Left: Cultural products inspired by relics discovered at the Sanxingdui Ruins Photos: IC

Chinese archaeologists once again refuted the "alien theory" floating around the corners of the internet about the ancient Sanxingdui Ruins in Southwest China's Sichuan Province. They note relics that are similar to those found at the Erlitou Site in Central China's Henan Province show the two cultures communicated with each other, but the idea that this is the work of aliens is "completely unfounded." 

First discovered in 1929, the Sanxingdui Ruins, which dated back to the Bronze Age 3,000 years ago, have been the source of one pleasant surprise after another following decades of digging and archaeological research. Many unearthed statuettes featuring figures with exaggerated appearances have led to some people to theorize whether the site had once been visited by aliens. 

"Some artistically exaggerated goddess statues cannot be said to be 'aliens,'" said Lei Yu, an archaeologist at the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency. 

He explained that the archaeological team has not found any texts at the site. 

"If writings at the Sanxingdui Ruins were on organic materials such as cloth and silk, it would not be easy for them to last, but we have not given up hope that a 'miracle' could appear in a pit," he added.

In March, Chinese archaeologists unearthed more than 500 relics in six ancient sacrificial pits. Some of the artifacts made of jade are very similar to relics unearthed from the Erlitou Site, which archaeologists believe was a former capital of the late Xia Dynasty (2070BC-1600BC).

Both of these sites are representative examples of Bronze Age civilizations, according to Chinese archaeologists.

Zhao Haitao, head of the archaeological team at the Sanxingdui Ruins, revealed that the peak state of the Erlitou culture was earlier than that of the Sanxingdui culture. The two places are thousands of kilometers apart and were relatively independent with each having its own cultural development.

"The similarity of some unearthed cultural relics in the two places shows that the Erlitou Culture had some influence on Sanxingdui culture, and their cultural exchanges are mainly manifested in the upper-level ritual system," said Zhao. 

In the future, archaeologists will focus on three areas at the Sanxingdui Ruins - the discovery of written records, how the unearthed relics were used and if the Sanxingdui culture was influenced by foreign civilizations.

"So far we have not found any connection with Egyptian civilization and civilizations in the West or South Asia," said Lei.

Global Times