Birds in bronze - SanXingDui

More than three thousand years ago there was a population of sun-worshipping people living on the plains of Sichuan, near what is now Chengdu. The museum is about 50km north of Sichuan's capital city, where a treasure trove of mainly bronze relics was discovered in the summer of 1986.

The museum is really well laid out, and the artefacts speak for themselves, but it seems that not much is known for sure about the SanXingDui era.


A gold-plated mask.

The mask and other displayed items, including jade knives, were some of the objects apparently used in rituals of human sacrifice.

Birds were important symbols to this ancient culture as well, perhaps because birds could move freely between the earth and the heavens. A few examples:-







SanXingDui Museum - near Chengdu - well worth a visit !