25:15For several months now, Wang Chung has been experimenting with a new method.
25:21The tusks are immersed in a secret chemical formula
25:24which replaces the water with a stable compound.
25:29The magic formula that could save this treasure trove of ivory
25:34may be close at hand.
25:36These hundreds of elephant tusks,
25:39which experts believe came from the neighbouring regions,
25:43are proof of the remarkable economic influence of Sangxingdui.
25:51The prolific bronze industry developed in the capital of the Kingdom of Shu
25:57is without doubt another sign of the city's economic vitality.
26:03Experts have wondered how bronze metallurgy,
26:06invented in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago,
26:10found its way to this isolated region.
26:17Archaeologist Arno Bertron, a specialist in Central Asia,
26:21researches this invention that changed the world.
26:27It's also obvious that the archaicoltes,
26:30because of 20-30 years ago,
26:31they can find this chain of lack
26:34between the Central Asia, the Mesopotamian, the Steppe, and the Chinese world.
26:39We know very well that the bronze is very famous in the Mésopotamian plains
26:43since at least the IV millennium before our era.
26:46We also know that Central Asia, by the culture of Andronovo,
26:50which includes the Sibirian Oriental and Méridional,
26:53is a bridge connected to the north of the current Chine.
26:56What we call traditionally the Arc.
26:59The Arc is facing the plains of Joao.
27:03Regarding the Bronze origin in the Mésopotamian world,
27:06it has been passed over more than a millennium of history
27:09before that material was controlled in the Central Plain.
27:12That is, around 1800 before our era.
27:17Once in China, bronze technology evolved.
27:20The Chinese invented this segmented mold technique
27:24for making small ritual vessels.
27:30Some experts think this technology reached Zhangxingdui.
27:34Some centuries later, where artisans used it with extraordinary creativity.
27:40What makes Zhangxingdui civilization the most extraordinary
27:44is its bronze sculptures.
27:46The technology responsible for making them
27:49was exactly the same.
27:51The technology making bronze vessels in the Central Plain.
27:55The particular technology called clay piece mold casting technology
28:00was invented in the Central part of China
28:04along the Yellow Revolution in the North.
28:10Zhangxingdui's bronze artisans had the skills to create
28:13what no one else in China could do at that time.
28:16Large masks and giant statues standing several meters tall.
28:25Zhangxingdui is joined by Zhou Bingren,
28:27a contemporary bronze artist,
28:29to try and understand how they managed to do this.
28:31He noticed those muscles.
28:36Zhangxingdui's good influence was learned of that ochre hypercoller
28:37Susanx Ổn
28:57And then, the back of the wall, the edge of the wall and the back of the wall.
29:05Here we can see the four corners of the wall.
29:10One, two, three, four.
29:17Artesans in Zhangxingdui achieved something astonishing for the time.
29:22Large-scale statues, like this bronze mask,
29:26cast in several pieces, and later assembled.
29:30I can't find it. It's a long time.
29:45Sanxingdui bronze figures also stand out for their finesse.
29:49How did bronze smiths cast pieces only two millimeters thick,
29:54without a single imperfection?
29:59To find out, Zhe Zhu and Zhou Bingren visit Dong,
30:03a master bronze smith who specializes in ancient techniques.
30:20Bronze casting involves two steps, producing an alloy of copper, tin and lead, and the use of clay molds.
30:43The purity of the alloy is one of the secrets to obtaining a homogenous molten bronze.
30:50Another is the precision of the molds.
30:53It's a subtle art, with many pitfalls.
31:06Archaeologists have not found any clay molds in Zhangxingdui.
31:11However, several have been dug up in the central plain,
31:14allowing them to recreate the fabrication process used by Chinese bronze smiths.
31:27It's very carefully.
31:29Yes, yes, yes.
31:29This is to be carefully done.
31:31Let me tell you.
31:33Let me tell you.
31:33Come on, come on.
31:35Good.
31:36Good.
31:37Good.
31:38Good.
31:38Good.
31:43Clay piece molds are used just once.
31:47They must be carefully assembled with meticulous precision before the bronze is poured.
31:52The simplest configuration is a small three-leg cauldron, called a ding.
31:59One, two, three-leg cauldron, one.
32:01First, we have Exodus and the first, we have rice.
32:03We go into the rice.
32:07We buy a surface done now and make the ordinary wax on the ice.
32:26Then, through the
32:27It's a very simple, complex, and a very simple piece.
32:31It's a very simple piece of material.
32:37It's a very simple piece of material.
32:38It's a very simple piece of material.
32:39It's very rarely used to be used to be used to.
32:42So it's a very simple piece of material.
32:50The fine craftsmanship of the bronze works
32:52suggests that ancient Shu
32:54enjoyed a prosperity capable of supporting such excellence.
33:00From the eight pits of the artefacts recovered,
33:04archaeologists are beginning to draw a more complex picture
33:07of Sangshengdui and its people.
33:11Far from being isolated,
33:13the city reveals impressive signs of sophistication.
33:30The discovery of other remains, just a few kilometers from the pits,
33:35will reveal the full extent of the city,
33:38whose existence and power had long gone unsuspected.
33:45Ran Kuang Lin has led several excavation campaigns.
33:49In the east of the city,
33:51he supervised one of the largest projects,
33:54the excavation of the city wall.
34:00It's about 3e 2 eesps.
34:02This is the 3e 1 eesps.
34:02The 3e 2 eesps.
34:03The 3e 1 eesps is a South-end road.
34:06The 3e 1 eesps.
34:13The 3e 2 eesps is a five-way road map.
34:21The 3e 2 eesps is a big-way road map.
34:26And the area outside is the right side.
34:30And here is the area of the area.
34:33In this area, we have found the three-stitches in different areas.
34:42These imposing earthworks were built to deter attackers
34:46and protect the city from frequent flooding.
34:50Archaeologists have identified ditches at their base,
34:53designed to drain away water.
35:04Less than a kilometre from the sacrificial pits,
35:08archaeologists discovered and excavated another section of the wall.
35:13This stretch is less imposing.
35:16It is an old wall that surrounded the original city.
35:20Today, it is protected by a dome.
35:48Even though the walls are made of earth, the construction method is not primitive.
35:56As you can see, through this slide, we can see that there are these trees that are related to the河流.
36:06On the top of the河流, you can see that the trees are completely different.
36:10It is actually a kind of clay tree.
36:13This clay tree is a very famous tree in四川盆地.
36:17You can see that it is clearly visible.
36:21This tree tree is made of different trees.
36:27Analysis of these soil types and the compaction on the slopes shows the remarkable technical mastery of Sangshendui's inhabitants.
36:37This is how it can ensure that the whole building is stable.
36:44Archaeologists estimate that the total length of Sangshendui's city walls exceeds 10 kilometers.
36:51The city covers an area of 3.6 square kilometers, making it one of the largest ancient cities in Asia.
37:03Young archaeologist Xu Deng Yang has collected all the research on the city's layout.
37:16This picture is on the official day and the space ofari insisted on the space to find an area on
37:22the coast.
37:22This paper is called the map of our Earth.
37:23This one is a different color value.
37:28The trail here is one of the urban mountains.
37:31The map is the overall color.
37:32The height of the ocean is rocky.
37:32There is the sky of the ocean.
37:34It is cirrhous.
37:34There is a wider Hank.
37:37The ceiling is the map.
37:37It is located on the surface, the coast of the mountain, which is higher.
37:43The people of Sangxingdui elevated almost a hectare in the north of the city by several meters.
37:52This part of the city of Sangxingdui is about 8000 square meters.
37:59The people of Sangxingdui elevated almost a hectare in the north of the city by several meters.
38:07This part of the city, protected from flooding by the river, became the center of power.
38:15Foundations have been unearthed here, including a vast building which archaeologists think may have been a palace.
38:23A palace would prove an elite ruled the capital of the Shu kingdom.
38:30Sangxingdui was a planned city with one area for power, another for the population, and another for sacrificial activities.
38:46The importance of Sangxingdui is now beyond doubt. Extraordinary sculptures for their time. A major city with imposing buildings.
38:56These two realities, combined to draw the outline of a highly developed civilization, set apart from the central plates.
39:07But the major question remains, why were these pits dug to bury the Shu kingdom's treasures?
39:30After being destroyed and burned, the objects were buried so that they would never be seen or used again.
39:36In a sense, these pits became the tomb of Sangxingdui itself.
39:51These pits, dating back about 3,000 years, marked the end of Sangxingdui.
39:58But as far as archaeology knows, no ancient civilization has buried its most precious possessions.
40:06So what happened? Did the inhabitants abandon the city? Were they forced out?
40:12A discovery less than 50 kilometers from Sangxingdui provides new clues.
40:22In 2001, on the outskirts of Chengdui, the capital of Sichuan, workers excavating a trench suddenly saw elephant tusks and
40:33jade objects appear.
40:35Work stopped immediately.
40:37An emergency archaeological digs began.
40:41The area was divided into about a hundred grid squares.
40:45The discoveries here would prove to be of the highest importance in outlining the borders of the Shu kingdom.
40:57Mrs Wang Fang, now director of the Jinsha Museum, has been one of the archaeologists working on the site from
41:05the beginning.
41:05The city was seen in the building of the Shinsha Museum.
41:09We found that this city has a certain variety of parts of the community.
41:14We found that this city has a clear variety of parts,
41:15and that is one complex part of the city.
41:17The city has two separate parts of the southern side.
41:19The north is the area of the living area, the temple, the temple, the temple, the temple, the temple, and
41:24the temple.
41:24Maybe there are some furniture, the temple halls, and the temple halls.
41:26The southern area is mainly the place of the祭祀活動."
41:31The central place of the south is a place of the祭祀活動.
41:35bore a remarkable resemblance to sangxingdui the same city layout and northeast southwest
41:41orientation the dating suggests that a few decades after the fall of sanctioned way
41:47jinxar reached its peak and took over as the capital of the shoe kingdom
41:56in the sacrificial zone today protected by a large building 64 pits have been discovered
42:03in one of them dated to just under 3 000 years ago a golden mask was found
42:09the gold mask is unmistakably reminiscent of those found at sangxingdui
42:17and the discovery of an engraved gold crown leaves no doubt about the links between the two sites
42:33it has appeared almost like the same name of the three sites
42:36it is still a bird, a bird, a bird, a bird
42:41it shows that the three sites to jinxar is a common culture
42:48gold attests to this shared identity
42:57jinsha and sangxingdui place far more significance on gold than anywhere else in china during the bronze age
43:08according to wang sheng yu an historian specializing in gold the shoe kingdom valued the metal as
43:15highly as egypt or greece during the same period
43:19We know that the 3-inch machine has 1000
43:21more than 1000 machine.
43:24The 3-inch machine has 200 machine.
43:27The 3-inch machine has more than 1-inch machine.
43:33Even though some of the students have used the machine with the machine.
43:37It's because they are very thin.
43:40There are some 3-inch machine in the back of the 3-inch machine.
43:54These magnificent gold masks were created by overlaying bronze statues with extremely thin sheets of gold to give them an
44:03even greater brilliance.
44:29Archaeologists and historians puzzled over why the Shu people wanted to add a
44:35layer of the most precious metal to bronze pieces, which were already nearly the colour of gold.
44:42Did this choice have a special meaning?
44:47Archaeologists and historians can also be able to connect the light of the light of the sun and the light
44:55of the light.
45:01One of the objects found at Jin Sha demonstrates the link between gold and the sun.
45:06It's a solid gold disk representing the sun, symbolized by twelve rays and four birds on the outer edge.
45:16A few steps from the pit where the sun desk was discovered, excavators found nine holes forming a perfectly geometric
45:25square.
45:26These foundations are in the area where ritual ceremonies were held.
45:44The only building of its kind in this ritual zone, it was, without any doubt, used for ceremonial purposes.
45:52An astronomical study showed that the Temple of Nine Pillars is perfectly aligned along the sun's axis at the winter
46:00solstice.
46:02Proof of how important sun worship was for the Shu kingdom.
46:09At Sang Qingdui, six large, identical bronze wheels have been found in the pits.
46:16Symbolic representations of the sun, according to the archaeologists.
46:21And both real and mythical animals seem to have played a part in the rituals.
46:26The moon is a very close contact in China.
46:33It's a very close contact with the sun.
46:40During her research into beliefs about the afterlife in ancient China,
46:45Jessica Rawson developed her own vision of Chinese spirituality.
46:49I'm pretty sure these images represent some form of their beliefs about the world.
46:57And some people call those a cosmology, but I would call it their view of how the universe works.
47:03They have a sense in what keeps the universe moving and how it works.
47:08And these animals or these strange creatures are part of that.
47:12Complex objects like this altar evoke ritual offerings
47:16and highlight the presence of animals, such as elephants, birds or dragons,
47:22at the very heart of the ceremonies.
47:24These animals, in that time, were not just a裝飾,
47:29but they had their spirit.
47:32This spirit, as a master of the Saman教,
47:38is a close contact with the master of the Saman教.
47:44The discoveries at Jinsha,
47:46have shed new light on the beliefs and rituals of the people of Sanxingdui.
47:51Their spirituality centered on exchanges with divinities to ensure the stability of their world,
47:57with the help of numerous animals, dragons, birds and others.
48:09But curious statues, called altars, also took part in these ceremonies.
48:15Intriguingly, they often feature vessels filled with seashells, cowries.
48:21The origin of these shells is mysterious.
48:24The nearest sea is at least 1,000 kilometers away.
48:30Professor Li Kai-chao has been investigating.
48:34The only thing we can confirm is that these seashells are from very distant seashells.
48:41The most important question is how to transport it from the east.
48:44What is the route of the transport?
48:45What is the route of the transport?
48:46The main route is because the Saman教 is in the south of the south.
48:51The only route is a natural route.
48:52The Saman教 is in the south of the west.
48:57The Saman教 is in the south of the south.
48:58and the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
49:01According to Professor Li,
49:03it was a kind of precursor to the Silk Road,
49:06linking Sangxingdui to the South China Sea
49:10and the Indian Ocean.
49:12The capital of the Shu Kingdom
49:14was a true commercial hub,
49:16with routes to the South, the Central Plain,
49:19the North, and the Yangtze.
49:28I think it's a very important thing.
49:29I think the South China Sea and the South China Sea
49:35Of the three layers that constitute the Sangxingdui pits,
49:40the layer of ash over the elephant tusks
49:42may provide vital clues about the end of Sangxingdui.
49:47Yang Shui, an archaeobotanist
49:50at the Chengdu Institute of Archaeology,
49:52is responsible for analysing them.
49:57She is also working to identify the species
50:00from the charred plant fragments.
50:06Now, let's take a look at this part
50:08and see what the tree is.
50:16You can see that it has become black.
50:20This is a kind of shape like a tree.
50:22This is a kind of shape like a tree.
50:25It is a kind of shape of a tree.
50:26It is a kind of shape of a tree.
50:27We can see this kind of shape of a tree.
50:30We can see it as a tree.
50:32It is a tree.
50:33Yang Shui has analyzed
50:34more than 2,000 carbonized fragments.
50:58The ashes from the Sangxingdui pits mostly contain bamboo,
51:03but also nanlu and Chinese pistachio,
51:07hardwoods widely used in prestigious buildings.
51:12So these ashes most likely come from the burning of such a building.
51:17Some new evidence appears to confirm this theory.
51:41Now, archaeologists are sure that a fire broke out in an important building
51:46in Sangxingdui before the ritual objects were buried in the pits.
51:50This marks the abandonment of Sangxingdui in favor of Jin Shah.
51:57How could such a sudden collapse be explained?
52:00Some believe it was caused by an internal revolt.
52:04Others say the abrupt end was due to outside forces.
52:07You know, suddenly theages are just with theSpeak bombing.
52:12You know, the
52:14people have
52:15who have tried to break from the scene.
52:17Instead, these victims are really different parts.
52:23It's a big part.
52:23The worst is the worst to the people of Jin Shah.
52:27The worst would be the worst to the people of Jin Shah.
52:28The worst could be the worst to the people of Jin Shah.
52:29How may I in this case be the highest when Jin Shah is an important part
52:37of Jin Shah's fate.
52:37As for Jin Shah was identified,
52:37The mysteries of the Sanxingdui pits have haunted Professor Sun for 40 years.
52:45He is trying to understand where these statues stood before they were destroyed and buried.
52:51He is also convinced that the objects were burned before they were put in the pits,
52:57specifically in Sanxingdui's temple.
53:01My recommendation is that the Sanxingdui is the essence of the Sanxingdui's temple.
53:07It is because of a certain reason.
53:09What is the reason?
53:11It is the same.
53:12It is the same.
53:13It is the same.
53:14It is the same.
53:15It is the same.
53:19There are some people in the back of the stomach.
53:26All the ritual objects from the temple destroyed by the fire,
53:29and at least some of the building's ruins,
53:32were buried in pits K2, K3, K7 and K8.
53:38I don't know if there is a place where it is.
53:42It is the place where it is.
53:49The contents of pit K2 correspond to the holiest part of the temple.
53:55The objects found there include representations of deities,
53:59like the great mask with bulging eyes.
54:02There are also two vases for divine trees,
54:05several sun images, numerous heads,
54:08and the central piece, the statue of the great man.
54:13All these items are intimately linked to the sun cult.
54:29The most extraordinary pieces from K3 are complex sculptures that evoke ceremonial rituals.
54:37The vessel at their top is intended to receive offerings for the gods.
54:43These altars must have stood close to the statues of the divinities.
54:56As for K8, it contains items used to ensure communication between humans and the gods.
55:06Several dozen heads found there originally came from the temple.
55:29all the key artifacts from K2, K3 and K8 have now been restored to their positions in the temple.
55:36Shio Gu, whose research focuses on Sangxingdui's rituals,
55:42has an idea of how sacrificial ceremonies were performed there.
55:46They may decorate the shrine to make it secret,
55:51and then they bring some precious objects as gifts to offer to the deities,
55:57and with the help of animals, they might enter into a trance state,
56:04and through that state they can have some communication with a higher level of another world,
56:11and they may offer those offerings to the deities,
56:16and they may get some feedback from the deities.
56:26After this strange series of events,
56:28leading to the burial of ritual objects and even the ashes of the temple,
56:34Sangxingdui ceased to be the capital of the Shu kingdom.
56:40Part of its population, bringing their beliefs and skills with them,
56:45migrated to Jinsha, which then flourished.
56:53Today, Sangxingdui's treasures are displayed in a vast, brand-new museum.
57:00Visitors flocked to this modern temple to discover this history of ancient China.
57:16This is a source of pride for experts such as Lei Yu,
57:21who have devoted their lives to studying the pits of Shu's first capital.
57:26to see the world as well as its住民.
57:42I hope that it is your eyes and Мне Dennis,
57:43This is my pleasure, my involvement.
57:47This is my pleasure.
57:47I hope that These bullions have a journey!
57:48It's very unique and unique and unique.
57:48This is my pleasure.
57:49When I graduated here,
57:51I believe that these people have a world for children beyond the banks of China.
57:52I believe that these people have a unique design.
57:56More than 3,000 years ago, people built a truly exceptional civilisation in the heart of Sichuan.
58:06They expressed their beliefs in magnificent bronze, gold and jade objects,
58:13which were deliberately buried to be hidden forever.
58:19By uncovering this extraordinary and unique world,
58:23archaeologists have revealed new aspects of China's ancient civilisation.
58:56The most famous Chinese Greek neighbourhoods have been seen in a Buddhist religion,
58:58the Christian culture of Chappelle Tssen.
58:58It was a massive history of China's sacred heritage.
58:59The worst burieddoms of the world is the value of the culture of Chappelle Tssen.