Wow. They found evidence of an unknown civilization in modern day southwest China.
Treasures from mystery civilisation could rewrite history of China
Read the rest of the article at the link.Artefacts discovered in southwestern China suggest that the area was once home to an unknown civilisation whose existence may rewrite the history of China.
The treasures unearthed at the Sanxingdui site in Guangyuan, Sichuan, belonged to a highly-developed civilisation that may have lasted for thousands of years but never appeared in any historical records, said government researchers and officials in a press conference on Saturday.
A massive dig starting from 2019 unearthed more than 500 artefacts that were made from gold, bronze, jade and ivory more than 3,000 years ago, including a gold mask that may have been worn by a priest.
Their quality and craftsmanship far exceeds that of artefacts made at the same time in other parts of China, including the heartland of the Shang dynasty around the Yellow River plain.
Shi Jinsong, deputy director of the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Chinese civilisation was traditionally thought to originate from that area, which was known as the Zhong Yuan, or central land.
The Zhong Yuan was long believed to be the centre of the world with the most advanced civilisation, and "people living outside were regarded as barbarians," he said.
But the new discoveries at Sanxingdui suggest the story of Chinese civilisation may be more complex than previously thought.