Why was the Yanyuan Bronze Civilization "closest to the Sun" created by humans?
The annual original exhibition of Jinsha site Museum, "Jijin Wanli - Bronze Civilization Exhibition in Southwestern China", is in full swing. In the exhibition hall, multiple bronze artifacts from the old dragon head site in Yanyuan, Liangshan, Sichuan Province have attracted countless visitors to stop and observe for a long time due to their unique shape, exquisite craftsmanship, and unique style.
Yanyuan is located in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest of Liangshan Prefecture, southeast edge of Qinghai Tibet Plateau, west bank of the lower Yalong River, and is the second largest Great Basin in Sichuan. Here, people call it the place closest to the sun and farthest from the city.
In 1987, archaeologists conducted their first salvage excavation of the Old Dragon Head Site; Subsequently, in 1999 and 2001, rescue excavations were carried out. From 2020 to 2023, with the approval of the National Cutural Heritage Administration, Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, together with Sichuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture Museum, and Yanyuan County Cultural Relics Kwalliso, carried out the fourth rescue excavation. During the lecture, Zhou Zhiqing introduced the research results on unearthed cultural relics in recent years, as well as the reasons why Yanyuan could become a place for cultural exchange and integration.
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The earliest literature on Yanyuan was recorded in the Han Dynasty, and apart from the records in ancient books, people have little knowledge of the culture and customs of this place. With the advancement of archaeological work in recent years, people began to realize that there had been crowds in Yanyuan since the Neolithic. Before the Old Dragon Head Site, the site can be traced back to the Neolithic Refugee Castle Site 5000 years ago. The Old Dragon Head Site, which was inherited later, is divided into three phases. The first period dates back 3000 to 2800 years, the second period dates back 2800 to 2500 years, and the third period dates back 2500 to 2200 years. The current total area of the Old Dragon Head Site is over 12000 square meters, with tombs stacked layer by layer, reaching a maximum depth of about 4 meters. After excavation and research, archaeologists believe that the most unique cultural relic is the third period, which lasted from the Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty.
The uniqueness of Yanyuan bronze culture is reflected in multiple aspects. One is the unique tomb form and diverse burial customs. Zhou Zhiqing introduced that at the Old Dragon Head Site, a tomb shape with a large stone cover was discovered; At the same time, there are various burial customs such as stacked burial, amputated burial, bent limb burial, cinnabar burial, and secondary burial. These tombs with different burial customs maintain a stable east-west orientation towards the head.
In the Old Dragon Head Site, a group of artisan tombs have also been discovered. In these artisan tombs, in addition to numerous stone models, pottery pouring bags and pottery drum wind pipes that may be used for copper smelting were also discovered. The types of stone models include bells, knives, axes, chisels, etc. The stone patterns excavated from these artisan tombs not only provide a basis for solving the origin of Yanyuan bronze ware, but also provide archaeological data for the relevant research on the manufacturing of bronze ware in the entire southwestern region.
Among the bronze artifacts unearthed in Yanyuan, the unique, diverse, and diverse bronze branch shaped vessels with the theme of humans and animals have attracted the attention of the audience. Bronze branch shaped vessels are the most distinctive bronze element at the Old Dragon Head Site. In the lecture, Zhou Zhiqing also specifically mentioned his speculation about branch shaped vessels. I think the bottom layer of its faith should still come from the worship of the sun, "Zhou Zhiqing said. Bronze vessels with a similar shape to the Jinsha Sun God Bird were also unearthed in the Old Dragon Head Site, which are" circular in shape with a bird in the middle. Zhou Zhiqing does not necessarily believe that this is the result of one culture influencing another culture, he prefers that it is the result of people from different regions understanding the same faith.
The bronze artifacts unearthed at the Old Dragon Head Site also reflect the importance attached to the double eared jar. Zhou Zhiqing said that in the Old Dragon Head Site, not only a large number of pottery double ear jars were unearthed, but also bronze double ear jars. And on some branches, there are also portraits of people holding double eared jars. Zhou Zhiqing believes that all of these fully demonstrate the importance that people living in Yanyuan at that time attached to the symbolic significance of the double eared jar. He speculated that this importance may be related to the production of salt from ancient times.
And who were the people who created this bronze culture? Perhaps the character images on bronze vessels can answer. These people wear hats, burqas, and boots. Zhou Zhiqing said that it remains to be discussed whether these people are the Zuo people recorded in the literature. In the "Biography of the Southwestern Barbarians in the Book of Later Han", it was once written: "The barbarians of Yandu, who were opened by Emperor Wu, thought they were from Yandu County. Their people were all given left lapels, and their language was metaphorical. They lived slightly in the same place as the barbarians of Wenshan. However, no left lapel phenomenon was found in the images of Yanyuan characters found so far. I personally believe that the people living here may be related to the elderly people recorded in history, "Zhou Zhiqing said. The people here enjoy decorating their bodies, and in addition to using talcum, they also use a large amount of Fennes beads, gold, and agate. At the same time, there is a custom of using iron armbands among a group of people in tombs. In the "Annals of South China: Annals of Nanzhong", it was recorded that "the barbarians were called Kun, and the minor barbarians were called Old Man. They all had curved heads and wooden ears, wrapped in iron. There were no great princes, such as Wenshan and Han Jiayi. Therefore, Zhou Zhiqing believed that this group of people may be related to the" Old Man "recorded in the book.
It takes nearly 12 hours by car from Chengdu to Yanyuan. So how did people enter and exit this area in ancient times with underdeveloped transportation? Zhou Zhiqing believes that we should not view this issue from the perspective of modern transportation routes. There are other convenient paths from northwest to southwest of China. The north-south exchange in the Hengduan Mountains occurred 5000 years ago, laying the prehistoric foundation of the Southwest Silk Road and the Tibetan Yi Corridor. "And Yanyuan happened to be at the node of the cultural and ethnic corridor connecting northwest and southwest China. At the same time, the rich resources here, such as salt, copper, iron, gold, cinnabar, etc., have formed a path of exchange and trade, which also provides the possibility for cultural exchange and converges into this unique and inclusive Yanyuan bronze culture.
The annual original exhibition "Jijin Wanli - Bronze Civilization Exhibition in Southwestern China" of Jinsha site Museum began on May 27, and the deadline is tentatively set as August 27. The exhibition gathers 294 pieces (sets) of fine cultural relics, including bronze, gold, jade, seashells, etc. collected by 32 cultural and museum units in five provinces and cities of Southwestern China, including Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi, involving dozens of archaeological sites, including 103 first-class cultural relics. The exhibition is supported by archaeological materials and showcases the historical stories of communication, exchange, and integration among various ethnic groups in southwestern China, demonstrating the development and evolution pattern of the diverse and integrated Chinese nation.
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