The Discovery that Rewrote Chinese History

Sanxingdui and Jinsha hold some of the greatest archaeological mysteries in China. Who were the people that created these bronze masks, golden scepters, and jade artifacts? And why did their civilization vanish? In this episode, we explore Sanxingdui, Jinsha, and the Sichuan Museum, uncovering the secrets of the ancient Shu kingdom. From stunning bronze work to lost history, this journey into Sichuan’s past is one you won’t forget.

Thank you for watching this episode of the #antiquitiesexplorer. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.

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► SOUNDTRACK
Simple Thieves, "Mists of Yunnan (Instrumental)"
Matt Rigton, "RIVLZ (Instrumental)"
Marc Torch, "No Plans (Indie Pop Version)"
Yi Nantiro, "The Way of the Warrior"
Rockin' For Decades, "She's Got Moves"
Christian Andersen, "The Flap of a Butterfly's Wing"
Blood Red Sun, "Thriving Seas (Instrumental Version)"
Fantoms, "Like a Zip"

[chrysanthemum]

The Sanxingdui Museum is high on my list of things to see the next time I go to China. They're so *completely different* from all other known Chinese art, from the Bronze Age or any other era. Just a wild aesthetic departure from surrounding everyone around them.
Also: it's clear you spent some time learning how to pronounce the Chinese names correctly and I appreciate it. It is not easy for English speakers.

[niamtxiv]

As an ethnic Miao, i can say my ancestors had interactions with them ancient Sanxingdui people. We still honor and celebrate the sacred tree. One of our branches in Hunan and Guizhou, the shamans dress in long gown and wore crowns. They like to hold horns. Our Miao culture also admire and honor birds.

[MetastaticMaladies]

Great video! Loving the Chinese history, it’s so fascinating and amazing

[victorchen]

Wildest thing I found there was a little bronze sculpture of a pig. Eerily similar to the design of the pigs in Angry Birds.
Also if anyone has watched Nezha, the 2 little shield guys are based off of these sculptures.

[EphemeralTao]

Phosphorus in bronze increases its toughness, stiffness, corrosion resistance, and gives it improved working characteristics over simple bronze alloys. In modern times, phosphor bronze is commonly used for springs, bearing, and various other types of hardware in marine environments; and is also popular for musical instruments. Interesting that a prehistoric culture discovered it and was able to produce and use it so effectively. It's possible that the copper or tin ores they had access to already contained substantial amounts of phosphorus.

[thomaswu]

I was there over last summer, sanxingdui is a bit out of the way but for sure one of the best museums there, especially in terms of english translations. When I was there, the people at the preparation exhibition in the other building were really open to answering questions about the dig.

Very excellent explaination of everything, I think you probably covered more here than anything else out on the internet. Thank you so much!

edit: I forgot to mention, but from the label on the long thin strip of gold foil, I think it's a staff that depicts a serpent. That might be why you got confused.

[LittleAmyHe]

I love how much China values archeology. I remember a few years back, everyone was SOOO excited that there were just random unexpected collabs hahaha. Such as a makeup palette and lipstick set that was made to look like the one with the telescope eyeballs when put together. The 2 lipsticks snap in place magnetically on the palette to create the tube eyes.

[ShannonKWard]

Thank you Dr. Miano for continuing to bring us so many real life lost and ancient civilizations!

[crankysaint]

I wrote a paper about the Sanxingdui in college. Fascinating.

[Mocha_]

Visited the museum once and got myself a book as well. Seeing how delicate and fragile the golden mask was in person was fascinating

[bukwok]

absolutely fantastic, great camera works, through your lens to see and learn little bit about those interesting artifacts and history, lot of mystery too, great video editing too, very enjoyable to watch.

[echoxstreaming]

Absolutely astonishing, Thank you for your dedication to history and sharing that knowledge with the world.

[DuckieDuck-ur]

Binge watching or "listening to" your vids. They are easy to follow and understand, and I learn so much from them, regardless of being an old hen duck. Thanks for putting these together and making them free.

[Jasonfallen]

These masks are perhaps the most awesome challenging and inspiring ancient objects to me personally.
Cave paintings of France are right there too
I’d love to see them in person

[JMMRanMA]

Interestingly, when I was in high school the Shang were thought to have possibly been mythical. When I was an undergraduate some artifacts had been discovered that seemed to prove the Shang to have been real. As the French say, "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!"

[bassplayersayer]

Amazing and interesting!!!! Really enjoy this kind of content. More, please. Rock

[SubwayFacemelt]

G'day from Straya. Love this channel!

[kasturipillay]

Thanks Dr Miano, love your Chinese tours. Most people overlook Chinese, culture, but their civilizations are ancient and mind boggling.
👍☺

[scoobysnax]

Brilliant coverage. I have seen lots about Sanxingdui Culture on the net. This documentary is one of the best.

[Jonnygurudesigns]

Love the content just commenting for the algorithm to help out